Alice In Chains: Jar Of Flies (12"EP, 30th anniversary edition, remastered) [COLUMBIA/LEGACY]

Why you'll love it

Jar Of Flies was the first EP ever to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and it has sold nearly five million copies. This 30th anniversary edition is newly remastered, with "No Excuses," "Nutshell" and "I Stay Away" sounding better than ever.

This edition

• 30th anniversary edition
• Newly remastered
• 12-inch EP

About the album

Alice in Chains had achieved unlikely mainstream success by dealing in an uncompromising breed of sludgy grunge-metal all their own on 1990's Facelift and 1992's Dirt, so it created quite a tizzy when the Seattle quartet turned down their amps, dialled back the angst a bit and allowed themselves to sound almost pretty (albeit in a dark-hued manner) on the much-beloved Jar Of Flies EP.

No one was more surprised by its success than Alice in Chains itself, since the band had gone into the studio for a week after getting off the road in September 1993 with no greater ambitions than getting to know new bassist Mike Inez. "After playing loud music for a year, we'd come home and the last thing we wanted to do was crank up the amps right away," drummer Sean Kinney told Guitar World. "We just went into the studio with no songs written, to check out the chemistry. It all fell into place."

It did. Jar Of Flies remains a fan favourite amongst the Alice in Chains faithful, and features some of the finest vocal performances Layne Staley ever committed to tape.

Also at Kops: more Alice In Chains on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Columbia / Legacy (cat# 19658800371), the 30th anniversary edition of the 1994 EP.