Review by illusionist for Alice in Chains - Dirt (1992)

The dark crown jewel of the "grunge" movement

The songwriting of Jerry Cantrell and the vocals of Layne Staley are what put this album in a league of its own. Cantrell and Staley's crooning vocal harmonies (name a more iconic duo?!?) have made their permanent mark on rock history. "Would" and "Down in a Hole" truly represent the wails of a man who has lost hope and feels isolated from the world. Yet, like every song on this thing, they are morbidly catchy. Alice In Chains then mix in lots of metal and even doom influence to give their music a darker edge than their grunge contemporaries. Though a huge mainstream success, this album has something real and emotionally intense about it. A thick, spiteful, gloomy atmopshere prevails.