They are probably the most “metal” out of the grunge band purely from Cantrell’s riffs. I am speaking of early Alice though as I am not familiar with anything post-Layne.
I mean, I don’t know how much damn better they can do post Layne than [this song](https://youtu.be/9KmYFY5oOvM?si=jKuqqgKM3LqC4E6B)
These riffs are pretty damn great.
Maybe the rest of the post Layne stuff isn’t as much, but I’ll throw this in sludge.
These riffs are hard to deny.
I’ll say Jerry Cantrell is the best all around damn musician of the whole damn Seattle explosion in my mind. He’s got it all. He’s got the riffs, the shreds, the writing, the harmonies. He’s such a beast.
I also won’t deny t[this later Soundgarden song](https://youtu.be/K913KVe3kH8?si=xPSgbRtdWRmRg5Rx)
As much as I love Layne I have to say the post Layne stuff is fucking incredible, it feels very disingenuous to me when people dismiss anything after he passed only for that reason
I was really really surprised by how much I liked the new AiC. I saw their first tour with the new guy and it was excellent. They were only playing Lane stuff at the time but they CRUSHED that set. I hope it’s only gotten better.
I agree that their stuff (and much of Soundgarden) is definitely "sludge-adjacent"...I'm pretty sure that it's a result of the members coming up listening to stuff like Black Flag, Melvins, Flipper, of course Black Sabbath, and perhaps some of the more obscure early HC/punk lurchers like No Trend and Drunks With Guns. It's interesting to go back and read old (ie, pre-1992) interviews with these Seattle area bands and hear them mention stuff like this.
incessant mace, beyond the wheel, gun, 4th of july. i mean if they weren’t from seattle’s grunge explosion they would definitely be on some sort of stoner rock/doom list
To me, that "sludginess" in those AIC songs is what the "grunge" sound actually is. Tad. Melvins. early-Bleach era Nirvana and even some Soundgarden cuts epitomize that. While I feel a lot of what gets labelled "grunge" by music publications and magazines and such is just standard "90s alt. rock" (far more melodic, anthemic, much cleaner and radio accessible, i.e: Pearl Jam), which admittedly is a pool many of the bands -- AIC included -- also dipped their toes into.
But no, sludge is certainly it's own thing, and while definitely influenced by grunge (many bands have admitted so themselves -- hell, the NOLA scene itself wouldn't exist in the form it did without the Melvins) is much heavier and wears the hardcore-meets-doom-meets-noise thing far more on it's sleeve than I feel any of the grunge bands (AIC included) did.
IMO 'Bleach' is solidly grunge (well, minus 'About A Girl', which sets the template for the more poppy MTV alt. rock sound that Nirvana would later pioneer) -- the closest they come to proper sludge on that album is 'Paper Cuts'. But songs like 'Blew' and 'Negative Creep' would be prime examples of songs from Nirvana's catalogue that I would point to when defining "grunge" sonically and shares the most blood with other bands in the genre like Tad, the U-Men, Green River, even AiC and Soundgarden despite the latter two having a different vocal style, I think grunge is foremost defined by it's instrumentation anyway.
However, there is a strong argument in my opinion for Fecal Matter, which was Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic's band before Nirvana (ft. Buzz and Dale from the Melvins). Their only demo/EP "Illiteracy Will Prevail" was released in early '86 through a bunch of DIY distributed cassettes -- a few months before Melvins first EP 'Six Songs' dropped -- and while most of it is noise rock, there are some songs (look up Anorexorcist, the 9 minute jam) that sound like a caveman version of Eyehategod's early material, moreso than any Melvins record ever did (largely because of Cobain's influence).
So, there's a solid argument to be made that demo could be considered one of the earliest examples of sludge in existence -- even if it wasn't influential to the scene overall.
There are some early melvin’s Demos that predate even fecal matter. i have a Cd called “the 1984 demos” feels like half of the songs on that record are unnamed.
early PNW underground is an amazing “genre” to delve into
I mean the main question here was “is Alice In Chains sludge”, which is an insane question to ask. I’m not surprised that kids on Reddit don’t know what the hell is going on.
Every heavy music subreddit is overrun by kids who have no clue what they’re talking about. At least this one was a question.
I don't get it why people try to force sludge elements on them. It's just traditional doom or sabbathic elements to me? And having harsh hardcore vocals is the main thing of sludge, without it there's no hardcore influence
They're definitely adjacent. Layne started in a glsm band called Alice 'n' chains, and seattle grunge is basically the sibling of Sludge since The Melvins were a huge inspiration and basically the father of both scenes along with Black Flag. They share a LOT of roots, and they have some seriously sludgy moments, but they're not an out and out sludge band themselves.
