Alice in Chains: The Untold Story

Wow, what an emotional read. Being born in 1984, I have essentially grown up with AiC and the Seattle (plus STP) music scene. With that being said, I was not prepared for the story of AiC. David De Sola did a phenomenal job with the little resources he had available to tell the story of AiC. It's crazy reading about how little info there truly is about this band, because you assume with how popular they were there would be ample information.

Like most people who are going to get this book (I doubt it will bring in any new AiC fans), I had a general idea of what happened to the band and specifically Layne. But I was not prepared for all the information that I was going to read, in regards to Layne's personality, addiction and just outright downfall. I wish Jerry, Sean and Mike Inez contributed more to the book and it would have been great if there was more from Mike Starr before his ultimate demise. I have read a lot of musician biographies/autobiographies and this is easily one of the top in terms of research, my interest level and how much it has stuck with me since finishing. One of the gauges of a truly great book is how long it sticks with me after reading. There is a lot of reflection in this book, so much so, you get to know the band, specifically Layne, to where you want to travel back in time and slap sense into him.

With that being said, I think David did a great job making Layne out to be a troubled soul, but a gentle soul. After reading this, your thoughts of AiC and Layne will not be tarnished. They should be re-affirmed and uplifted, especially those of Jerry. It was re-assuring to see that in Layne's last 5 years, he was surrounded by friends and family as much as possible. All in all, this is a fantastic read for anyone interested in AiC. Just be prepared for it to make you sad, even if you know the story. This is one of those books where it will make you happy to be alive, healthy and tell those around you you are thankful and love them.

It's absolutely SHAMEFUL that there there are myriad books, reviews, shirts, stories, stickers, etc. written about Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, but only ONE book - THIS book - written about one of the greatest rock bands that ever came out of Seattle! Even more shameful, David de Sola was the one to figure out that there was that hole in the genre of 'books about rock bands' and strove to fill that hole himself. And God bless him for it.

Yet, it's not enough, IMHO. The story could have/should have gone much more in-depth, but no one was talking. De Sola did yeoman's work in putting out the best book he could with the pathetically small amount of information he was provided. The story really is one of the most harrowing in all of rock & roll: the demise of a shy, young, extremely gifted, very charismatic young man--Layne Staley--who, after rising to the top of the rock world, made the fatal mistake of choosing heroin over life, 'chasing the dragon' to his ultimate death--a long, slow, ugly death nearly 8 years in the making. A death 'self chosen' by him, the culmination of depression, early life traumas, and drug-induced emotional distress, all exacerbated by life in rainy, depressing Seattle, Layne simply could see no way out. Family, friends, medical professionals, and acquaintances all tried desperately to help him, but he would not be helped (he was in rehab 13 times, and died 5 times, brought back to life by emergency crews). In the end, no one knew how he passed the final years of his life; but he died all alone, ravaged by heroin, less than 90 lbs on his 6-foot frame, with the music world consequently barely acknowledging his greatness or even his life (completely overlooked by the Grammys during their 'those we lost' segment).

After heading up both the brilliant and unique Alice in Chains and the equally brilliant side project, Mad Season, Layne Staley hadn't even hit his peak by the time he died. He left a vast hole in music--and a world wondering 'what if?'--after being one of the first Seattle bands to get a major record label, and helping to spawn the 'Seattle sound' of grunge in the early 90s. As well, his loss devastated his AIC band mates, who, years later, reconstituted what was left of the band, now with William Duvall as secondary vocalist, along with the remarkable Jerry Cantrell (whose vocal harmonies and sludgy guitar riffs created the Alice in Chains 'sound,' and who wrote nearly all of their lyrics; he's also done several amazing solo albums). It's truly a tragedy on par with those of a Greek nature.

If you are a fan of Alice in Chains, Mad Season, rock & roll, or just music in general, this book is one you should not miss.

Very dry. Turns out the author, De Sola, just did research and pieced it together with no connection to the band or industry.
Would you get a tattoo from someone who didn't have any?
To ice the cake, this b-hole works for the worst media scum in existance.
This guy's career is a faux pas.
I thank my girlfriend for the nice gift, but eager to finish this book so I can move onto something, oh, I don't know, authentic?
De Sola, you look like a thumb wearing a tie; get bent, you hack.

Not well written at all. Very interesting subject matter but the writing is less than interesting.

I really enjoyed this book. I grew up listening to these guys, but I never knew each of their backgrounds. The book goes into really good detail talking about each band member. The author was thorough without being long-winded or boring. The book held my attention all the way through. Really good writing and reporting. I like how he checked his sources and gave alternate accounts of what different people said, then broke it down about what really happened. Poor Layne, that guy was so talented and died too soon!

This is an unauthorized biography of "Alice In Chains".
While the author didn't get cooperation from the band members he did a lot of research and it shows.
He did interview some of Layne Staley's family. And there are bios of every band member and their journey that ultimately led them to forming the band. Along with associates of the band.
It's a fascinating read with a lot of tragedy. The Seattle music scene with the deaths and the drugs were sad on many levels with rock stars dying so young. A message this book drives home is something that started before with heroin overdoses in the early 70s and continues today. Heroin addiction has claimed a lot of lives and Layne Staley is one of those and this book tells some of that tale. Mr. De Sola also writes about the talent in the studio, most notably the creative abilities of Jerry Cantrell and the vocal talent of Layne Staley.
This is a good read and it flows well. I recommend it.

I love AIC music and was very interested to read about the story and find out new things about them, however I feel this book was extremely hard to follow. One paragraph will have 2-6 different names and he said, she said, they said. Also a lot of the time lines were very vague. It was really confusing. I gave up after chapter 5 as I was getting bored and couldn't get sucked into the story at all.

I enjoyed reading this book.

This is a good book. It should not be called a book about Alice in Chains, it should be a book about Layne Staley. I love Layne Staley, so that is fine with me. However, it does have many parts that are slow and hard to get through, but other parts you can't put down. The pictures in the book are black and white, very grainy and if poor quality. But I would buy again, but doubt I will every read it twice.

This was a great read. It was really informative despite the lack of interviews with band members. I don’t often finish books but read this in just a few days, I couldn’t put it down.