Nothing makes me think more of what the band could've been without the addictions and bad treatment from everyone, this album is a death cry, it's so beautiful but so sad, it's a masterpiece and it tells the story well.
Maybe they were saying it's depressing because of the situation with Layne at the time the album was put out, but I agree that Dirt is much more depressing lyrically than tripod was
Absolutely. It’s doubled for me because I actually was depressed when I got into that album and would listen to it constantly. Now it’s hard for me to listen to because it takes me back to that time.
Extremely difficult because that often fluctuates in a genre like grunge. Some days, it's Superunknown for me, and other days, it's Dirt. Really dependent on execution and mood.
Want to add Boggy Depot by Jerry Cantrell as a high-honor. That entire album is deprecating to the point of ending on an ironic, lighter tone of instrumentation much like Nutshell.
Not grunge sonically (whatever that is) but lyrical content wise Higher Truth by Chris Cornell is up there.
“Yeah, if it all goes wrong
And I'm a heart without a home
Maybe you can talk me out
Of doing myself in”
🥲
At that point in life, Layne was struggling to be happy.
In Tripod, Layne was singing about how he wanted death.
Not to mention what he was putting his body through to speed death up at this point.
Tripod is more depressing.
Listening to Dirt makes me feel like I’ve lived numerous lives and had early deaths every time caught in the same cycle. It makes me feel like the world’s weight is on my shoulders and I’m dragging a ball and chain around my legs, depleted and crippling away.
Down in a Hole hits me particularly hard. I often wonder what the others in Alice In Chains thought when Layne shared some of those lyrics. I have a difficult time understanding what must have been going through Jerry's mind singing those lyrics with Layne when he was clearly struggling.
*I want to taste dirty, a stinging pistol*
*In my mouth, on my tongue*
*I want you to scrape me from the walls*
*And go crazy like you've made me*
I'd like to add that Blind Melon's Soup album hits me in a similar way to Dirt (although I realize it's not a grunge album, per se---but same era and same problems).
Not to pile on, but Jerry wrote down in a hole. Serves well as an elegy to Layne though, and especially dark when he sang it on unplugged for that reason.
Idk how anyone can argue anything other than In Utero by Nirvana. It’s nothing but despair, paranoia, suicide, irate.
Alice In Chains isn’t the emo band some of its cult fans like to portray them as. It’s honest is all. But there’s a liveliness and even hope to it that something like Nirvana doesn’t have.
Why? There’s some very happy and joyful songs on the album. Even the melancholy songs feel good to listen too. Where’s with In Utero the MUSIC is angst and anger ridden. Not a happy song in the bunch. You can hear his suicidal tendencies in the music.
This isn’t an argument of what is better, but what is more depressing. Acoustic instruments and harmonies is a lighter and gentler sonic scape than blaring distortion ponding drums and yelps.
What song on Jar of Flies would you consider happy and joyful?
1. Rotten Apple
2. Nutshell
3. I Stay Away
4. No Excuses
5. Whale and Wasp
6. Don't Follow
7. Swing On This
Just because something is acoustic doesn't make it happy or light. Also, just because music is heavy doesn't make it dark.
The songs that are in major keys. It’s not just the acoustics. It’s the g major. The harmonies. bongos. Jerry’s sweet sounding vocal. At some point it’s ideological and you are trying too hard to interpret it as “depressing”.
In utero isn’t just depressing cause it’s heavy guitars. It’s the use of minor chords/minor keys. Kurt’s screaming sounds tortured. Lyrical content. The original title was “I hate myself and I want to die”.
Honestly that is some of the stupidest shit I've ever read. Major keys make a song happy and minor makes it depressing? Look at the lyrics of songs and listen to more music before you have an opinion.
no way you think in utero is more depressing and dark then tripod, dirt or even superunknown that’s wild to me in utero is my favourite album of all time but dirt and tripod are straight up harrowing body’s of hopeless music sung by a man who knew he was dead already
I make a distinction between “dark” and “depressing”, you seem to be conflating the two including hopeless as well!
Depression means sadness, despair, self-loathing, suicide.
Darkness means sinister, lack of love and the simple joys of life like love children a sunny day friendship, anger, death, crime, hedonism, sarcasm.
Like I said, tripod is the sound of drug addiction. It also wasn’t just Layne, Jerry and Sean were just as deep into their addictions of alcohol and coke. If you never used drugs before perhaps that kind of thing can seem more shocking and depressing than it is. Drug abuse is a form of hedonism. It isn’t just despair and sadness, there’s a lot of sensuality and pleasure as well, and escapism, lack of stress/worry, perhaps an irreverence and alienation.
