Jerry Cantrell On How ‘Man In The Box’ Changed Alice In Chains’ Career

Alice In Chains vocalist Jerry Cantrell recently appeared in a conversation with Pop! Talk with his bandmate Sean Kinney. Cantrell explained how ‘Man In the Box’ from the band’s debut album changed the audience’s perception of the band.

The band was formed in Seattle by Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney in 1987 and was a part of the growing grunge scene. Alice In Chains’ sound carried heavy metal elements but it also attracted the audience with the harmonized vocals shared between Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell.

During the grunge movement of the ’90s, the band reached a worldwide audience with the other Seattle bands, such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam. AIC’s initial success was with the debut album ‘Facelift,’ which became the first gold-certified album of the grunge movement. Also, the track ‘Man in the Box’ was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal in the Grammys.

In 1991, the band became the opening act for the Clash of the Titans with notable names like Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth. Although AIC had a chance to introduce themselves to a broad metal audience, they were not welcomed nicely by some listeners and became the subject of some hostilities.

Recently, Jerry Cantrell recalled that concert tour and mentioned it was an excellent chance for them to perform in such a big event. He revealed that they faced brutality in the first part of the show as some people were not satisfied with them and booed them. However, as Cantrell noted, things changed for the band after ‘Man in the Box’ became a hit while the tour continued. Thanks to this song, the audience started to enjoy and wanted to spend time with the band.

Jerry Cantrell said the following, recalling their participation in the Clash of the Titans tour:

“We were just kind of slugging it out in clubs and stuff, and we got asked to be part of the Clash of the Titans with Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer. The first half of that was pretty brutal, but we kind of really enjoyed that part of it because people were throwing sh*t all the time and booing us and stuff. In the middle of that tour, that’s when radio and MTV all kind of clicked and hit — ‘Man in the Boxkind of hit in the middle of that tour.”

You can check out the interview below.