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Facelift ist das Debütalbum der US-amerikanischen Rockband Alice in Chains, das am 21. August 1990 über Columbia Records veröffentlicht wurde. Produziert von Dave Jerden, markiert das Album einen stilistischen Übergang vom Glam Metal der 1980er Jahre hin zum düsteren Grunge-Sound, der die 1990er Jahre prägte. Mit einer Laufzeit von 54:02 Minuten enthält Facelift zwölf Tracks, darunter die Singles „We Die Young“, „Man in the Box“, „Sea of Sorrow“ und „Bleed the Freak“. „Man in the Box“ wurde 1992 für einen Grammy in der Kategorie „Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal“ nominiert und trug maßgeblich zum kommerziellen Erfolg des Albums bei. Obwohl Facelift zunächst nur mäßige Verkaufszahlen erreichte, verhalf die regelmäßige Rotation des Musikvideos zu „Man in the Box“ auf MTV dem Album zu größerer Bekanntheit. Es erreichte Platz 42 der Billboard 200 und wurde später mit dreifachem Platin ausgezeichnet. Kritiker lobten die Kombination aus Layne Staleys eindringlichem Gesang und Jerry Cantrells schweren Gitarrenriffs, die dem Album eine düstere und intensive Atmosphäre verleihen. Facelift gilt als eines der ersten Grunge-Alben, das kommerziellen Erfolg erzielte, und ebnete den Weg für nachfolgende Veröffentlichungen im Genre.
User Album Review
God fucking damn I love this album, man. So much so that I find it hard to express in coherent sentences just what it is that makes me return to this album again and again (and again and again and again ad infinitum). In fact, my entire review could just read: YEAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!11
But that wouldn't be very descriptive now, would it? I think that the best way to describe this album for me would be something which is a sum far greater than that of its parts. The whole thing exudes a certain charisma and character which, in my ears, makes it infinitely interesting and an opus which just resonates strongly with me. Literally every song on here contributes something to the overall appeal of Facelift
The show is stolen here by two guys, really, and it's the most obvious two: Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell. Staley is at his peak here, delivering a performance of raw feeling and boundless energy which explain easily why he's one of my favourite vocalists of all time. Throughout the album, he simply elevates the songs to a level above what the band would ever reach again (and it's not as if their discography is littered with terrible albums). But while Staley is the most obvious asset to this album, the very soul of Alice in Chains, Jerry Cantrell, works away for 54 minutes providing us with his own inimitable style based on straight-up metallic riffage ("We Die Young") and sludgy, weirdly melodic sections (like, every song, but I guess I'd highlight "Sunshine," "Man in the Box," "Real Thing" (more metallic) and maybe "Confusion")
Musically, Facelift is probably classifiable as riffy, grungy alt-metal (not an attractive sound I know), which does not begin to do this justice, not the least for the depth and breadth of emotions and sounds here on display here, from the sinister rockers ("Love Hate Love", "Bleed the Freak") to the bleak acoustic tunes ("I Can't Remember") and the oddly engaging, slower, almost wistful songs ("Sunshine", "Confusion"). There's also funk ("I Know Somethin' ('Bout You)"), probably a holdover from Cantrell and Staley's days in the same funk band, which feels nowhere near as out of place as it should do on this, serving to highlight how well it flows together.
It's difficult to highlight individual tracks here for praise, since they're all so damn good. Opener "We Die Young" is simply one of the best songs of all time. Period. No arguments. In fact, I have constructed a shrine in my living room for the sole purpose of giving praise to this 152 seconds of pure, unadulterated brilliance. Third track "Sea of Sorrow" also fills me with a strong urge to don garments made solely of flannel, sunglasses and gain a drug addiction just to appreciate this track to the level it needs to be appreciated at. A song like "Love, Hate, Love" also manages to contain more atmosphere in 6-and-a-half gloriously foreboding minutes than atmospheric black metal bands have packed into their entire careers (of note are Layne's genuinely chilling wails during the second half of the song).
In conclusion, regardless of your thoughts on the grunge movement as a whole, Alice in Chains' debut LP is a monument to be worshiped and hailed for all time. I mean, this is Ozzy fucking Osbourne's 2nd favourite metal album of all time - what more could you possibly want?* Dive in.
*aside, of course, from Ozzy Osbourne's favourite metal album of all time.
SOURCE: https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Alice_in_Chains/Facelift/3958/
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