Hey, guys. I'm still here. I know it's been a long time since I've written anything for this blog and I am sorry about that but since there's no movies to write about there's not much out there to give me material these days. I was running low on ideas until I decided to try another all songs rankings. As of late I've been listening a lot to today's band, Alice in Chains, and I think they're a band with a fascinating story.
The classic lineup of this Seattle-based heavy metal group was known for its bittersweet harmonized vocals, the bleak and poignant lyrics, and overall raw and aggressive sound. Unlike most people I never considered Alice in Chains to be an out-and-out grunge band (unless we're talking about their deliciously murky self-titled album). This was 1990's metal at its finest, led my the talented songwriter-guitarist Jerry Cantrell and the balls-to-the-wall singing by Layne Staley who is my favourite singer of all time. Even though I didn't start listening to AIC until the early 2010's I was genuinely saddened to learn of Staley's passing in 2002, such was the power and sincerity of his performances.
Years later the band came back with a new singer and a louder, doomier sound that still manages to fit snugly with the previous lineup's aesthetic. Despite not being as exciting as its previous incarnation I still have huge respect for this band that has survived the deaths of two members (the original drummer also died), reinvented itself, and continues to put out quality albums. So today I'm going to rank from best to worst – in my opinion – all 83 of Alice in Chains' songs that were released on full-length albums and EPs. Live albums, promotional singles, or duplicates will not be included. (Their first EP, We Die Young, included two songs that were also on their first album, Facelift, so I'll include them there.)
1. “Nutshell”, Jar of Flies (1994)
2. “Man in the Box”, Facelift (1990)
3. “Rooster”, Dirt (1992)
4. “Down in a Hole”, D
5. “We Die Young”, F
6. “Love, Hate, Love”, F
7. “No Excuses”, JoF
8. “Frogs”, Alice in Chains (1995)
9. “Heaven Beside You”, AIC
10. “Rain When I Die”, D
11. “Would?”, D
12. “Rotten Apple”, JoF
13. “Dirt”, D
14. “Stone”, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013)
15. “Sea of Sorrow”, F
16. “Sludge Factory”, AIC
17. “Last of My Kind”, Black Gives Way to Blue (2009)
18. “Hollow”, TDPDH
19. “All Secrets Known”, BGWtB
20. “Brother”, Sap (1992)
21. “Dam That River”, D
22. “Head Creeps”, AIC
23. “Real Thing”, F
24. “A Looking in View”, BGWtB
25. “Over Now”, AIC
26. “Got Me Wrong”, S
27. “Bleed the Freak”, F
28. “I Can't Remember”, F
29. “Grind”, AIC
30. “Shame in You”, AIC
31. “Voices”, TDPDH
32. “Check My Brain”, BGWtB
33. “Phantom Limb”, TDPDH
34. “Lab Monkey”, TDPDH
35. “God Smack”, D
36. “Red Giant”, Rainier Fog (2018)
37. “Them Bones”, D
38. “Your Decision”, BGWtB
39. “Rainier Fog”, RF
40. “Maybe”, RF
41. “Drone”, RF
42. “Sickman”, D
43. “It Ain't Like That”, F
44. “God Am”, AIC
45. “Confusion”, F
46. “When the Sun Rose Again”, BGWtB
47. “Junkhead”, D
48. “Killing Yourself”, We Die Young (EP, 1990)
49. “Again”, AIC
50. “Lesson Learned”, BGWtB
51. “Pretty Done”, TDPDH
52. “Hung on a Hook”, TDPDH
53. “All I Am”, RF
54. “So Far Under”, RF
55. “Scalpel”, TDPDH
56. “Sunshine”, F
57. “Angry Chair”, D
58. “Hate to Feel”, D
59. “Acid Bubble”, BGWtB
60. “Take Her Out”, BGWtB
61. “I Know Somethin' (Bout You)”, F
62. “Deaf Ears Blind Eyes”, RF
63. “So Close”, AIC
64. “The One You Know”, RF
65. “Brush Away”, AIC
66. “Don't Follow”, JoF
67. “Whale & Wasp”, JoF
68. “Private Hell”, BGWtB
69. “Low Ceiling”, TDPDH
70. “I Stay Away”, JoF
71. “Breath on a Window”, TDPDH
72. “Right Turn”, S
73. “Put You Down”, F
74. “Fly”, RF
75. “Nothing Song”, AIC
76. “Swing on This”, JoF
77. “Am I Inside”, S
78. “Black Gives Way to Blue”, BGWtB
79. “Choke”, TDPDH
80. “Never Fade”, RF
81. “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here”, TDHDP
82. “Love Song”, S
83. “Iron Gland”, D