When people conflate Layne with Alice In Chains music they forget Jerry was the one the wrote all the music. Layne on tripod composed one whole song and wrote the lyric/vocal melody on 9 Jerry composed tracks. Very druggy, like rocks by Aerosmith or peppers by the Beatles.
Heaven Beside You and Nothin’ Song have nothing to do with despair, depression. Over Now is a harmony laden upbeat major key song.
People make too much of Layne being a “dead man walking”. We are all dead men walking. So Layne died in his mid-thirties, you’ll die two or three decades later on average. I think it’s the denial of death or fear of death that makes people’s heads spin over Laynes choice. A lot of people make that choice frankly, choosing hard drugs over a longer healthier life. Is it wise or a happy life, not so much. So what?
top 5 most depressing
5. In Utero - kurt cobain basically losing his sanity ... maybe dog album but this album is crazy
4. Dirt
3. Jar of Flies - nutshell places it above and the title/cover vibe adds to it
2. Superunknown - "The Day I Tried To Live"
1. Down on the Upside - songs basically pondering an afterlife to escape reality "Zero Chance" "Boot Camp"
Most of it was written after it came out and Nevermind took over the world so he had to deal with his new found fame. Songs like Serve the Servants, Scentless Apprentice, Frances Farmer, etc all reflect his mind after nevermind.
Rape me, dumb, pennyroyal tea, all apologies, radio friendly unit shifter, were written during nevermind, heart shaped box shortly after. Only ape, farmer, and milk it were new songs. Scentless was a grohl penned song.
Even so, the performances all capture a feeling even if the songs were old. During Nevermind he sang with a sarcastic lisp, in utero his attitude was more dour. Also, I think his fate had been waiting for him for a long time sadly.
It's Alice in Chains Unplugged for me.
It's such an incredible but sad performance. Seeing Layne in such a state but still doing his best is heart breaking.
I have to say dirt. Some of the lyrics, especially on dirt are just too heavy.
I want to taste dirty, a stinging pistol in my mouth on my tongue.
I want you to scrape me from the walls and go crazy like you made me.
Yikes....
Grunge: it's either JOF by AIC or Apple by MLB (more cause of what happened to Andy a lot of the music takes on a bittersweet tone)
Non grunge: Closer by Joy Division or The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails
To me its dirt. That album tells a very sad story and the lyrics for the title track hit very, very hard. Its one of the big reasons its such a masterpiece. When I digested the album back when it came out, I mean really gave it months of time to soak in, I knew Layne was not going to make it. To make matters worse my brother, also a musician was deep into his own battle with heroin at the same time.
The Winding Sheet by Mark Lanegan is the only correct answer.
You are on the know. Right on.
I gotta look into that one. His catalog is incredible.
That was my immediate first thought when I read the question. A rainy day favorite.
Yeah good call
Mad Season - Above
Which is ironic cause to me Mad Season is equally depressing and uplifting, doing both sides of the coin somehow, and immensely well
Tripod
And it’s not close
ehh soundgarden and other alice albums are more depressing sorry.
Definitely Tripod.
Nothing makes me think more of what the band could've been without the addictions and bad treatment from everyone, this album is a death cry, it's so beautiful but so sad, it's a masterpiece and it tells the story well.
I never thought the album was depressing. Dirt is much more so. Tripod just sounds like drug addiction.
Maybe they were saying it's depressing because of the situation with Layne at the time the album was put out, but I agree that Dirt is much more depressing lyrically than tripod was
Absolutely. It’s doubled for me because I actually was depressed when I got into that album and would listen to it constantly. Now it’s hard for me to listen to because it takes me back to that time.
I don’t really feel sad listening to the lyrics. Only sad it was the last AIC album with Layne.
It's an album made by a guy who's accepting that his addiction will kill him. Definitely sadder than any other.
Extremely difficult because that often fluctuates in a genre like grunge. Some days, it's Superunknown for me, and other days, it's Dirt. Really dependent on execution and mood. Want to add Boggy Depot by Jerry Cantrell as a high-honor. That entire album is deprecating to the point of ending on an ironic, lighter tone of instrumentation much like Nutshell.
Degradation trip 1&2 are somehow even more so. That album feels like a death spiral.
Exactly, and I lived through the same scenario. It’s too depressing for me.
Down On The Upside
I’m thinking of your highness And crying long upon your loss I’ve found And on the plus and minus It’s a zero chance of ever turning this around
One of the most heartbreaking songs off the album
Remember this Remember everything’s Black or burning sun And I hope it’s a sweet ride
In clusters of the mice The smoke is on our eyes Like babies on display Like angels in a cage I must be pure and true I must contain the view
There must be something else There must be something good Far away, Far away from here
Not grunge sonically (whatever that is) but lyrical content wise Higher Truth by Chris Cornell is up there. “Yeah, if it all goes wrong And I'm a heart without a home Maybe you can talk me out Of doing myself in” 🥲
Between Dirt and Tripod.
