Review Summary: What a strong beginning.
Chapter I: The Origins of Seattle's Main Sludge Factory
No matter how you slice it,
Facelift was one of the most important records in putting grunge on the map. Whereas the other bands in what's named the subgenre's "Big Four" (Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Nirvana) were still working on finding their footing commercially (and critically, to an extent), Alice in Chains seemed quite ahead of the game when their first full-length came out. What's important to know when considering this subgenre's history is that each band, despite being under the umbrella of grunge, still had to find certain genres and styles to cling to at the same time. So what was Alice in Chains' big draw for many people in their heyday? The
metal.
There's a reason that this group toured with bands like Slayer and Anthrax around this time. The band might have been considered grunge and alternative rock by the media, but genres like doom metal and sludge metal easily worked their way in to the band's sound and gave them a lot more acceptance by the hordes of metalheads who didn't care for the grunge movement. And when all is said and done,
Facelift just might be the most metal-oriented album by the band alongside
Dirt. Unlike the latter, however, the songs here tend to be a bit more upbeat (but only a bit) and fast-paced. This album is clear-cut evidence that Alice in Chains didn't fully let go of their initial 80s metal roots, as songs like "Sea of Sorrow" and "Put You Down" tend to have elements of Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell's old hair metal days. But songs like "Love, Hate, Love" and "Confusion" have that typical doom and gloom we all love.
As with any Alice in Chains album, there's a thick layer of bleakness pervading
Facelift's overall atmosphere. While Staley's vocals were still incredibly strong around this point and weren't as affected by his drug use, that doesn't stop him from creating some depressing imagery with his tortured wails and melancholic crooning. Of course, Jerry Cantrell is just as important in completing the picture. The guitar tone featured throughout the record is both crunchy and brooding, powerful yet somehow subdued. There's certainly a lot of variety here, and one thing that stands out about Cantrell's playing is the amount of technical soloing he does on this album compared to future releases. A bit more shredding and overall flash are found here, which really give opening banger "We Die Young" and bluesy metaller "It Ain't Like That" a certain edge and uniqueness among the band's catalogue. Credit also has to be given to the rhythm section here; Mike Starr was always a quality bassist with Alice in Chains' first few records, especially in the grooves of "Sunshine" and the fast-paced intensity of "Put You Down." But the real star of the rhythms here is none other than drummer Sean Kinney, who performed the entire goddamn album with a broken arm! Enough said.
This isn't quite the best Alice in Chains album out there, the main flaw being that the band's signature sound wasn't quite fully realized here. Some of the songs lay on a bit too much of that upbeat 80s sound and I would have liked to hear a bit more of that doom-oriented vibe featured in songs like "Love, Hate, Love." It's an album by a band who don't sound like they fully know who they want to be just yet, but still have utmost confidence that everything would eventually gel. Of course, "gelling" would be quite the understatement as
Dirt ended up being one of the most acclaimed albums of the 90s, but I think we should give a little more attention to the album that really launched their career.
Facelift is not only a well-crafted album in its own right, but a fantastic blueprint for what was to come.
