page_title: Alice in Chains (album)
section_title: Background and recording
hierarchical_section_title: Alice in Chains (album) / Background and recording
caption_attribution_description: Layne Staley playing with Alice in Chains at The Channel in Boston, MA.
context_page_description: Alice in Chains is the self-titled third studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on November 7, 1995 through Columbia Records, and was the follow-up to the highly successful Dirt. This is the band's first full-length studio album to feature bassist Mike Inez; their last album to feature original lead vocalist Layne Staley, who died in 2002; and their last album to be released on Columbia Records. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 46 weeks. The tracks "Grind", "Heaven Beside You" and "Again" were released as singles. "Grind" and "Again" were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. The album received double platinum certification from the RIAA and has sold over three million copies worldwide. The mockumentary The Nona Tapes was released to promote the album and became a cult hit.
  As with their previous releases, the album's songs focus on heavy subject matter such as depression, isolation, drug use, relationships, anger and death.
context_section_description: After the release of Jar of Flies, vocalist Layne Staley entered rehab for heroin addiction. The band had been scheduled to tour during the summer of 1994 with Metallica, Suicidal Tendencies, Danzig and Fight, but while in rehearsal for the tour, Staley began using heroin again. Staley's condition prompted the other band members to cancel all scheduled dates one day before the start of the tour, putting the band on hiatus. They were replaced by Candlebox on the tour. While Alice in Chains was on hiatus, Staley joined the "grunge supergroup" Mad Season, while guitarist Jerry Cantrell worked on material originally intended for a solo album.
  In January 1995, Cantrell, bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney began jamming on Cantrell's material. In the spring of 1995, Staley was invited back to join the band. Staley said that "we started to split apart and went different ways, and we felt like we were betraying each other."
  In April 1995, Alice in Chains entered Bad Animals Studio in Seattle with producer Toby Wright, who had previously worked with Corrosion of Conformity and Slayer. Few of the songs on the album had been written before the sessions began, so Cantrell's material was used as a starting point. The band would then give the demo tapes to Staley so he could write lyrics. The album was finished in August 1995. Cantrell said, "It was often depressing, and getting it done felt like pulling hair out, but it was the fucking coolest thing, and I'm glad to have gone through it. I will cherish the memory forever," while Staley added, "I'll cherish it forever, too, just because this one I can remember doing."
  During the recording of the album, Staley was severely addicted to heroin and was often late or absent for recording and rehearsal sessions. The band's manager Susan Silver said, "... It was a really painful session because it took so long. It was horrifying to see [Layne] in that condition. Yet, when he was cognizant, he was the sweetest, bright-eyed guy you'd ever want to meet. To be in a meeting with him and have him fall asleep in front of you was gut-wrenching."
  While in the studio, a rough mix of the song "Grind" was leaked to radio and received major airplay. On October 6, 1995, the band released the studio version of the song to radio via satellite uplink.
caption: Alice in Chains is the last Alice in Chains studio album to feature original vocalist Layne Staley.
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