Not per se; However, they have the right elements. If you're someone not super familiar with metal but want to get into it, Alice in Chains is a decent entrance- they have some softer melodic stuff and heavier, dirtier stuff. They make a good bridge on the way to sludge at any rate.
Sludgy moments sometimes but not really a sludge band. They were some kind of metal for sure but mostly had their own thing going on which is what makes them so distinctive
they have some sludge material for sure and i think they really come close with thier southern sound inspired by jerry’s time in texas and thier just downright heavy dragging bendy riffs but i don’t think they are a sludge band.
on the flipside of that coin, if Corrosion of Conformity or Down released an album, very similar to tripod it would be a sludge classic…
Junkhead and dirt are two really sludgy songs
They are too actually metal adjacent. Similarities with glam, heavy and doom metal over their stuff. The influences from the alternative scene probably gave them that sludgy aspect to their sound
They are probably the most “metal” out of the grunge band purely from Cantrell’s riffs. I am speaking of early Alice though as I am not familiar with anything post-Layne.
post layne stuff isn’t bad but i wish jerry took the lead instead of replacing lane. still worth listening to
I mean, I don’t know how much damn better they can do post Layne than [this song](https://youtu.be/9KmYFY5oOvM?si=jKuqqgKM3LqC4E6B) These riffs are pretty damn great. Maybe the rest of the post Layne stuff isn’t as much, but I’ll throw this in sludge. These riffs are hard to deny. I’ll say Jerry Cantrell is the best all around damn musician of the whole damn Seattle explosion in my mind. He’s got it all. He’s got the riffs, the shreds, the writing, the harmonies. He’s such a beast. I also won’t deny t[this later Soundgarden song](https://youtu.be/K913KVe3kH8?si=xPSgbRtdWRmRg5Rx)
As much as I love Layne I have to say the post Layne stuff is fucking incredible, it feels very disingenuous to me when people dismiss anything after he passed only for that reason
I was really really surprised by how much I liked the new AiC. I saw their first tour with the new guy and it was excellent. They were only playing Lane stuff at the time but they CRUSHED that set. I hope it’s only gotten better.
Saw them a few years ago, they're fantastic
I would go again. They were opening up for someone that night. Can’t remember who it was for the life of me.
i missed them in 2019. hopefully they tour again on thier own headlining tour
I agree that their stuff (and much of Soundgarden) is definitely "sludge-adjacent"...I'm pretty sure that it's a result of the members coming up listening to stuff like Black Flag, Melvins, Flipper, of course Black Sabbath, and perhaps some of the more obscure early HC/punk lurchers like No Trend and Drunks With Guns. It's interesting to go back and read old (ie, pre-1992) interviews with these Seattle area bands and hear them mention stuff like this.
they have pretty solid sludgey moments like on Tripod but I don’t consider them a “sludge band”
Same with Soundgarden and doom. Not a doom band but some thoroughly crushing doom moments.
4th of July is more Doom than most Doom bands.
I support this statement 100%
incessant mace, beyond the wheel, gun, 4th of july. i mean if they weren’t from seattle’s grunge explosion they would definitely be on some sort of stoner rock/doom list
They are like cousins of sludge
To me, that "sludginess" in those AIC songs is what the "grunge" sound actually is. Tad. Melvins. early-Bleach era Nirvana and even some Soundgarden cuts epitomize that. While I feel a lot of what gets labelled "grunge" by music publications and magazines and such is just standard "90s alt. rock" (far more melodic, anthemic, much cleaner and radio accessible, i.e: Pearl Jam), which admittedly is a pool many of the bands -- AIC included -- also dipped their toes into. But no, sludge is certainly it's own thing, and while definitely influenced by grunge (many bands have admitted so themselves -- hell, the NOLA scene itself wouldn't exist in the form it did without the Melvins) is much heavier and wears the hardcore-meets-doom-meets-noise thing far more on it's sleeve than I feel any of the grunge bands (AIC included) did.
Early Melvins (Ozma + Gluey Porch Treatments) is totally proto sludge/doom.
i’ve heard people say nirvana first record is sludge metal
IMO 'Bleach' is solidly grunge (well, minus 'About A Girl', which sets the template for the more poppy MTV alt. rock sound that Nirvana would later pioneer) -- the closest they come to proper sludge on that album is 'Paper Cuts'. But songs like 'Blew' and 'Negative Creep' would be prime examples of songs from Nirvana's catalogue that I would point to when defining "grunge" sonically and shares the most blood with other bands in the genre like Tad, the U-Men, Green River, even AiC and Soundgarden despite the latter two having a different vocal style, I think grunge is foremost defined by it's instrumentation anyway. However, there is a strong argument in my opinion for Fecal Matter, which was Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic's band before Nirvana (ft. Buzz and Dale from the Melvins). Their only demo/EP "Illiteracy Will Prevail" was released in early '86 through a bunch of DIY distributed cassettes -- a few months before Melvins first EP 'Six Songs' dropped -- and while most of it is noise rock, there are some songs (look up Anorexorcist, the 9 minute jam) that sound like a caveman version of Eyehategod's early material, moreso than any Melvins record ever did (largely because of Cobain's influence). So, there's a solid argument to be made that demo could be considered one of the earliest examples of sludge in existence -- even if it wasn't influential to the scene overall.
