One of the best bands to come out of the early '90s "grunge" scene was Alice In Chains. Their dark, brooding instrumentals avoided the clichéd crunch-and-scream style of so many metal bands, and the sinister, haunting harmonies between lead singer Layne Staley and songwriter/lead guitarist Jerry Cantrell were like nothing I'd ever heard before, But Staley's problems with drugs and depression put the future of the band in jeopardy, and with his death by overdose in 2002, all seemed lost for fans of Alice's singular sound.

Sure, Jerry put out a solo album, 1998's Boggy Depot, but he seemed to have lost his lyrical and musical direction. But his fans held onto hope, and in June 2002 he released Degradation Trip, only to re-release it five months later (slightly reworked) with an additional 11 (ELEVEN!) tracks as Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2. Three years later, I've finally gotten around to buying the double-CD set (having skipped the initial release), and even though I'm only halfway through the first CD, all I can say is WOW.

For all intents and purposes, Alice is back. Indeed, many would probably say that since Jerry was the chief songwriter, Alice didn't die with Layne. While Layne had a greater range than Jerry, this CD does not seem to suffer for his absence. Jerry seems to have adapted musically to the loss of his friend, and Degradation Trip is like a good cup of coffee - strong, dark and mysterious.

I'm been having some fun with the Band Name Generator, and some of them are really quite good:

• A Fistful of Pancakes
• Messiest Cat
• Black Wookiee
• Six Womyn and Their Man
• boxboy
• The Ganja Symphony
• Queer Noise

Others are oddly apt:

• The Bad Ganja Addiction

Or silly and a little scary:

Rasta Clown

AltaVista says this is a Rasta Clown.