Alice in Chains (album)

Alice in Chains
Studio album by Alice in Chains
Released	October 31, 1995 (1995-10-31)
Recorded	April–August 1995
Studio	Bad Animals, Seattle, Washington
Genre	Grunge heavy metal hard rock
Length	64:47
Label	Columbia
Producer	Toby Wright Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains chronology
Jar of Flies (1994) Alice in Chains (1995) Unplugged (1996)
Singles from Alice in Chains
"Grind" Released: October 6, 1995 "Heaven Beside You" Released: January 29, 1996 "Again" Released: February 1996

Alice in Chains (sometimes informally referred to as the Dog Album or Tripod) is the third studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on October 31, 1995, by Columbia Records, and was the follow-up to the highly successful Dirt (1992). This is the band's first full-length studio album to feature bassist Mike Inez, their last studio album to feature original lead vocalist Layne Staley, and their final studio album to be released through Columbia.

For a year and a half, Alice in Chains had not played any live shows, citing Staley's health issues. In the meantime, Staley joined the supergroup Mad Season and recorded the album Above (1995), leaving the future of Alice in Chains in question. In addition, Staley's growing heroin addiction led to growing rumors of his death. Shortly after the release of Above, Alice in Chains set out to create their third album, with the intention of putting an end to the gossip surrounding the band.

Recorded at Seattle's Bad Animals Studio with Toby Wright, the album's songs focus on heavy emotional content and subject matter such as drug addiction, depression, religion, broken relationships, and the internal tensions within the band fueled by Staley's substance abuse. The album's music relies less on metallic riffs and more on melody and texturally varied arrangements, some integrating some of the more delicate acoustic moods of their EPs, and others introducing late 1960s and early 1970s rock influences.

Alice in Chains was released in the twilight of the grunge era, and the band did not participate in any of their own touring for the album due to Staley's ongoing addiction. The only live performances to support the release came through television appearances, one of which was recorded for MTV's Unplugged series, as well as a brief run of shows as an opener for Kiss. Nevertheless, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and stayed on the chart for nearly a year.^[1] The tracks "Grind", "Heaven Beside You" and "Again" were released as singles. "Grind" and "Again" were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. The album was certified double platinum by the RIAA and has sold over three million copies worldwide.^[2] The album was the band's last for almost 14 years; Staley died from a drug overdose in 2002, and the band emerged with Black Gives Way to Blue in 2009 with new vocalist William DuVall.