Alice in Chains - Facelift (1990)
Genre - Grunge
While the world was falling for Nirvana's Nevermind in 1991, a year earlier a band known by the name of Alice in Chains made a mark on the world of music. Their debut album Facelift has some of the best music in history and is one of the reasons the 90s is my favorite music era. Let's move on to the music shall we?
We Die Young - Great opener to get things rolling. We Die Young does not really have much of an intro it gets right to the music. This song has some pretty heavy guitar work. Not the most oh my God amazing but not to the point where it bores you either. Once you hear this you're sure to know that this album just speaks Metal on it. Great song to open up the album. 9/10
Man in the Box - Man in the Box was the song that really brought the attention of Alice in Chains to the music world. The music video was for Man in the Box was played on MTV a lot, this was back when MTV was still what it stand for Music Television. This song has a special place in my heart because it was the first song I heard by Alice in Chains. Man in the Box was some unique and original distorted guitar work. What makes this song so great are Layne Staley's vocals. Layne was an amazing singer and Jerry Cantrell is an amazing guitarist. They had the perfect combination of blending. Overall Man in the Box is my favorite song off of the album. 10/10
Sea of Sorrow - The album just gets better and stays strong. Sea of Sorrow has a slow introduction with melancholic piano playing which sounds almost jazz-influenced. There is a long guitar tone and some drums that can barely be heard. The song finally breaks down with some very powerful vocals by Layne, he sounds pretty scary here. The solo that comes in the middle of this song is really nice and right when it's finished the song calms down for a few seconds. It seems Layne need to breath before singing the last vocals of this song. Another great song on the album. 9/10
Bleed the Freak - Another sweet introduction once again. The guitars start off slowly jamming in the background, then eventually comes in Layne with some vocals and the song gets heavy from there on. The lyrics deal about the us against the world situation. As I said earlier Layne's vocals are fantastic here they express a lot of angry emotions. Jerry has a sweet solo in this song too. Bleed the Freak is one of the bests on the album. 9/10
I Can't Remember - An okay song but sounds mediocre compared to the rest of the album. It is in my opinion to slow and not very interesting. This song can be skipped but enjoyed when given a listen. 6.5/10
Love, Hate, Love - Jerry Cantrell has cited this as the masterpiece of the album. This song is pretty good. Love, Hate, Love brings out the two most powerful emotions anyone can fell, which are of course Love and Hate. The lyrics to this song are pretty sick and creepy yet normal at the same time. Layne's vocals are the best here and overall Love, Hate, Love is very dark. 10/10
It Ain't Like That - Now we are back to one of the heavier songs on the album. This song has a brutal mood guitar riff. This song has some a beautiful solo by Jerry and of course Layne delivers the vocals. 8.5/10
Sunshine - This song is rather repetitive but it is great overall. Layne's vocals here really stand out The song is not bad just very simpleminded and repetitive. The lyrics here are enjoyable though. 7/10
Put You Down - This song is a much needed break from all the dark and gloomy stuff. Powered by a rocky and bluesy feel comes Put You Down. The guitar riff for this song is just cool man. The only thing this song is missing is a guitar solo, however can you really have a solo for every song? Overall this shows Alice in Chains having some fun. 7.5/10
Confusion - We now arrive at the slowest song on the album which is rather good. The light guitar playing is nice to hear. The song gets more aggression as it goes on but never changes the tone. Honestly when hasn't Layne's voice sounded great? Jerry provides a cool solo here around the end. Confusion is weird for the first few listens it is a song you just need to close your eyes and drift off. 9/10
I Know Somethin (Bout You) - The slowest song is met by the fastest song. This sounds nothing like the Alice in Chains signature sound so it is a hit or miss. This song has some blues as well as jazz influences to it. This song is okay I mean I guess it is cool to have something to get your mind off songs like Love, Hate, Love. I mean if every song was like LHL it would be a bit boring. 7/10
Real Thing - Once again hit or miss. I love this song though the riff just sounds cool. Originally this song had a demo called Heroin so yeah guess what it's about. This song has some weird country influence on it which is strange for a metal band is it not? This song is cool though, you may not like it however. 8.5/10
Overall - Facelift is a great album and one of the best on the 90s. Every Alice in Chains album is different, this one has their most Heavy Metal influence to it. Surprisingly this is not at all Alice in Chains best work. They had only just begun with Facelift. This is worth wearing for sure though make no mistake about it.
