Alice in Chains was formed as grunge music was beginning. In 1987, Jerry Cantrell formed the band with singer Layne Staley, and soon afterward, the duo added Sean Kinney on drums and Mike Starr on bass. Mike Starr was later replaced with bassist Mike Inez. Although some of the music written and performed by Alice in Chains can be considered grunge music, some of the band’s music has more of a heavy metal sound, while other songs by the band fit into the acoustic genre. The band’s influences include metal, punk, funk and rock & roll. Hits and well-known songs include “Man in the Box,” from their first album, Facelift, and “Would,” from the Singles soundtrack. Other hits are “Them Bones,” “Rooster,” and “Down in a Hole” from their second album, Dirt, and “I Stay Away” and “No Excuses” from their third album, Jar of Flies. They also released a album simply titled “Alice in Chains” that included the popular song “Heaven Beside You.”
The band gained recognition for the unique quality of their vocals, which frequently blended harmonies between Staley and Cantrell. Staley also earned acclaim for lead vocals that have been described as simultaneously powerful and vulnerable and having a haunting quality. Staley also created an uncommon vocal sound in his recordings by stacking his vocal tracks, meaning that he would record multiple tracks and layer them in the song, rather than recording one single vocal track to be used throughout.
Cantrell recorded and played with Alice in Chains using a G & L Rampage guitar and has been known to also play a Gibson Les Paul. He uses medium levels of distortion and high levels of reverb to achieve Alice in Chains’s signature lead guitar sound. Cantrell also uses Peavey and Bogner amps in his stack, and typically boosts the mid-level sounds.
Bassist Mike Starr played several different versions of the Spector NS-2 using an Ampeg SVT amp. Mike Inez commonly plays Warwick bass guitars and has also been known to play basses made by Alvarez, Gibson, Fender and Spector. Both Inez and Starr play their basses with picks rather than their fingers, creating a sharper, more metal-infused bass sound.
Sean Kinney’s drumming style has gained recognition for its combination of simplicity and flair. Kinney uses his toms often for fills and has many pieces to his kit including a bass drum, a snare drum, three floor toms, two standing toms, four rata toms, and nine cymbals. He’s known for playing with DW drums, Vater drumsticks and Remo drum heads.
The difficulty level of the music created by Alice in Chains varies for guitar players but generally falls into the intermediate to advanced category. “No Excuses” may be the easiest to play for guitarists because it uses basic chords, but it still requires the guitarist to have an understanding of barre chords. The song is also played ½ step down from standard tuning on the album, requiring an understanding of alternate tunings as well.
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