Alice In Chains: Layne Staley, Jerry Cantrell (vocals, guitar); Michael Starr (bass); Sean Kinney (drums).
Additional personnel: Tom Araya (background vocals).
Recorded in 1992.
Brutal and hard but exciting and surprisingly melodic, DIRT made Alice In Chains national stars in 1992 after being around the Seattle alternative rock scene for many years. They produce a blindingly together sound, with the bass of Mike Starr able to switch between following the bass drum beat and cloning Jerry Cantrell's guitar note for note, albeit a few octaves lower. They have such polish that they are often reminiscent of the heyday of Led Zeppelin. Lyrically they plow the familiar angst furrow with tracks such as 'Junkhead', 'Sickman' and 'God Smack'. Equally satisfying are 'Them Bones' and 'Rooster', which saw them start in a direction that led to Jar Of Flies two years later.
What the critics say...
Spin (11/92, p.114) - Recommended - "...There's a brutal, though troubling, honesty in the lyrics...as a means of cutting yourself open and letting the listener look inside, Alice In Chains has certainly spit out a mouthful..."
Entertainment Weekly (10/16/92, p.76) - "...The pain and insight that went into these 12 songs make Alice In Chains shine above and beyond most of its Seattle neighbors..." - Rating: A
Q (2/02, p.120) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...DIRT's layered harmonies and fashionable nihilism transformed AIC from sludge metal also-rans to short-lived stars of the post-grunge landscape..."
Alternative Press (3/93, p.40) - "...a big leap forward from 1990's FACELIFT. Where the latter was buried deep under water, DIRT surfs with abandon..."
Vox (12/92, p.63) - 8 - Very Good - "...At their best guitarist Jerry Cantrell's towering riffs and singer Layne Staley's impassioned caterwaul make for a dramatic, vital dose of New Metal..."
