Review Summary: "Now the body of one soul I adore wants to die
You have always told me you'd not live past 25"
„In the darkest hole, you'll be well advised not to plan my funeral before the body dies.“
If these are the first words of your long awaited comeback album, you're either a very narcassistic sadboy-rapper or you're in a band that has to gone through some seriously rough times. In 1995, Alice in Chains shared a lot of similarities with the three-legged dog on the album cover. Not only was their music just as sad as the poor doggo's facial expression, the one crucial part missing on his body also said more about the band's inner turmoil than it was probably intended. Just compare photos of lead singer Layne Staley from ca. 1990 with those from the era of the self titled album and the metaphor makes uncomfortabley much sense. After getting his addiction problems together for a while during the „Dirt“-tour, his condition worsened dramatically in 1994, distancing him socially even further from his bandmates, who weren't doing too well themselves. Pair that up with the impossibly high expectations after the huge success of their „Jar Of Flies“-EP and the already decreasing public interest in grunge, it's no surprise that this album didn't stand a chance.
Given that, „Tripod“, as this one gets frequently named by fans, does way better than it should. Driven by Jerry Cantrell's excellent guitar work more than ever, the self-titled combines the Sabbath inspired doom with the stripped down vibes of their EPs dominated by acoustic guitars. That alone makes this record stand out enough in the band's discography to justify its exestence. The occasional immaturity of the early days, that collided with the attempted earnestness, is replaced by an uneasy and open-to-interpretation-vagueness, that is crucial for the album's replay value. Putting the lyrics into the the context of the nightmarish development process has an undeniably fascinating -if also voyeuristic- quality to it. That alone saves somewhat sloppy tracks such as "Shame In You" or „Brush away“ („I try to get away and yet I stick around“) from being obsolete (the eerie solo rocks though).
But when the music clicks too, BOY does it click:
„Heaven Beside You“ summarizes the ethos of the album better than anything by switching back and forth between an understated acoustic riff and the ominous heavier parts, which provides the perfect ground for Jerry's shy voice and the devastating lyrics about the end of a relationship. Alice In Chains were always masters at finding beauty in the darkness and this one alone shows, they still were, especially compared to all the phony grunge wannabes who flooded the scene in the mid-90s and afterwards.
However, when AIC stick to the grittier „Dirt“-formular, gems such as the grim middle finger to the press „Grind“ and the live staple „Again“ sound as powerful as ever and show no signs of the expected fatigue. But the award for the best chorus surprisingly goes to the 7 minute monster called „Sludge Factory“, a viscious attack on their own record label, that pressured them annoyingly to get the record done.
Sadly, you don't even need to take a close listen to realize that the band members couldn't mask their struggles, even if they tried their very best. Where „Dirt“ wasted no space at all, „Tripod“ could have used a little editing, especially in the dragging second half. The iritatingly brief „So Close“ and the needlessly repetitive „Nothing Song“ (literally a track about writer's block) have the tired „let's just get it done and call it a day“-feeling you would fear before listening to an album with such a backstory.
Speaking of which, not only did Layne Staley contribute little in terms of songwriting, his vocal cords have definitly seen better days before. The astonishing power the „Dirt“ era is no more, which makes his trademark rattling harder to stomach than ever. That is not a problem exclusively, because it gives a couple of songs a haunting quality, especially the brooding „Frogs“. But elsewhere, he lazily follows the guitar melody („Nothing Song“), making his lack of commitment more than obvious. Totally not coincidentally, Jerry took over leadvocal duties on the album's highlights.
It also baffles me why AIC chose to replace Dave Jerden as a producer. On the one hand, it makes sense, that this incarnation sounds less bombastic than on „Dirt“, because it fits the rather introspective moments like „Frogs“ and „Over Now“. Otherwise, a lot of the heavier tracks such as „Sludge Factory“ or „God Am“ are robbed of their potential power. „Head Creeps“ is hurt by this the most: The haunting and somewhat warped tune written by Staley should have been a , well, creepy depiction of the frontman's state of mind, in a similar fashion as „Sickman“ on „Dirt“. While it has more than a few redeeming parts, the whole thing lacks the devastating energy of their previous work.
Pretty much every song suffers from one of those problems, so the artistic heights of „Dirt“ remain untouched. That's a shame, because every single one of these songs has at least one very promising idea in it. But there's one exception were they got it right from front to back: If the closer „Over Now“ doesn't touch you, I hope you'll find your soul again someday. The 7 minute epic, basically sounds like Jerry wanted to soundtrack the group's own funeral and as it turned out, he did. More sad and melancholic than ever, but with touches of relief, this tune rightfully became a centerpiece iof their legendary unplugged performance, ironically one of their last concerts. A true diamond of their discography and pretty much the equivalent to Nirvana's „All Apologies“.
Tripod became a commercial success, but predictably the band's studio swan song, too (aside from 2 tracks recorded for a best of album). Layne, despite a lot of people's attempts to save him, got lost even more after the death of his girlfriend until he sadly passed away in 2002. Alice In Chains could have owned the 90s -at some point, they did- but at the end of the decade, you would have been laughed at for the prediction that these guys would have an astonishing comeback in 2009. Against all odds, that is exactly what happened and this unexpectedly positive turn of events makes the bitter affair „Tripod“ a lot easier to swallow.
So, my relationship with this record is easily summarized with „it's complicated“. It's more interesting than satisfying and more fascinating than fully realized. It's one of those records, that hardcore afficinados tend to call „criminally underrated“ and it's easy to see why. The creative spark isn't gone and you can hear that despite all the circumstances, everyone involved did whatever they could. This is the underdog (haha) album you just WANT to like. But it is by no means an appropiate starting point for getting into the band and its flaws are too obvious to ignore, but if you're a fan already and aware of the band's history, „Tripod“ can be a rewarding grower. But even then, you will need to have some patience and -as always when it comes to Alice In Chains- a fetish for very depressing music.
