5 Returning Bands That Failed (And 5 That Nailed Their Comeback)

It's no secret that grunge took the world by storm by the 90s.

The Seattle sound brought mainstream attention to a number of significant bands, including the grunge 'big 4' of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains.

AIC blended that signature sound with a more rugged, heavy metal sound, with two lead vocalists fronting the band in Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley. This concoction proved successful, with debut record Facelift becoming the first grunge album to be certified Gold before eventually being certified double Platinum.

By 1996, the band had released three albums with a fourth becoming increasingly difficult to make, owing to Staley's drug habits. On 5th April 2002, those habits would finally take Staley as he passed away from an accidental overdose. Alice in Chains would split up shortly thereafter.

The surviving members would reform in 2005, ten years since their last live performance, enlisting William DuVall of Comes with the Fall to be the new co-lead vocalist.

The new line-up would release the eagerly anticipated Black Gives Way to Blue in 2009, a resounding success that achieved Gold certification, before beating Slayer, Mastodon, Megadeth and Heaven and Hell to the 2010 Revolver Golden Gods Album of the Year Award.