Alice In Chains - Dirt
 

Again, a bit of a personal review-

DIRT

If any of you know me, you're not going to accuse my tastes of being happy and uplifting. That said, this album is about as low as you can go, absolute rock bottom. Nihilism incarnate in sound. Grunge wasn’t exactly a happy genre to begin with, but AIC turned the moodiness up to a hundred. While their competition similar to Nirvana had sounds more similar to punk bands (raw, unpolished) in terms of layers and complexity, AIC instead took sensibilities from hard rock and metal bands (layered guitars, melodies, solos, etc) and concocted a fusion which appealed to rock fans who appreciated instrumentation, but with enough substance and emotion for the grunge fans too.

I’d been aware of AIC from early teen years listening to Nirvana/Soundgarden/etc but it wasn’t until closer to the end of school that their blend of blues, grunge and hard rock really penetrated my favourite artists list. I got into this album and their Jar of Flies EP at the same time, which are perfect complimentary records. While this was stooped in heavy hard rock guitars, the EP took a more acoustic direction. Don’t be fooled though, while softer on the ears, it’s no less nihilistic.

For me, no-one’s vocals carry as much painful emotion as Layne’s…sorry Jeff Buckley. I like Post Malone’s I Fall Apart as much as the next person, but that's a joyful ballad compared to anything on this. If you're looking to see what a cry for help looks like, Dirt is the dictionary definition. As much as I love AIC, I don’t think it’s easy for non-fans in 2020 to get into them, unless they have a love of hard rock already, or been through some serious issues in their lives. The music expressed a moment in the 90s that we will never recapture and it’s sad that an album like this will never be made again.

Fav Tracks: Would?, Rooster, Them Bones, Dirt, Down in a Hole

good album, not the best work from them tho. I prefer Tripod and Jar of flies.

They're all different. For me, Jar of Flies is equal to Dirt in a different way but Tripod is a level below both. Nothing hits the absolute nihilism bottom of the barrel like Dirt.

My fave album is Jar of Flies. Fave song...torn between Nutshell, Rooster, and Man in the Box. Dunno, I think certain music will be appreciated by whatever age group. There's kids who are into classical music.:beer:

Of course there will be no doubt, but when I was at school, it was like half the kids into rock, half into hip-hop. Don't want to sound like an old man (because I actually think if you look harder it's probably the best time for music now) but the charts now are way way worse than in the 90s. There's like 0 rock songs up there. So with a smaller pool of rock kids to draw from, a really depressing nihilistic version of rock has less room to play with. Anyway I hope I'm wrong. Even if I'm not, there's enough good stuff more underground to keep me busy.

Anyway, welcome :) :beer:

AIC has some solid misery but if you want to hear some pure nihilism then Townes Van Zandt is the most pure and personal.

"What I need is an overwhelming amount of love. And a nap."

[QUOTE=The Batlord;2159216]AIC has some solid misery but if you want to hear some pure nihilism then Townes Van Zandt is the most pure and personal.



I'd also add Elliot Smith to that. Some Smiths.

If you want pure sadness, depression and melancholy, I don't think anything beats Low's first album - If I Could Live In Hope.

Bet.

Definitely sad lyrics - but the instrumental doesn't scream sadness like "Lullaby" does.

Thanks for reminding me of Mount Eerie though - haven't listened to one of their (his?) albums since Clear Moon. That was before I went to college - seems like ages ago.

Remembering hearing a Low song in the Perks of Being a Wallflower soundtrack. Think it was 'Cracker'. Liked it a lot. Will Check em' out.:beer:

Thanks for all the depressing music people :P

Good review though. I feel the same way about Dirt. Staley's vocals are so haunting.

what don't you like about it, i'm asking because literally millions of ppl disagree