Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release a remastered 30th-anniversary 2LP 12″ black vinyl edition of ALICE IN CHAINS‘ landmark album “Dirt” on Friday, September 23.
Originally released through Columbia Records on September 29, 1992, ALICE IN CHAINS‘ second full-length studio album established the band as formidable frontrunners in the alt-rock music revolution rolling out of the Pacific Northwest, achieving multi-platinum mainstream success while remaining true to an uncompromising underground sound and vision. “Dirt” was the last ALICE IN CHAINS album to be recorded with the Seattle group’s core four founding members: Jerry Cantrell (guitar, vocals),Sean Kinney (drums),Mike Starr (bass) and Layne Staley (lead vocals).
Walmart will be offering customers an exclusive apple red variant pressing of the 2LP 12″ vinyl 30th-anniversary edition of “Dirt”.
ALICE IN CHAINS will release an exclusive translucent orange variant of the 2LP 12″ vinyl 30th anniversary edition of “Dirt” as a D2C offering on the band’s web site. The AIC exclusive translucent orange pressing of “Dirt” will be available as a stand-alone purchase as well as a component in the ultimate “Dirt”super deluxe package which also includes a resin figurine custom sculpted girl from the album cover as a vinyl topper and magnet, four show posters, a 24″ square poster featuring the album cover and band photo, four reimagined “Dirt” album cover prints, a “Dirt” hardcover book with never-before-seen photos, CD with remastered audio, and the album’s five 7″ vinyl singles: “Them Bones”, “Down In A Hole”, “Rooster”, “Angry Chair” and “Would?” Each of the singles has been released with a music video, all previously up-rezzed to HD.
Box includes:
* Box with lid filled with metal shavings. Move shavings around to create your own dirt design using magnetic cover figurine
* Resin cover figurine fits atop vinyl records on your record player
* “Dirt” on orange 2LP for the first time with remastered audio
* “Dirt” on CD with remastered audio
* Five 7″ singles with brand new artwork on various colored vinyl: “Them Bones”, “Down In A Hole”, “Rooster”, “Angry Chair” and “Would?”
* 80-page hardbound book
* Exclusive “Dirt”-inspired art prints by Cody Melick, Victor Melendez, Brent McKee, and Eric Wolfe Sahlsten
* 2-sided foldout poster
* 8×10 band photo glossy
* Four reprinted show posters
* Reprinted setlist
* “Dirt” tour laminate
ALICE IN CHAINS began recording “Dirt” in the spring of 1992, working again with producer Dave Jerden, who’d helmed their debut studio album, “Facelift”, in 1990. Laying down tracks for “Dirt” at Eldorado Recording Studio in Burbank, California, London Bridge Studio in Seattle, and One On One Studios in Los Angeles from April to July 1992, ALICE IN CHAINS surpassed all expectations, creating one of the foundational albums of grunge and the best-selling album of the group’s career.
“Dirt” peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the Billboard charts for nearly two years. The album was voted Kerrang! Critic’s Choice Album of the Year for 1992 and in October 2011, Guitar World ranked “Dirt” as the #1 guitar album of 1992.
Two years ago, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich stated about “Dirt”: “It’s so inspiring. I think it’s crazy just how transparent and courageous the lyrics are, and it’s a cohesive piece of work. It still sounds as raw, transparent, honest, and courageous to my ears as ever before. I think in the earlier days I was just listening to the music and the riffs and now, hearing the vocals, lyrics, and themes, what an incredible record. It just still sounds so timely. It sounds literally like this could have been made last week.”
Over the course of its remarkable career, ALICE IN CHAINS has garnered multiple Grammy nominations, sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, and amassed a diehard international fanbase whose members number in the millions. Their discography features some of the biggest and most important albums in rock history, including 1992’s quadruple-platinum-certified “Dirt”, 1994’s triple-platinum-certified EP “Jar Of Flies”, which was the first EP in music history to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and 1995’s self-titled double-platinum-certified “Alice In Chains”, which also entered the Billboard Top 200 at No. 1. They returned in grand style in 2009 with the critically acclaimed “Black Gives Way To Blue”, which hit No. 1 across the rock and alternative charts, earned a Grammy nomination, was certified gold and hailed by Vice as “a record that’s as powerful as anything the band has done.” The band’s latest album released in 2018, “Rainier Fog”, hit No. 1 across Billboard‘s Rock, Alternative and Hard Music charts and No. 1 on the iTunes Rock album chart and earned them a Grammy nod for “Best Rock Album.” ALICE IN CHAINS remains one of the most successful and influential American rock bands of all time.
ALICE IN CHAINS has just hit the road for a co-headline tour with BREAKING BENJAMIN and special guest BUSH, running from August 10 through October 8. The band also recently partnered with Funko to launch a Pop! Album Deluxe to commemorate the “Dirt” anniversary featuring the four bandmembers.