Alice in Chains (informally referred to as the Dog Album, Dog Record, or Tripod) is the third studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on vinyl LP on October 31, 1995, through Columbia Records, and in other formats on November 7. The album is the follow-up to Dirt (1992), the group's commercial breakthrough. Alice in Chains is the group's final album featuring the original lead vocalist Layne Staley, who died in 2002, and their first with bassist Mike Inez, who replaced Mike Starr in 1993.
Alice in Chains had not played live for a year and a half due to Staley's heroin addiction. During the hiatus, Staley joined Mad Season with Mike McCready of Pearl Jam and Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees to record the album Above (1995), leaving the future of Alice in Chains in question. Staley's growing addiction led to rumors of his death. Shortly after the release of Above, Alice in Chains began work on their third album, with the intention of ending speculation on their break-up.
The album was recorded from April to August 1995 at Bad Animals Studio in Seattle with producer Toby Wright. The songs focus on emotional subjects such as drug addiction, depression, spirituality, broken relationships and the tensions within the band fueled by Staley's substance abuse. Rather than relying on heavy metal riffs, the material places more emphasis on melody and texturally varied arrangements, some of which integrate the acoustic moods of their earlier extended plays (EPs), while others introduce late-1960s and early-1970s rock influences.
Alice in Chains was released during the decline of the grunge era. Staley's addiction prevented the band from touring, and they only performed for televised events and while opening for Kiss. Nevertheless, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for nearly a year. 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. Alice in Chains was certified double platinum by the RIAA and sold over three million copies worldwide. Staley died from a drug overdose in 2002 and Alice in Chains did not release another album until 2009 when, with new co-vocalist William DuVall, they released Black Gives Way to Blue.
Background
Alice in Chains released their second album, Dirt, which became their commercial breakthrough, in September 1992. It entered the top ten of the Billboard 200 in its first week of release. During the supporting tour, bassist Mike Starr was fired due to addiction problems, and was replaced by Ozzy Osbourne's live bassist Mike Inez. Following the tour, the band decided to take a break from their heavy recordings with Jar of Flies, a largely acoustic extended play (EP). Upon its release in January 1994, Jar of Flies debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
After the release of Jar of Flies, Staley entered rehab for heroin addiction, and drummer Sean Kinney struggled with alcoholism. Alice in Chains had been scheduled to join Metallica's Shit Hits the Sheds Tour during mid-1994, including a performance at Woodstock '94, but while in rehearsal for the tour, Staley arrived intoxicated to a practice session. Kinney refused to perform with Staley in this condition, and a day before the start of the tour, the band decided to cancel all of their scheduled dates. The band's manager, Susan Silver, released an official statement announcing the group's live appearances for the foreseeable future had been canceled due to health issues. Alice in Chains were replaced by Candlebox on the tour. After this announcement, the musicians stopped communicating with the press. Rumors sprang up; some said Alice in Chains had broken up, and others claimed that Staley had died from AIDS. Though never made official, the band effectively disbanded for the next six months.
During their inactivity, the band members took part in side projects. Inez appeared on Slash's solo album It's Five O'Clock Somewhere. Kinney and Jerry Cantrell contributed songs to the Willie Nelson tribute album Twisted Willie; it was Cantrell's first experience of working on material outside Alice in Chains. Cantrell then decided to work on material for a solo album with the working title Jerry's Kids. Staley's direction, however, cast doubts over Alice in Chains' future when he joined what would become "grunge supergroup" Mad Season, which was founded by solo artist John Baker Saunders and Pearl Jam's Mike McCready. McCready, who met Saunders at a Hazelden Foundation rehab clinic, intended the project to unite musicians recovering from addictions. After recruiting Screaming Trees' Barrett Martin, the three invited Staley to be their vocalist, hoping it would help him stay sober. Mad Season recorded a studio album, Above; they performed at venues in Seattle and included some Alice in Chains songs in their sets. Contradicting prior reports about Staley's health, rumors he had left Alice in Chains spread. These reports irked Cantrell, who halted work on his solo album in favor of attempting to revive Alice in Chains.
