Seeing that Jerry had just lost his mother and grandmother, Layne invited the young genius to stay with him at Seattle’s Music Bank.Īfter Dirt, Layne would remain with his enchained brothers to record the masterpiece EP Jar of Flies (1994) and Alice in Chains’ 1995 self-titled album. The musicians encountered one another again after a show.

Jerryand Layne, on the other hand, first met at a house party, though the former had already seen the latter perform.

He and Sean had been jamming together since they were about nine years old. Mike Starr, the last person to see Layne alive, overdosed on March 8, 2011.ĭirt marked the end of Alice in Chains’ original lineup: It would be Mike Starr’s last album with AiCbefore he was replaced by Ozzy Osbourne’s Mike Inez. Tragically, Layne and Starr’s dependence on drugs proved fatal, “an infection not a phase.” Layne passed away exactly eight years after Kurt Cobain on April 5, 2002.

Dirt is a stone-cold sobering life-changer for which we can thank Alice in Chains’ original lineup: the late Layne Staley (vocals), the late Mike Starr (bass), Jerry Cantrell (guitar and additional vocals), and Sean Kinney (drums).

Alice in chains dirt album genius