Alice In Chains Albums Ranked From Worst To Best

Alice in Chains is one of those few bands that was able to toe the line between metal and alternative. While you could definitely classify their sound as being in tune with something like Soundgarden and Mudhoney from around the same time, the subtle hints of darkness always made them safe enough for metalheads to crank up on their car stereos. By comparison to the more embarrassing acts of the time, AOC also have the title of not really having a bad album in them.

From one project to the next, Alice's hit streak never really dried up all that often, with some albums just being a little bit better than others. Even when transitioning into the next life with William DuVall at the front, the material that Jerry Cantrell was coming out with was a lot more impressive than some of his contemporaries were coming out with around the same time.

Whether it's the sludgy sounds, the acoustic stuff, or the melodic beauty that ties them all together, there's a little bit of that spark across every single project these guys have put out. From stray EPs to the full-on album experiences, this is how Alice stacks up at the end of the day.

As the 2010's dawned, Alice in Chains had seemed to have done the impossible. After the drafting of William DuVall proved to be a winning formula, the idea was to take this and expand on the sounds they had hinted at on Black Gives Way to Blue. Though you could argue The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here is the more consistent record, it does have a bit of flab showing every now and again.

This is also an impressive comeback story for Jerry Cantrell, with most of the riffs being developed in his head after coming off of a painful shoulder surgery. When they resurfaced, the songs that were coming together were a lot sludgier than their previous effort, with lyrics that corresponded to Cantrell's time in the hospital such as Phantom Limb and Lab Monkey.

While it's nice to see Alice in their element once again, you can definitely see cracks in the construction here. A lot of the tracks tend to feel like the guys are on easy mode, which they very well may have been considering Jerry's state at the time. Though DuVall still is a great presence behind the mic, the fact that he wasn't able to contribute anything outside of one song feels like a tremendous missed opportunity as well. The idea of Alice in Chains making Black Sabbath style doom rock may sound cool on paper, but the result might be a bit too slow for some.