DJ Allyn – The Soundtrack for my Life

Your Decision – Alice in Chains  

Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist Jerry Cantrell and vocalist Layne Staley. Although widely associated with grunge music, the band’s sound incorporates heavy metal and acoustic elements. The band is known for its distinct vocal style which often included the harmonized vocals of Staley and Cantrell.

Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s, along with bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden.

Following the demise of his band Sleeze in 1986, vocalist Layne Staley formed Alice N’ Chainz, a band which he said “dressed in drag and played speed metal”. The new band performed around the Seattle area playing Slayer and Armored Saint covers. Staley met guitarist Jerry Cantrell while working at Music Bank rehearsal studios, where the two struggling musicians became roommates, and lived in a rehearsal space they shared. Alice N’ Chainz soon disbanded and Staley joined a funk band who at the time also required a guitarist. Staley asked Cantrell to join as a sideman. Cantrell agreed on condition that Staley join Cantrell’s band Diamond Lie, which at the time included drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Starr. Eventually the funk project broke up and in 1987 Staley joined Cantrell on a full-time basis. Diamond Lie played in clubs around the Pacific Northwest, often stretching 15 minutes of material into a 45-minute set. The band eventually took the name of Alice in Chains.

Local promoter Randy Hauser became aware of the band at a concert, and offered to pay for demo recordings. However, one day before the band was due to record at the Music Bank studio in Washington, police shut down the studio during the biggest marijuana raid in the history of the state. The final demo was named The Treehouse Tapes, and found its way to the music managers Kelly Curtis and Susan Silver, who also managed the Seattle-based band Soundgarden. Curtis and Silver passed on the demo to Columbia Records’ A&R representative Nick Terzo, who set up an appointment with label president Don Ienner. Based on The Treehouse Tapes (a 1988 demo tape sold by the band at shows), Ienner signed Alice in Chains to Columbia in 1989.

Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s, along with other Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. The band was one of the most successful music acts of the 1990s, selling over 17 million albums worldwide. The band achieved two number-one Billboard 200 albums (Jar of Flies and Alice in Chains), 13 top ten songs on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and seven Grammy Award nominations.

Although never officially disbanding, Alice in Chains was plagued by extended inactivity due to Layne Staley’s problems with substance abuse, culminating in his death in 2002.

In 2005, guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney reunited to perform a benefit concert in Seattle for victims of the tsunami disaster that struck South Asia^] On March 6, 2006, the surviving members performed at VH1’s Decades Rock Live concert, honoring fellow Seattle musicians Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart. The band followed the concert with a short United States club tour, several festival dates in Europe, and a brief tour in Japan. Comes with the Fall vocalist William DuVall joined Alice in Chains as lead singer during the band’s reunion concerts.

Kinney mentioned in a February 2006 interview that he would be interested in writing new material, but not as Alice in Chains. He explained, “If we found some other dude, I’d love to move on, write some cool tunes and change the name and go on like that. I don’t see continuing as Alice and replacing somebody. … We’re not trying to replace Layne. We want to play these songs one more time, and if it seems like the right thing to do, it’ll happen. I don’t know how long it will go or where it will take us. It’s kind of a tribute to Layne and our fans, the people who love these songs. It’s not some ‘I’m broke and I need the money’ situation. We love playing together.”

In April 2009, the band went into Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 and laid down the tracks to their new album in ten years called, “Black Gives Way To Blue” — a tribute to Layne Staley –  which was released in September 2009.

Your Decision

This song has been commonly considered a song about former member, Layne Staley and  his “decision” to continue his abuse of drugs that finally killed him, but while there can be some parallels in the song, it has a much broader focus to those who might currently be engaging in destructive behavior.  It is about surviving pain choosing to live.

Time to change has come and gone
Watched your fears become your god
It’s your decision
It’s your decision

Overwhelmed you chose to run
Apathetic to the stunned
It’s your decision
It’s your decision

You feed the fire that burned us all
When you lied
To feel the pain that spurs you on
Black inside

No one plans to take the path that brings you lower
And here you stand before us all and say it’s over
It’s over

It might seem enough an afterthought
Yes it hurts it to know you’re bought
It’s your decision
It’s your decision

You feed the fire that burned us all
When you lied
To feel the pain that spurs you on
Black inside

It’s your decision
It’s your decision

No one plans to take the path that brings you lower
And here you stand before us all and say it’s over
It’s over
It’s over

• Audio from the 2009 album, Black Gives Way To Blue:

Other Songs Posted for this Artist

• February 17, 2010 -- I Stay Away – Alice In Chains
• January 27, 2010 -- Don’t Follow – Alice in Chains
• January 13, 2010 -- Black Gives Way to Blue – Alice in Chains
• November 12, 2009 -- Rooster – Alice in Chains
• September 19, 2009 -- Man in the Box ~ Alice in Chains
• July 5, 2009 -- Swing on This ~ Alice in Chains
• November 29, 2008 -- Sludge Factory ~ Alice in Chains
• September 3, 2008 -- Down in a Hole ~ Alice in Chains
• July 21, 2008 -- Brother ~ Alice in Chains
• July 5, 2008 -- Would? ~ Alice in Chains
• January 24, 2008 -- No Excuses ~ Alice in Chains
• November 5, 2007 -- Barracuda ~ Alice in Chains with Gretchen Wilson