The ’90s were a time of musical transformation. We had rap starting to get popular, garage bands ruling the radio, and music that had always been forced underground starting to surface. Most people thank Nirvana for helping underground sounds come into the light, but Alice in Chains deserves some credit there too.

After all, they are a grunge band, just like Nirvana was. And sure, they may have some heavier metal influences than Nirvana, but they were there first. It doesn’t have to be a competition, though. Both Alice in Chains and Nirvana were key players in the “screw the man” musical movement in the ’90s – and we thank them for their service.

From Sleze to Alice

Some bands are born out of other bands, and Alice in Chains is one of those. The group you know now started out as the hair metal bad Sleze, until about 1986. They were Alice N Chains for a short period, until finally, some personnel changes led to the finalization of the name, Alice in Chains, in the late ’80s. They put out their first debut album a year later in 1990 and got a spot opening for Iggy Pop. Iggy’s fans loved the new mostly-grunge semi-metal sound and their popularity skyrocketed.

Issues and Albums

Like any band, Alice in Chains had issues behind the curtain. They went through a few different rounds of drug addictions and replacement over the years – but never let it stop them from releasing music. Drug problems aside, the band is still one of the first groups ever credited with making metal-influenced music mainstream. And whether you like their more metal-sounding songs or the ones that are milder – it doesn’t matter, as long as you’re an Alice fan at heart!