The early 90’s were a time of great musical change. The bands that had been dominating the previous decade were becoming oversaturated. With a new Sunset Strip act getting singed seemingly daily. Eventually something had to give. And it did, in the form of a darker and more aggressive sound hailing from Seattle.
While the forerunners of the sludgy, cloudy sounds were The Melvins and Soundgarden. Alice In Chains were the first band to achieve commercial success with the sound. On 1990’s ‘Facelift,’ a heavy, depressed tone of hard rock and metal, founded in the 70’s by bands like Black Sabbath, started to make a comeback.
Driven by key tracks such as ‘We Die Young,’ ‘Sea of Sorrow’ and ‘Bleed the Freak.’ Along with the MTV smash ‘Man in the Box.’ ‘Facelift’ established the beginning of a new way of commercial heavy music thinking. Slower, drop-D tuning, phat bass and drum beats. Along with a vocal style that would be mimicked by over a generation of followers. Yes, ‘Facelift’ brought yarling to the masses for the first time. Which is displayed perfectly on sludgy, slinky tracks such as ‘It Ain’t Like That,’ ‘Sunshine’ and ‘Put You Down.’
‘I Know Somethin’ (‘Bout You)’ brings in a major funk vibe. Which was also an emerging sound at the time. And the albums closing track ‘The Real Thing’ displays tradition blues rock vibes. Which are the actual origins of AIC. Along with the bleak lyrics and open regret of drug use. These songs helped set the stage for the future of the bands subject material.
‘Facelift’ debuted in late August 1990. The album wasn’t an immediate success. But it has since sold in excess of three million copies. And remains a cornerstone in modern music history. Moved by Jerry Cantrell’s beefy guitar tones, Mike Starr’s tasteful bass playing, Sean Kinney’s phat as all hell drumming and Layne Staley’s original vocal approach. ‘Facelift’ remains one of the most iconic debut albums in all of rock and metal.
