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allmusic.com...

In many ways, Alice in Chains was the definitive heavy metal band of the early '90s. Drawing equally from the heavy riffing of post-Van Halen metal and the gloomy strains of post-punk, the band developed a bleak, nihilistic sound that balanced grinding hard rock with subtly textured acoustic numbers. They were hard enough for metal fans, yet their dark subject matter and punky attack placed them among the front ranks of the Seattle-based grunge bands. While this dichotomy helped the group soar to multi-platinum status with their second album, 1992's Dirt, it also divided them. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell always leaned toward the mainstream, while vocalist Layne Staley was fascinated with the seamy underground. Such tension drove the band toward stardom in their early years, but following Dirt, Alice in Chains suffered from near-crippling internal tensions that kept the band off the road for the remainder of the '90s and, consequently, the group never quite fulfilled their potential.

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Original Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr was found dead by police in a Utah home on Tuesday morning. He was 44. Starr, who had been jailed last month for drug possession in Salt Lake City, had battled drug addiction for many years and appeared on VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2009. While on the show, Starr revealed that he had left Alice in Chains due to his increasing drug use. Alice in Chains' lead singer Layne Staley died from an overdose of heroin and cocaine in 2002.