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Earliest: Jan 15, 1988
Latest: Jul 5, 2025
[
WikiPedia] Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has consisted of vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Vocalist Layne Staley and bassist Mike Starr are former members of the band. Often associated with grunge music, Alice in Chains' sound and style is rooted in heavy metal. The band is known for its distinctive vocal style, which often included the harmonized vocals between Staley and Cantrell (and later Cantrell and DuVall). They are one of the most popular rock bands from the 1990s.
Alice in Chains' original lineup consisted of Cantrell, Kinney, Staley, and Starr. They rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s. The band broke through on MTV and mainstream rock radio with the single "Man in the Box" (from their 1990 debut album Facelift). After releasing the EP Sap in early 1992, the band achieved major mainstream and commercial success with their follow-up album Dirt later that same year. Dirt contained the popular singles "Rooster" and "Would?", among others. Starr was replaced on bass by Inez in early 1993. The following two records, 1994's Jar of Flies (which included the popular singles "I Stay Away" and "No Excuses") and 1995's Alice in Chains (also contained radio hits such as "Heaven Beside You" and "Grind"), both topped the US Billboard 200 chart and earned the band several Grammy Award nominations.
Alice in Chains was plagued by extended inactivity from 1996 onward, largely due to Staley's substance abuse, which resulted in his death in 2002 and caused the band to go on hiatus. Alice in Chains reunited in 2005, with DuVall joining in 2006 as rhythm guitarist and sharing lead vocal duties; the band has since released three more albums: Black Gives Way to Blue (2009), The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013), and Rainier Fog (2018).
In the US alone, Alice in Chains has sold over 30 million RIAA-certified records. They have had 18 Top 10 songs on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and five No. 1 hits, and has received 11 Grammy Award nominations. The band has been included in numerous greatest of all time lists, including a position of No. 34 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" special and No. 15 in Hit Parader's "Greatest Live Bands" list.
