BMRA Round 2-Dirt vs. Sublime

[PlayingWithFire]

Alice In Chain's Dirt

Review by Steve Huey

Dirt is Alice in Chains' major artistic statement and the closest they ever came to recording a flat-out masterpiece. It's a primal, sickening howl from the depths of Layne Staley's heroin addiction, and one of the most harrowing concept albums ever recorded. Not every song on Dirt is explicitly about heroin, but Jerry Cantrell's solo-written contributions (nearly half the album) effectively maintain the thematic coherence -- nearly every song is imbued with the morbidity, self-disgust, and/or resignation of a self-aware yet powerless addict. Cantrell's technically limited but inventive guitar work is by turns explosive, textured, and queasily disorienting, keeping the listener off balance with atonal riffs and off-kilter time signatures. Staley's stark confessional lyrics are similarly effective, and consistently miserable. Sometimes he's just numb and apathetic, totally desensitized to the outside world; sometimes his self-justifications betray a shockingly casual amorality; his moments of self-recognition are permeated by despair and suicidal self-loathing. Even given its subject matter, Dirt is monstrously bleak, closely resembling the cracked, haunted landscape of its cover art. The album holds out little hope for its protagonists (aside from the much-needed survival story of "Rooster," a tribute to Cantrell's Vietnam-vet father), but in the end, it's redeemed by the honesty of its self-revelation and the sharp focus of its music. [Some versions of Dirt feature "Down in a Hole" as the next-to-last track rather than the fourth.]

Sublime's self titled album(sorry 40 oz of freedom didn't get in. I had to pick one, and though I like 40 oz more. The consensus seems to be this album)

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Sublime's eponymous major-label debut arrived a few months after the band's leader, Brad Nowell, died tragically of a heroin overdose. As a show of sympathy, the album tended to be slightly overrated in some critical quarters, who claimed that Nowell was an exceptionally gifted lyricist and musical hybridist, but Sublime doesn't quite support those claims. The trio does have a surprising grace in its unabashedly traditionalist fusion of Californian hardcore punk, light hip-hop, and reggae. Switching between bracing hardcore and slow, sexy reggae numbers, Sublime display supple, muscular versatility and, on occasion, a gift for ingratiatingly catchy hooks, as on the hit single "What I Got." What they don't have is the vision -- either lyrical or musical -- to maintain interest throughout the course of the entire album. Sublime sags when the band delves too deeply into their dub aspirations or when their lyrics slide into smirking humor. The low moments don't arrive that often -- by and large, the album is quite engaging -- but they happen frequently enough to make the record a demonstration of the band's blossoming ability, but not the fulfillment of their full potential. Of course, Nowell's death gives the record a certain pathos, but that doesn't make the album any stronger.

[PlayingWithFire]

not really in the mood now for Alice in Chains and generally I think their music are too grim and depressing for my taste(RHCP music is just so cheerful, even when they are not singing about cheerful stuff). But they are great music.

[acsguitar]

Dirt although i think I accidentally voted Sublime

[Tavish]

Facelift was the best album to come out of the grunge era, Dirt isn't too far behind. AIC was one of the great metal bands ever and Dirt gets my vote over every other albums still in the battle. Sublime's album is too overproduced for their music. The band sound is much better in a rawer form like on 40 oz.

[BritSox]

Voted against Dirt in the first round, but will back it here.

[acsguitar]

Facelift was the best album to come out of the grunge era, Dirt isn't too far behind. AIC was one of the great metal bands ever and Dirt gets my vote over every other albums still in the battle. Sublime's album is too overproduced for their music. The band sound is much better in a rawer form like on 40 oz.

40oz was way better. Don't they use like 10 different guitarists on this album

[Dr. Duran Duran]

Dirt is a true grunge masterpiece and one of the very first CD's I purchased back in high school. R.I.P. Layne.

[statsman88]

I'll take Dirt here.

[pokeyjoe]

I like 40 Oz better, but Sublime is one of my favorite bands so I can't really go against them here.

[Omaha Red Sox]

Definitely Alice in Chains.