Alice In Chains – “Jar of Flies” Turns 30 Years Old


Alice In Chains released their epic chill EP Jar of Flies (Columbia) on January 25th, 1994. The album is notable as the bands’ first number 1 album and the first Rock genre EP ever to land at #1 in the Soundscan Era. The album made a huge impact with several of the songs remaining in their setlist to this day. Read our deep-dive retrospective for the 25th anniversary of the album and jam out to the EP today and celebrate! Continue reading


CLASSIC ALBUMS REVISITED: Alice In Chains Chill Masterpiece “Jar of Flies” Turns 25 Years Old


Alice In Chains was on top of the world in 1993, or so they thought. Behind the success of 1992’s Rock chart-topping Dirt (Columbia) album, the band toured the world, played Lollapalooza, had songs on major movie soundtracks and more. But there were some issues arising in their camp that would shape their immediate future. The bands came off a raucous summer of touring in 1993 to find themselves evicted from their communal house in Seattle. The band had recently fired bassist Mike Starr (RIP)who co-founded the band. After recruiting bassist Mike Inez (Ozzy Osbourne) the band had toured some with him, and recorded a few of those soundtrack pieces with him, but nothing more/ The band moved into London Bridge Studios, where countless huge rock and metal albums were made, and AIC had created all of their albums at that point. The band was going to spend a few days just jamming with acoustic guitars and see what stuck. What they came up with was so much more. When they finished writing, they had the bones of their epic EP Jar of Flies (Columbia) in the can. Continue reading


Metallica’s Death Magnetic Was Released Ten Years Ago


Being the biggest band the world has ever seen, both in the mind of fans and in terms of success is not all wine and roses. Metallica has taken their fair share of hits in the career from the fans and press at times, casting a fair but unflattering light. One such case is Death Magnetic (Warner/Vertigo), released ten years ago today, on September 12th, 2008. Although the album was considered a return to form musically after St. Anger, production issues sent diehards and haters alike into fits over the sound quality. Continue reading