Album
Dirt
Dirt is the second studio album by Alice in Chains, released by Columbia on 29 September 1992. It was the last record the band made with all four original members, as bassist Mike Starr was dismissed in January 1993 while they were touring it. Jerry Cantrell wrote most of the songs, but Layne Staley wrote two on his own, "Hate to Feel" and "Angry Chair", and played guitar on them. Slayer's Tom Araya turns up on vocals for "Iron Gland".
It is a dark, unflinching record, dealing with depression, pain, anger, addiction (mainly heroin), war and death. Five singles came from it, each with a video: "Would?", "Them Bones", "Angry Chair", "Rooster" and "Down in a Hole". It reached number 6 on the Billboard 200, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance, and is certified 5× platinum in the US, the band's biggest seller. It climbed back into the US top 10 in 2022 with its 30th anniversary reissue.
Dirt on Riffology
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Dirt: tracklist, credits and charts
13 tracks · 57:36Tracklist
- 1Them BonesJerry Cantrell2:30
- 2Dam That RiverJerry Cantrell3:09
- 3Rain When I DieCantrell, Kinney, Staley, Starr6:02
- 4Down in a HoleJerry Cantrell5:37
- 5SickmanJerry Cantrell and Layne Staley5:31
- 6RoosterJerry Cantrell and Danny Elfman6:15
- 7JunkheadJerry Cantrell and Layne Staley5:09
- 8DirtJerry Cantrell and Layne Staley5:17
- 9God SmackJerry Cantrell and Layne Staley3:51
- 10Iron GlandJerry Cantrell0:43
- 11Hate to FeelLayne Staley5:17
- 12Angry ChairLayne Staley4:48
- 13Would?Jerry Cantrell3:27
- Produced by
- Alice in Chains, Alice in Chains, Dave Jerden, Dave Jerden, Tony Wilson, Rick Parashar
- Recorded at
- Eldorado (Burbank), London Bridge (Seattle), One on One (Los Angeles)
- Recorded
- April–July 1992
- Mixed by
- Dave Jerden, Rick Parashar
- Engineered by
- Bryan Carlstrom, Dave Jerden, Mike Walter, Rick Parashar
- Label
- Columbia
- Length
- 57:36
Line-up
- Jerry Cantrell · guitar, background vocals, vocals, lead vocals
- Sean Kinney · drums (drum set)
- Mike Starr · bass guitar
- Layne Staley · lead vocals, guitar
- Tom Araya · lead vocals · guest
Singles
- “Would?” · 8 June 1992
- “Them Bones” · 14 September 1992
- “Angry Chair” · 30 November 1992
- “Rooster” · 22 February 1993
- “Down in a Hole” · 14 September 1993
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1992–1993 | 6 |
| UK Albums Chart · 2022–2025 | 36 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2022–2025 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) · 2022–2025 | 5 |
| Scottish Albums · 2022–2025 | 7 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) · 1992–1993 | 11 |
| Portuguese Albums · 2022–2025 | 11 |
| Swedish Albums · 1992–1993 | 11 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1992–1993 | 13 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1992–1993 | 15 |
All 25 charts
| Dutch Albums · 1992–1993 | 17 |
| Spanish Albums · 2022–2025 | 17 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2022–2025 | 23 |
| Finnish Albums · 2022–2025 | 24 |
| Swiss Albums · 2022–2025 | 24 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1992–1993 | 25 |
| German Albums · 2022–2025 | 25 |
| Danish Albums · 2022–2025 | 27 |
| Polish Albums · 2022–2025 | 27 |
| Ireland 3 · 2022–2025 | 28 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1992–1993 | 36 |
| Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ) · 2022–2025 | 39 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) · 2022–2025 | 40 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2022–2025 | 55 |
| Austrian Albums · 2022–2025 | 62 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 2022 | Platinum |
| Canada | Platinum |
| New Zealand · 2026 | Platinum |
| United Kingdom | Gold |
| United States · 2022 | 5× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
85.5
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
13k
ListenBrainz listeners
295k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
65k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 29 September
Every year →
More from Alice in Chains
Full discography →
We Die Young
1990
Facelift
1990
Live Facelift
1991
Sap
1992
Jar of Flies
1994
Alice in Chains
1995
MTV Unplugged
1996
Nothing Safe: The Best of the Box
1999
Music Bank
1999
Live
2000
Greatest Hits
2001
The Essential Alice in Chains
2006
Black Gives Way to Blue
2009
The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
2013
Jar of Flies/ Sap
2016
Rainier Fog
2018
The best of 1992
All of 1992 →
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine · 1992
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden · 1992
Vulgar Display of Power
Pantera · 1992
Countdown to Extinction
Megadeth · 1992
Angel Dust
Faith No More · 1992
Incesticide
Nirvana · 1992
Hormoaning
Nirvana · 1992
Dehumanizer
Black Sabbath · 1992
Broken
Nine Inch Nails · 1992
Live
AC/DC · 1992
Creep
Radiohead · 1992
Live at Wembley ’86
Queen · 1992
More on Columbia
The label →
A Momentary Lapse of Reason
Pink Floyd · 1987
Black Ice
AC/DC · 2008
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains · 1995
Power Up
AC/DC · 2020
Rock or Bust
AC/DC · 2014
But Here We Are
Foo Fighters · 2023
Jar of Flies/ Sap
Alice in Chains · 2016
MTV Unplugged
Alice in Chains · 1996
p·u·l·s·e
Pink Floyd · 1995
Sap
Alice in Chains · 1992
We Die Young
Alice in Chains · 1990
Generation Terrorists
Manic Street Preachers · 1992
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1992-10-22 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 22 October 1992 | ignored lone early release dated 1992-09-29 |
| Wikipedia infobox | 29 September 1992 | |
| Wikidata | 29 September 1992 | |
| US release | 29 September 1992 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1992 | earliest UK or European date |
19 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | XE | Columbia | 5099747233012 | other |
| 1992 | — | Columbia | 074645247526 | other |
| 1992 | AU | Columbia | 9399747233026 | other |
| 1992 | XE | Columbia | 5099747233029 | other |
| 1992 | CA | Columbia | 074645247526 | other |
| 1992 | XE | Columbia | 5099747233029 | other |
| 1992 | US | Columbia | 074645247526 | other |
| 1992 | XE | Columbia | 5099747233029 | other |
| 1992 | XE | Columbia | 5099747233029 | other |
| 29 September 1992 | US | Columbia | 074645247526 | original |
| 22 October 1992 | JP | Sony Records | 4988009599328 | other |
| 22 October 1992 | JP | Sony Records | 4988009599328 | other |
| 1993 | XE | Columbia | 5099747233067 | other |
| 2001 | XE | Columbia | 5099747233029 | other |
| 2003 | XW | Columbia | 074645247526 | other |
| 23 November 2009 | XE | Columbia | 886973529010 | remaster |
| September 2022 | XW | Columbia | 074645247526 | remaster |
| 23 September 2022 | XE | Columbia | 194399867716 | remaster |
| 23 September 2022 | US | Columbia | 194399535417 | remaster |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |