Some bands are confident that their music represents their attributed genres and establish their careers based on specific sounds. While they can shift and change genres throughout the years, some decide not to label themselves to a particular genre. These attributes change, and bands can also say they are part of a stable flow while fans think otherwise.
Alice In Chains is one of those bands attributed to a genre by the fans. They are one of the most successful bands of the 90s, and they reached this success by selling over 20 million records worldwide, 14 million only in the US. While they are part of a general metal sound, they were also considered grunge. But Jerry Cantrell disagrees with this claim.
How Does Jerry Cantrell Define Alice In Chains’ Genre?
No matter what anyone says, Cantrell defines Alice In Chains’ sound as a metal since the band has been heavily influenced by the metal bands that came before them. The establishment of Alice In Chains with Layne Staley occurred in the late 80s. They made a name for themselves until Staley tragically passed away in 2002. The band members decided to continue after the singer’s death.
Jerry Cantrell revived Alice In Chains, eventually taking over the vocal duties himself. They never defined themselves as a grunge band but rose to prominence before Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ raised the underground music to commercial ground. They were also an underground band that went mainstream, usually mixed with grunge. According to Cantrell, although there are hints of punk, they are not solely a grunge band.
Here is what Cantrell said about the genre of Alice in Chains?
“We’re a lot of different things … I don’t quite know what the mixture is, but there’s definitely metal, blues, rock, and roll, maybe a touch of punk. The metal part will never leave, and I never want it to.”
In 2013, the vocalist said that the band is a mixture of sounds, including blues, rock, and punk. He was unsure of describing it because it could be any mixture, according to him. However, he was sure that the band was a metal band and perhaps a heavy metal band rather than rock.
