The Alice in Chains song that confronts Layne Staley’s heroin addiction
The late Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley was one of the greatest rock leaders the world has ever seen. Fusing a remarkable vocal delivery with the type of star power that only comes naturally, he and the band’s guitarist, Jerry Cantrell, formed an emphatic duo and provided many cornerstones in the grunge and metal genres.
Tragically, however, Staley and Cantrell’s partnership would not last as long as it should have. Although they produced brilliant material together, like with others in the Seattle scene, their lives and careers would be marred by heroin addiction. These substance abuse issues led to Staley’s death after overdosing on a speedball in his apartment in 2002.
Staley’s addiction is a recurring theme in some of the most notable Alice in Chains songs. For instance, ‘Hate to Feel’, from the band’s 1992 masterpiece Dirt, grapples with the fact that a drug that started as an intriguing curiosity for the frontman eventually came to rule his life. He sings at one point in the track, “Used to be curious / Now the shit’s sustenance”.
Furthermore, the song ‘Junkhead’, one of the album’s highlights, lays it out even more explicitly. The track is a strange case in the sense that Staley and Cantrell appear to take ownership of drug addiction while also clearly conveying how nightmarish it is to be trapped in the depths of it. A wholly nihilistic effort, they describe how their use of narcotics has made them realise that life is “empty and bare”.
One song that serves as a particularly blue confrontation of Staley’s heroin addiction is ‘No Excuses’ from the band’s 1994 EP, Jar of Flies. The record arrived after the drug-ruled tour of Dirt the previous year, which culminated in original bassist Mike Starr being kicked out for his extensive use of narcotics. Furthermore, Staley’s condition worsened during this period, so the band opted not to tour the EP despite its success. The frontman entered a rehabilitation clinic after it was finished and, before too long, was working with the Seattle supergroup Mad Season.
Although Cantrell penned the lyrics, the words are about his unstable relationship with Staley due to the prominence of heroin and the essence of being addicted to the drug. The chorus also sees the frontman confront his addiction once more, singing into life Cantrell’s bleak picture of the strung-out state he had been in on numerous occasions: “Every day it’s something / Hits me all so cold / Find me sittin’ by me / No excuses, then I know”.
One of the song’s greatest triumphs is that regardless of their shaky relationship at the time, the pair maintain that they will look out for each other even if they grow apart: “You my friend / I will defend / And if we change, well I / Love you anyway”. This was clearly true. After the sickly Staley fluffed his lines during the band’s iconic 1996 MTV Unplugged appearance, it was Cantrell who came to the rescue.
Listen to ‘No Excuses’ below.
