Alice In Chains＜完全生産限定盤/Yellow Vinyl＞

アリス・イン・チェインズ 1995年リリースの セルフタイトル・アルバム『アリス・イン・チェインズ』

アリス・イン・チェインズが、1995年にリリースしたセルフタイトル・アルバム『Alice In Chains 』(アリス・イン・チェインズ)の発売30周年を記念し、蛍光イエローのヴァイナルがリリース。ダークで内省的な作品で、ヘヴィでスラッジィなリフと、心に残るメロディー、そしてアコースティックなテクスチャが融合し、アグレッシブでありながら、深いメランコリックさも併せ持つサウンドを生み出している。ボーカリスト、レイン・ステイリーを迎えたバンド最後のスタジオ・アルバムとなった。

Dispelling rumors of their demise due to Layne Staley's heroin addiction, Alice in Chains is a sonically detailed effort that ranks as their best-produced record, and its best moments are easily some of their most mature music. Alice in Chains relies less on metallic riffs and more on melody and texturally varied arrangements than the group's previous full-length albums, finally integrating some of the more delicate acoustic moods of their EPs. The lyrics deal with familiar AIC subject matter -- despair, misery, loneliness, and disappointment -- but in a more understated fashion, and the lyrics take on more uplifting qualities of toughness and endurance, which were missing from much of their previous work. The consistent visceral impact Alice in Chains lacks in comparison to that previous work is partially made up for by the skilled production and songs like "Grind," "Brush Away," "Over Now," and the hit ballad "Heaven Beside You," which are among the band's best work. Still, in spite of its many virtues, it's hard not to feel a little frustrated with the record, as though, given those qualities, it should have turned out better than it did -- there are some slow spots where the songs are undercrafted and not especially memorable, and those moments can make the band sound uncommitted and distracted. That, in turn, can make the defiance of songs like "Grind" ("you'd be well advised/not to plan my funeral 'fore the body dies") sound more like denial; just when Alice in Chains' music was finally beginning to emerge from the dark side, the intra-band problems became too much to bear and made Alice in Chains the last collection of new material the Staley-fronted AIC would release. ~ Steve Huey