Alice In Chains

Formed in 1987 in Seattle, Washington, USA, by Layne Staley (b. 22 August 1967, Kirkland, Washington, USA; vocals) and Jerry Cantrell (b. 18 March 1966, Tacoma, Washington, USA; vocals, guitar) with Mike Starr (bass) and Sean Kinney (b. 27 June 1966, Seattle, Washington, USA; drums), Alice In Chains developed a sound that mixed Black Sabbath -style riffing with Staley and Cantrell's unconventional vocal arrangements and strong songwriting. Cantrell had drifted from his home in Tacoma to Seattle, homing in on a musician's collective entitled the Music Bank. He brought in the rhythm section of Kinney and Starr, before Staley was recruited from a local funk metal act. After dispensing with their early moniker, "Fuck", they became Alice In Chains, a name invented by Staley for "a parody heavy metal band that dressed in drag".