Production
Early recording and label issues In 1994, Cantrell thought of recording a solo album and jammed with several drummers, including Josh Sinder of Tad and Norman Scott of Gruntruck. Cantrell and Scott recorded three demos at Cantrell's in-home studio. Cantrell later reunited with Inez at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington, recruiting Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, and producer Toby Wright. Cantrell's moves were strategic; he planned for Kinney and Staley, who were still disillusioned with Alice in Chains, to find out about the sessions, and reconsider playing together again. According to Wright, Cantrell was prepared for Kinney and Staley to reject the offer down, at which point he would reluctantly use the material for a solo album, despite his reluctance.
The recording sessions at Bear Creek were short and unproductive. The group spent $10,000 for a week in the studio but recorded only the croaking of frogs in a nearby pond. Kinney and Staley agreed to participate in a new Alice in Chains album. By January 1995, Kinney had rejoined Cantrell and Inez to work on new material; in May, Staley was invited to return. Staley told Rolling Stone the group reunited because they "felt like we were betraying each other" with their side projects. At the same time, Sony Music, the owner of Columbia Records, which also had Mad Season under contract, considered replacing Staley. Sony weighed the merits of Staley's condition and whether he would benefit more from working with Mad Season. When it became known McCready was returning to Pearl Jam, the possibility of replacing his role in Mad Season and maintaining Staley's involvement in the project was also considered, but Sony ultimately decided keeping Mad Season active was not worth the financial risk and released Staley from his contract.
Following the Bear Creek sessions, Wright was brought back as producer for what would become the new Alice in Chains album. The band's A&R manager, Nick Terzo, who had once offered Wright a job with Alice in Chains as a sound engineer, was not pleased with the musicians' decision. Terzo considered Wright more of a technician than a producer. He also believed a producer was obliged to find compromises between the band and the label, whereas Wright supported the band's creative independence; this led to Wright's selection for the production job. The band also barred Susan Silver from entering the studio. Wright was the only intermediary between the band and the management, and it was through him Silver learned of progress on the album. According to Wright, the musicians decided to distance themselves from management, but he did not oppose it because he wanted to isolate the band from their personal problems so they could focus on the music.
Despite the commercial success of the group's earlier works, Cantrell stated the main goal was making music to please the band's fans. According to Staley, the band wanted to create something they themselves would enjoy, rather than appealing to commercial trends. The band was given full creative control, initially without a deadline or budget. Before studio sessions began, Wright met Columbia president Don Ienner in New York. Ienner was skeptical about the project, and was sure Wright would not be successful or productive; Wright recalled "sitting in Donnie Ienner's office in New York before we started the record and him telling me, 'Good luck,' because he didn't think I'd be able to get a record out of them".
Creative process
Work on Alice in Chains began at Bad Animals Studio about a month after the March 1995 release of Mad Season's album Above. The band chose the studio because of its size and proximity to Staley's home. When work began, the musicians had no finished songs, though Cantrell had several ideas to work with from his home demo sessions. The band gave the demo tapes to Staley so he could write lyrics. Because no material was completed, the band decided to jam together until finding something that would work, as they had done on Jar of Flies, instead of spending time on pre-production. Most often, jams began with Cantrell and Kinney, who had the greatest musical chemistry developed between them. Instrumental parts were recorded during live sessions with the whole band; the song's structure of the song was first outlined, and then, after 15–20 performances, memorizing their parts, the musicians recorded the best takes. Wright largely relied on his intuition when deciding a take was good enough; some first takes were suitable, while others took many attempts, sometimes the recording was delayed until the next day. A song could undergo significant changes after Wright's initial approval; new sections could be added or old ones removed, which usually happened when fine-tuning vocal harmonies. Staley would write lyrics to finished recordings he liked and skipped the others.
Instead of a 12-hour standard workday, to maximize creative efforts, Wright established a work schedule that accommodated the band members whenever the group was comfortable. Because Staley's addiction often led to him being late or absent for recording and rehearsal sessions, Wright's assistant, Sam Hofstedt, was given a pager to notify him when Staley was available to work, regardless of time of day. On one occasion, Wright summoned Hofstedt to the studio at 1:00 a.m. after Staley had arrived. If Staley had tried to hide his drug use from those around him, it became less subtle during the recording of the album. Hofstedt said: "It seemed apparent to me he was using, because when you go to lock yourself in the bathroom for a while, it's not because you really like the bathroom". Staley was seen openly using drugs only once, though it served a purpose in recording a song, which became "God Am". The question of stopping work on the album was raised numerous times, but Wright persisted, sometimes organizing breaks of several days so all of the participants in the project could rest and get emotional release from the situation.