Genre - Grunge
While the world was falling for Nirvana's Nevermind in 1991, a year earlier a band known by the name of Alice in Chains made a mark on the world of music. Their debut album Facelift has some of the best music in history and is one of the reasons the 90s is my favorite music era. Let's move on to the music shall we?
We Die Young - Great opener to get things rolling. We Die Young does not really have much of an intro it gets right to the music. This song has some pretty heavy guitar work. Not the most oh my God amazing but not to the point where it bores you either. Once you hear this you're sure to know that this album just speaks Metal on it. Great song to open up the album. 9/10
Man in the Box - Man in the Box was the song that really brought the attention of Alice in Chains to the music world. The music video was for Man in the Box was played on MTV a lot, this was back when MTV was still what it stand for Music Television. This song has a special place in my heart because it was the first song I heard by Alice in Chains. Man in the Box was some unique and original distorted guitar work. What makes this song so great are Layne Staley's vocals. Layne was an amazing singer and Jerry Cantrell is an amazing guitarist. They had the perfect combination of blending. Overall Man in the Box is my favorite song off of the album. 10/10
Sea of Sorrow - The album just gets better and stays strong. Sea of Sorrow has a slow introduction with melancholic piano playing which sounds almost jazz-influenced. There is a long guitar tone and some drums that can barely be heard. The song finally breaks down with some very powerful vocals by Layne, he sounds pretty scary here. The solo that comes in the middle of this song is really nice and right when it's finished the song calms down for a few seconds. It seems Layne need to breath before singing the last vocals of this song. Another great song on the album. 9/10
Bleed the Freak - Another sweet introduction once again. The guitars start off slowly jamming in the background, then eventually comes in Layne with some vocals and the song gets heavy from there on. The lyrics deal about the us against the world situation. As I said earlier Layne's vocals are fantastic here they express a lot of angry emotions. Jerry has a sweet solo in this song too. Bleed the Freak is one of the bests on the album. 9/10
I Can't Remember - An okay song but sounds mediocre compared to the rest of the album. It is in my opinion to slow and not very interesting. This song can be skipped but enjoyed when given a listen. 6.5/10
Love, Hate, Love - Jerry Cantrell has cited this as the masterpiece of the album. This song is pretty good. Love, Hate, Love brings out the two most powerful emotions anyone can fell, which are of course Love and Hate. The lyrics to this song are pretty sick and creepy yet normal at the same time. Layne's vocals are the best here and overall Love, Hate, Love is very dark. 10/10
It Ain't Like That - Now we are back to one of the heavier songs on the album. This song has a brutal mood guitar riff. This song has some a beautiful solo by Jerry and of course Layne delivers the vocals. 8.5/10
Sunshine - This song is rather repetitive but it is great overall. Layne's vocals here really stand out The song is not bad just very simpleminded and repetitive. The lyrics here are enjoyable though. 7/10
Put You Down - This song is a much needed break from all the dark and gloomy stuff. Powered by a rocky and bluesy feel comes Put You Down. The guitar riff for this song is just cool man. The only thing this song is missing is a guitar solo, however can you really have a solo for every song? Overall this shows Alice in Chains having some fun. 7.5/10
Confusion - We now arrive at the slowest song on the album which is rather good. The light guitar playing is nice to hear. The song gets more aggression as it goes on but never changes the tone. Honestly when hasn't Layne's voice sounded great? Jerry provides a cool solo here around the end. Confusion is weird for the first few listens it is a song you just need to close your eyes and drift off. 9/10
I Know Somethin (Bout You) - The slowest song is met by the fastest song. This sounds nothing like the Alice in Chains signature sound so it is a hit or miss. This song has some blues as well as jazz influences to it. This song is okay I mean I guess it is cool to have something to get your mind off songs like Love, Hate, Love. I mean if every song was like LHL it would be a bit boring. 7/10
Real Thing - Once again hit or miss. I love this song though the riff just sounds cool. Originally this song had a demo called Heroin so yeah guess what it's about. This song has some weird country influence on it which is strange for a metal band is it not? This song is cool though, you may not like it however. 8.5/10
Overall - Facelift is a great album and one of the best on the 90s. Every Alice in Chains album is different, this one has their most Heavy Metal influence to it. Surprisingly this is not at all Alice in Chains best work. They had only just begun with Facelift. This is worth wearing for sure though make no mistake about it.