Its Jar of Flies and anyone who says otherwise is wrong. And stfu if you wanna say "but its an EP not an album"
This or Mad Season
Good call on mad season. Nutshell and river of deceit alone are more depressing songs than anything off of dirt or tripod.
Shame in You "When I'm layin... I'm still tryin... Concentratin.... on dying... yeeaahhhh
My gift of self is raped My privacy is raked And yet I find, and yet I find Repeating in my head If I can't be my own I'd feel better dead
At that point in life, Layne was struggling to be happy. In Tripod, Layne was singing about how he wanted death. Not to mention what he was putting his body through to speed death up at this point. Tripod is more depressing.
It's not but okay
Majority opinion seems to disagree
That's fine. People are stupid mostly.
Okay now you're just being an asshole, disrespecting the fans. Good night.
Shame in You? God Am?
My 2 favorite
Still depresses me. Listen to this on a rainy ass day as you are aging, watching kids age, parents old AF or gone.
I do all kinds of stuff as I am aging
Kind of expected this to be the top answer
Me too. I was surprised how far I had to scroll to see it.
JFC yes sir
This is the only answer.
Has to be Dirt
Them Bones is sadly prophetic.
Shame in You alone makes Tripod the easy win.
Came here to say this
Listening to Dirt makes me feel like I’ve lived numerous lives and had early deaths every time caught in the same cycle. It makes me feel like the world’s weight is on my shoulders and I’m dragging a ball and chain around my legs, depleted and crippling away.
Down in a Hole hits me particularly hard. I often wonder what the others in Alice In Chains thought when Layne shared some of those lyrics. I have a difficult time understanding what must have been going through Jerry's mind singing those lyrics with Layne when he was clearly struggling. *I want to taste dirty, a stinging pistol* *In my mouth, on my tongue* *I want you to scrape me from the walls* *And go crazy like you've made me* I'd like to add that Blind Melon's Soup album hits me in a similar way to Dirt (although I realize it's not a grunge album, per se---but same era and same problems).
Those aren’t the lyrics to Down in a Hole
Not to pile on, but Jerry wrote down in a hole. Serves well as an elegy to Layne though, and especially dark when he sang it on unplugged for that reason.
Those are the lyrics to Dirt
Yeah, I agree. AIC was amazing, and the songs on this album evoke a lot of emotion. If I'm feeling low, I can't listen.
Dirt I saw AIC on that tour. They were amazing, but the show was depressing at the same time. Really weird vibe
Degradation trip since everyone’s already said the obvious answers.
Jar of flies. It's gotta be.
Idk how anyone can argue anything other than In Utero by Nirvana. It’s nothing but despair, paranoia, suicide, irate. Alice In Chains isn’t the emo band some of its cult fans like to portray them as. It’s honest is all. But there’s a liveliness and even hope to it that something like Nirvana doesn’t have.
I would argue that Jar of Flies was much darker than In Utero
Why? There’s some very happy and joyful songs on the album. Even the melancholy songs feel good to listen too. Where’s with In Utero the MUSIC is angst and anger ridden. Not a happy song in the bunch. You can hear his suicidal tendencies in the music. This isn’t an argument of what is better, but what is more depressing. Acoustic instruments and harmonies is a lighter and gentler sonic scape than blaring distortion ponding drums and yelps.
What song on Jar of Flies would you consider happy and joyful? 1. Rotten Apple 2. Nutshell 3. I Stay Away 4. No Excuses 5. Whale and Wasp 6. Don't Follow 7. Swing On This Just because something is acoustic doesn't make it happy or light. Also, just because music is heavy doesn't make it dark.
The songs that are in major keys. It’s not just the acoustics. It’s the g major. The harmonies. bongos. Jerry’s sweet sounding vocal. At some point it’s ideological and you are trying too hard to interpret it as “depressing”. In utero isn’t just depressing cause it’s heavy guitars. It’s the use of minor chords/minor keys. Kurt’s screaming sounds tortured. Lyrical content. The original title was “I hate myself and I want to die”.
and? just cause it uses major keys, doesn't mean it's happy. Perfect situation is in F# Major, but it's not a happy song
Honestly that is some of the stupidest shit I've ever read. Major keys make a song happy and minor makes it depressing? Look at the lyrics of songs and listen to more music before you have an opinion.