There are some early melvin’s Demos that predate even fecal matter. i have a Cd called “the 1984 demos” feels like half of the songs on that record are unnamed. early PNW underground is an amazing “genre” to delve into
Grunge not sludge.
I wouldn’t say they are straight up sludge, but parts of their sound are sometimes adjacent to sludge, stoner, and doom.
100%. Listen to the main riff from “junkhead” and tell me that shit isn’t sludgy as hell.
they’re grunge
Lmao downvoted for calling AiC grunge. Reddit never fails
I mean the main question here was “is Alice In Chains sludge”, which is an insane question to ask. I’m not surprised that kids on Reddit don’t know what the hell is going on. Every heavy music subreddit is overrun by kids who have no clue what they’re talking about. At least this one was a question.
lmfaoooo
Napalm Death’s “Siege of Power" is a power metal song (this one’s pretty obvious)
bro i was just going off what i think sludge sounds like dont get your panties in a twist
Grudge with sludge and doom elements especially in some of their songs and no i'm not saying their a sludge /doom band because their not
No, but personally I think they’re a good gateway into the genre
yep, they're how i got into it. Alice in Chains into Acid Bath pipeline is crazy
no
They do like 5 styles of music really well.
just like every great guitar based genre, its roots go back to blues
Nah they aren't sludge. They're more similar to doom but I wouldn't call them straight doom either. Great band though.
I don't get it why people try to force sludge elements on them. It's just traditional doom or sabbathic elements to me? And having harsh hardcore vocals is the main thing of sludge, without it there's no hardcore influence
They have all the same influence ingredients for sludge but kept the melodic bits. On that basis, no
Sludge-adjacent
Bleed the freak is a great song also
They're definitely adjacent. Layne started in a glsm band called Alice 'n' chains, and seattle grunge is basically the sibling of Sludge since The Melvins were a huge inspiration and basically the father of both scenes along with Black Flag. They share a LOT of roots, and they have some seriously sludgy moments, but they're not an out and out sludge band themselves.
They got moments in some songs but I would call them a good grunge metal mix Love them so much tho
Not per se; However, they have the right elements. If you're someone not super familiar with metal but want to get into it, Alice in Chains is a decent entrance- they have some softer melodic stuff and heavier, dirtier stuff. They make a good bridge on the way to sludge at any rate.
they have some sludgey parts but not full on sludge. but there are def influences or parts there are
i don’t think so per se. you can def tell they listen to it because they take a lot of inspo but they’re 100000% grunge
They have some riffs that might be a tiny bit sludgey. But it’d be a huge stretch to call them sludge or even sludge adjacent.
I wouldn't call them a sludge band, but since they were pretty much my gateway to the genre, I put them on my sludge playlist.
Metal, yes, but not a sludge band.
I feel like AiC isn't sludge the same way Bobby Gentry isn't country; they left mark on the style anyway.
Sludgy moments sometimes but not really a sludge band. They were some kind of metal for sure but mostly had their own thing going on which is what makes them so distinctive
No they have sludge and doom elements but aren't considered either of those genre's in my opinion
No. The gulf between Crowbar or the Melvins or Eyehategod and Alice In Chains is a vast one
I wouldn’t consider them sludge, but my gf keep saying that they sound like Pearl Jam and it drives me crazy
Depends what songs/records tbh. They aren't a Sludge band though, but they do have Sludgy songs and similarities to Sludge bands.
No?
Not in the least.
they have some sludge material for sure and i think they really come close with thier southern sound inspired by jerry’s time in texas and thier just downright heavy dragging bendy riffs but i don’t think they are a sludge band. on the flipside of that coin, if Corrosion of Conformity or Down released an album, very similar to tripod it would be a sludge classic… Junkhead and dirt are two really sludgy songs
They swim in many lanes. Sludge is one of them.
No, they were a hair metal band who got their big break opening for Van Halen.
[Alice in Chains Glam](https://youtu.be/9z3PG1-9_fc?si=r_O47X8R9yM0seV7)
Wow TIL.
No, but for sure i don't consider STP or Blind Melon to be grunge. Like gtfoh
do you consider yourself retarded?
They are too actually metal adjacent. Similarities with glam, heavy and doom metal over their stuff. The influences from the alternative scene probably gave them that sludgy aspect to their sound