Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains was an influential grunge rock group formed by lead singer Layne Staley (1967-2002) in the mid-1980s as Alice N' Chains before the spelling of the name was changed. Along with

Alice in Chains was an influential grunge rock group formed by lead singer Layne Staley (1967-2002) in the mid-1980s as Alice N' Chains before the spelling of the name was changed. Along with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, Alice in Chains was one of the most commercially successful bands from the Seattle, Washington grunge music scene. Unlike many of their peers, Alice in Chains owed more to heavy metal than to punk or '70s rock, but the group became associated with grunge due to their Seattle roots and their introspective and sometimes morbid lyrics.

In 1987, Layne Staley met guitarist and song-writer Jerry Cantrell, who joined the newly renamed Alice in Chains, bringing along two friends, bassist Mike Starr and drummer Sean Kinney. The group began writing original material and playing clubs in Seattle.