Soundgarden and Alice In Chains are two of the most iconic bands of the 90’s, and two of the most influential artists to come out of the Seattle Grunge movement. Chris Cornell even collaborated with Alice In Chains on the Sap EP in 1992, singing on “Right Turn” with fellow guest Mark Arm from Mudhoney, forming the one off ‘Alice Mudgarden’ supergroup.
Alice In Chains’ landmark 1990 debut album Facelift celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this month, with the record immediately cementing Alice In Chains sound, a mix of heavy metal and brooding sludgy riffs, with Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell’s haunting harmonies defining and influencing a generation.
Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil recently told SPIN about how many artists aped the sound of Alice In Chains when discussing Facelift’s 30th anniversary.
Thayil said, “My favorite song on the album is ‘It Ain’t Like That.’ I always gravitate towards that song, and it’s one of those songs I wish I had written. Usually, when I love a song, it’s like, ‘Man, why didn’t I think of that?’ Not always. There are great songs by Sly and the Family Stone that I love, and have loved since I was a kid, but it would not fit my writing style.
But when I heard that riff, I thought, ‘Oh man, that’s the coolest thing.’ I love the groove. I love that’s its slinky and psychedelic, and I’ve had the opportunity to play that song with them onstage. That was fun, to be able to go up there and play that riff.
There are a couple of things that are very distinctly Alice in Chains. One is that harmony between Layne and Jerry — that interval, that was their thing. They influenced probably hundreds of successful commercial bands that have copped that harmony.
The other thing is Jerry’s bend – writing riffs with this particular sort of slinky and druggy bend. He incorporates that into a number of riffs, and those are identifiers for me. If I hear a new Alice song or album, I can distinguish it from their imitators when I hear that riff, that bend.”