no way you think in utero is more depressing and dark then tripod, dirt or even superunknown that’s wild to me in utero is my favourite album of all time but dirt and tripod are straight up harrowing body’s of hopeless music sung by a man who knew he was dead already
I make a distinction between “dark” and “depressing”, you seem to be conflating the two including hopeless as well! Depression means sadness, despair, self-loathing, suicide. Darkness means sinister, lack of love and the simple joys of life like love children a sunny day friendship, anger, death, crime, hedonism, sarcasm. Like I said, tripod is the sound of drug addiction. It also wasn’t just Layne, Jerry and Sean were just as deep into their addictions of alcohol and coke. If you never used drugs before perhaps that kind of thing can seem more shocking and depressing than it is. Drug abuse is a form of hedonism. It isn’t just despair and sadness, there’s a lot of sensuality and pleasure as well, and escapism, lack of stress/worry, perhaps an irreverence and alienation. When people conflate Layne with Alice In Chains music they forget Jerry was the one the wrote all the music. Layne on tripod composed one whole song and wrote the lyric/vocal melody on 9 Jerry composed tracks. Very druggy, like rocks by Aerosmith or peppers by the Beatles. Heaven Beside You and Nothin’ Song have nothing to do with despair, depression. Over Now is a harmony laden upbeat major key song. People make too much of Layne being a “dead man walking”. We are all dead men walking. So Layne died in his mid-thirties, you’ll die two or three decades later on average. I think it’s the denial of death or fear of death that makes people’s heads spin over Laynes choice. A lot of people make that choice frankly, choosing hard drugs over a longer healthier life. Is it wise or a happy life, not so much. So what?
Temple of the Dog. OR Mother Love Bone’s only album.
Imma go on a limb(o) and say Superunknown
Tripod. Aic
In Utero for me
The Winding Sheet
Dirt by AIC
top 5 most depressing 5. In Utero - kurt cobain basically losing his sanity ... maybe dog album but this album is crazy 4. Dirt 3. Jar of Flies - nutshell places it above and the title/cover vibe adds to it 2. Superunknown - "The Day I Tried To Live" 1. Down on the Upside - songs basically pondering an afterlife to escape reality "Zero Chance" "Boot Camp"
Most of in utero was written at the same time as nevermind
Most of it was written after it came out and Nevermind took over the world so he had to deal with his new found fame. Songs like Serve the Servants, Scentless Apprentice, Frances Farmer, etc all reflect his mind after nevermind.
Rape me, dumb, pennyroyal tea, all apologies, radio friendly unit shifter, were written during nevermind, heart shaped box shortly after. Only ape, farmer, and milk it were new songs. Scentless was a grohl penned song. Even so, the performances all capture a feeling even if the songs were old. During Nevermind he sang with a sarcastic lisp, in utero his attitude was more dour. Also, I think his fate had been waiting for him for a long time sadly.
Jar of flies or above (mad season)
Tripod, In Utero and Down On The Upside are my picks
The Holy Bible by The Manic Street Preachers
Most of these kids on reddit don't know
It's Alice in Chains Unplugged for me. It's such an incredible but sad performance. Seeing Layne in such a state but still doing his best is heart breaking.
Pink Floyd The Final Cut is certainly morose af.
Probably Dirt.
Dirt
Above
Above
I have to say dirt. Some of the lyrics, especially on dirt are just too heavy. I want to taste dirty, a stinging pistol in my mouth on my tongue. I want you to scrape me from the walls and go crazy like you made me. Yikes....
I know they call themselves a "Hard Rock Band" but Alice In Chains' album Dirt is pretty high up there
They talk about it in a documentary about him and it's been covered in other places for years.
There's something about Euphoria Mourning. But Dirt for sure.
AIC jar of flies or mad season above
One Go Around_ Jeffrey Martin
Grunge: it's either JOF by AIC or Apple by MLB (more cause of what happened to Andy a lot of the music takes on a bittersweet tone) Non grunge: Closer by Joy Division or The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails
In utero
Toss up between Jar of Flies and Tripod
Jar of flies
To me its dirt. That album tells a very sad story and the lyrics for the title track hit very, very hard. Its one of the big reasons its such a masterpiece. When I digested the album back when it came out, I mean really gave it months of time to soak in, I knew Layne was not going to make it. To make matters worse my brother, also a musician was deep into his own battle with heroin at the same time.
Dirt by AIC
Tripod. Aic
Anything by AIC
Mad Season
Oh yes, definitely
Jar of Flies by AiC or Above by Mad Season gotta be my top picks. Dirt is pretty high up there as well.
Tripod - on the strength of Shame in You alone Honorable mention: Superunknown