Album
Facelift
Facelift is the debut studio album by Alice in Chains, released on 21 August 1990. It came out on Columbia in the band's home country of America, with "We Die Young" and "Man in the Box" issued as singles. It sits at the start of a run of studio records that continued with Dirt in 1992 and a self-titled album in 1995.
Its commercial story is the real draw. It reached No. 42 on the Billboard 200 and became the first grunge album to earn a gold certification from the RIAA, on 11 September 1991. It has since gone triple-platinum in the United States. "Man in the Box" earned a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal in 1992. Heavy metal, hard rock and grunge all meet here, which makes it a good place to hear the band before the grunge boom.
Facelift on Riffology
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Facelift: tracklist, credits and charts
12 tracks · 54:08Tracklist
- 1We Die YoungJerry Cantrell2:32
- 2Man in the BoxJerry Cantrell and Layne Staley4:47
- 3Sea of SorrowJerry Cantrell5:50
- 4Bleed the FreakJerry Cantrell4:02
- 5I Can’t RememberJerry Cantrell and Layne Staley3:43
- 6Love, Hate, LoveJerry Cantrell and Layne Staley6:27
- 7It Ain’t Like ThatCantrell, Kinney, Starr4:37
- 8SunshineJerry Cantrell4:45
- 9Put You DownJerry Cantrell3:16
- 10ConfusionCantrell, Starr, Staley5:44
- 11I Know Somethin (Bout You)Jerry Cantrell4:22
- 12Real ThingJerry Cantrell and Layne Staley4:04
- Produced by
- Dave Jerden
- Recorded at
- Capitol (Hollywood), London Bridge (Seattle)
- Recorded
- December 1989 – April 1990
- Mixed by
- Dave Jerden
- Mixed at
- Soundcastle
- Engineered by
- Ron Champagne, Dave Jerden
- Mastered by
- Eddy Schreyer
- Artwork
- David Coleman
- Photography
- Rocky Schenck
- Label
- CBS
- Length
- 54:08
Line-up
- Jerry Cantrell · electric guitar, background vocals
- Sean Kinney · percussion, drums (drum set), background vocals
- Mike Starr · electric bass guitar, background vocals
- Kevin Shuss · background vocals
- Layne Staley · lead vocals
Singles
- “We Die Young” · July 1990
- “Man in the Box” · January 1991
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1990–1991 | 42 |
| US Hard Rock · 2021 | 9 |
| US Alternative · 2021 | 11 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2021 | 24 |
| US Album Sales · 2021 | 27 |
| German Albums · 2021 | 41 |
| Italian Vinyl Records (FIMI) · 2021 | 88 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| New Zealand · 2025 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2022 | Silver |
| United States · 2022 | 3× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
76.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
9.8k
ListenBrainz listeners
200k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
15k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 21 August
Every year →
More from Alice in Chains
Full discography →
We Die Young
1990
Live Facelift
1991
Sap
1992
Dirt
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 1990
All of 1990 →
The Razors Edge
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Megadeth · 1990
Cowboys From Hell
Pantera · 1990
39/Smooth
Green Day · 1990
1985-03-15: Kabuki Theater, San Francisco, CA, USA
Metallica · 1990
No Prayer for the Dying
Iron Maiden · 1990
Seasons in the Abyss
Slayer · 1990
Live at Pompeii
Pink Floyd · 1990
TYR
Black Sabbath · 1990
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin · 1990
Slappy EP
Green Day · 1990
Empire
Queensrÿche · 1990
More on CBS
The label →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1990-08-28 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 28 August 1990 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 21 August 1990 | |
| Wikidata | 21 August 1990 | |
| US release | 28 August 1990 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 28 August 1990 | earliest UK or European date |
17 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Columbia | 5099746720124 | other |
| — | XE | Columbia | 5099746720124 | other |
| — | CA | Columbia | 074644607529 | other |
| 1990 | XE | CBS | 5099746720124 | other |
| 1990 | US | Columbia | 074644607529 | other |
| 1990 | US | Columbia | 888751047723 | other |
| 1990 | US | Columbia | 074644607543 | other |
| 1990 | XE | CBS | 5099746720124 | other |
| 1990 | NL | CBS | 5099746720117 | other |
| 28 August 1990 | XE | CBS | 5099746720117 | original |
| 28 August 1990 | US | Columbia | 074644607529 | original |
| 21 December 1990 | JP | CBS/Sony | 4988009535920 | other |
| 14 January 1991 | AU | CBS | 9399746720121 | other |
| 26 May 2015 | US | Columbia | 888751047624 | other |
| 13 November 2020 | US | Legacy | 194397838619 | other |
| 13 November 2020 | XW | Columbia | 888880462077 | other |
| — | — | Columbia | 5099746720124 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| coverartarchive | 1417×1417 | upscaled |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |