Элис в Цепях: История создания альбома и трагедия Лейна Стейли

Alice in Chains (occasionally informally referred to as Three Legged Dog and Tripod) is the third studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on November 7, 1995, by Columbia Records, and was the follow up to the highly successful Dirt (1992). This is the band's first full length studio album to feature bassist Mike Inez and their last studio album to feature original lead vocalist Layne Staley before his death in 2002. It is also their final studio album to be released through Columbia. As with their previous releases, the album's songs focus on heavy emotional content and subject matter such as drug addiction, depression, religion, broken relationships, and the internal tensions within the band fueled by Staley's substance abuse. The album's music relies less on metallic riffs and more on melody and texturally varied arrangements, integrating some of the more delicate acoustic moods of their EPs. and stayed on the chart for 46 weeks. The tracks "Grind", "Heaven Beside You" and "Again" were released as singles. "Grind" and "Again" were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. The album was certified double platinum by the RIAA and has sold over three million copies worldwide.

After the release of Jar of Flies, vocalist Layne Staley entered rehab for heroin addiction. The band had been scheduled to tour during the summer of 1994 with Metallica, Suicidal Tendencies, Danzig and Fight, but while in rehearsal for the tour, Staley began using heroin again. They were replaced by Candlebox on the tour. While Alice in Chains was on hiatus, Staley joined the "grunge supergroup" Mad Season, while guitarist Jerry Cantrell worked on material originally intended for a solo album. Few of the songs on the album had been written before the sessions began, so Cantrell's material was used as a starting point. The band's manager Susan Silver said, " It was a really painful session because it took so long. It was horrifying to see [Layne] in that condition. Yet, when he was cognizant, he was the sweetest, bright eyed guy you'd ever want to meet. To be in a meeting with him and have him fall asleep in front of you was gut wrenching." While in the studio, a rough mix of the song "Grind" was leaked to radio and received major airplay. Of the album's four singles, "Grind", "Heaven Beside You", "Again" and "Over Now", three feature Cantrell on lead vocals, with the exception being "Again". Cantrell also wrote the lyrics for the songs for which he sang lead vocals. Regarding "Grind", Cantrell said it was written "pretty much at the height of publicity about canceled tours, heroin, amputations, everything, thus it was another 'FUCK YOU for saying something about my life' song."

The album is also known informally as "Tripod" or "Three Legged Dog Album" due to a three legged dog on the front cover and Frank Lentini on the back. The image of the dog on the cover was inspired by a three legged dog named Tripod that used to terrorize drummer Sean Kinney and chase him around during his paper work duty when he was a kid. Contrary to rumor, none of the dogs used for the photoshoot, the album cover or the music video belonged to Jerry Cantrell. Cantrell has said in interviews that he did not know the owner of the dog. On July 17, 2019, Schenck revealed on his Instagram account an alternative album cover featuring a three legged dog and kids playing at a playground.

To help promote the album, Columbia asked the band to do an EPK (Electronic Press Kit), a common marketing tool in the '90s in which they should talk about themselves, but they did not want to do that. The band took the money from the label and made the mockumentary The Nona Tapes instead. Directed by Rocky Schenck, it features Jerry Cantrell disguised as a female journalist, Nona Weisbaum, interviewing his bandmates playing fictionalized versions of themselves during a car ride in Seattle. The music video for "Grind" is also featured at the end. Columbia did not like The Nona Tapes at first and told the band they had wasted their money doing it. However, it became a cult hit and Columbia decided to sell it, but the band was against it. The video was eventually released on VHS in December 1995.

Although not as successful as Dirt, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 46 weeks. When asked about the frustration of not touring to support the record, Cantrell provided some insight into how Staley's addictions led to repercussive tensions within the band: "Very frustrating, but we stuck it out. We rode the good times together, and we stuck together through the hard times. We never stabbed each other in the back and spilled our guts and do that kind of bullshit that you see happen a lot." It was noted for being a break away from the externally applied grunge label affixed to the group. Jon Wiederhorn of Rolling Stone called the album "liberating and enlightening", noting that the songs "achieve a startling, staggering and palpable impact." Alice in Chains included the singles "Grind", "Heaven Beside You", and "Again", all of which had accompanying music videos. "Grind" and "Again" were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1996 and 1997, respectively. The music video for "Again" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Video at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards.

Year Single Peakposition US Air US Main US Mod CAN Alt UK1995 "Grind" — 7 18 53 3 23 1996 "Heaven Beside You" 52 3 6 — 7 35 "Again" — 8 36 — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.