35. Dirt - Alice In Chains 1992
Many albums are conceived in the midst of heavy drug use, depression, anxiety and death, but none come as close as this does to
actually sounding like those things in musical form. Brutally truthful and descriptive, this is as dark as it gets. 'Dirt' was recorded when various band members were at the height of either Alcoholism and/or drug addiction. Most notably, singer, Layne Staley, who was a full blown heroin addict. He never broke free of that addiction, and paid for it with his life in 2002. The band was riding high from the success of debut album, 'Facelift', that saw them being the most Metal band of the Seattle, 'Grunge' explosion. Successful tours with Alternative rock bands and Heavy Metal bands, saw the band's popularity on the rise and there was high expectancy for the follow-up. Working with producer, Dave Jerden, again, the album is a claustrophobic and hard going collection of 12 tracks that plumb the depths of the human spirit, self loathing, regret and hopelessness. Opening with two straight-forward hard rockers, 'Them Bones' and 'Dam That River', you get eased in relatively gently before 'Rain When I Die' slows things right down and takes you down the tortured and twisted path that was always a huge part of Alice's trademark sound. 'Rooster' is a beautiful ballad that gives way to a heavy and grinding middle section, and is an ode to guitar player/co-vocalist and main song-writer, Jerry Cantrell's, father who was on the front-line in Vietnam. His nickname is used to title the track. 'Junkhead' is a, genuinely frightening, account of a day in the life of an addict in a drug fueled environment. The title track is similar in feel, all warped and writhing with screwed up vocal melodies. This is another story of being a full blown junkie and the hatred and disdain it makes someone feel for themselves. "One who doesn't care, is one who shouldn't be. I've tried to hide myself from what is wrong for me." There were some who thought that Staley's lyrics were glorifying the use of narcotics when, in fact, Staley said, he was trying to get across the reality that there is nothing cool about heroin. How anyone could think that the harrowing songs on 'Dirt' were glorifying anything at all is pretty incomprehensible, even to the most staunch critic. The singer also noted that he was troubled by the fact that fans would come up to him, exclaiming that they were high, as if he should be proud. "That's exactly what I didn't want to happen!" The gorgeous 'Down in a Hole' is a very frank lament to the feelings of depression and anxiety that loss and mourning can precipitate. The solely, Staley composed, 'Angry Chair' has a very ominous verse, that gives way to a an awkward and obtuse pre-chorus before the chorus, itself, floods in and acts as one of the more optimistic sounding moments on 'Dirt'. Curtain closer, 'Would', is the bands best known track and was used for the soundtrack to the motion picture, 'Singles' that is set in early-90's Seattle. It is deliciously brooding until it begins to rage to a climax. The song was said to be written by Cantrell, regarding the death of his friend and fellow musician, Andrew Wood, who was destined to become a star with his own band, Mother Love Bone, who were on the cusp of commercial success, when he died. 'Dirt' found high-profile fans in the likes of Metallica's James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, Pantera, Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, Scott Ian of Anthrax and many more. It remains the band most successful release and the iconic cover of a seemingly, dead girl, partly covered by dirt, will be an enduring image from the 90's.