Alice in Chains and its Seattle brethren first made heavy metal fans uneasy. It was “Man in the Box,” with its tortured singing and wah-wah guitar riff that forged an unlikely alliance between alt-rockers and metalheads. Quite rightly! This is one of the greatest alternative rock songs of the ’90s.
But why’s the man in the box anyway? And, how did Alice in Chains produce such a memorable single? I’m looking at the story and lyrical meaning of “Man in the Box.”
Alice in Chains’ Journey to Making “Man in the Box”
Alice in Chains is one of the greatest bands in alternative rock history. Gigantic-sounding, gloomy compositions are the group’s calling card.
But before that, the musicians were happy to play overblown hair metal to little success. Guns N’ Roses inspired Alice in Chains. The group was powered by Layne Staley’s competent, operatic vocals and by the ever ambitious songwriter and guitarist, Jerry Cantrell.
By the late 1980s, Alice in Chains was managed by Susan Silver, who also handled Soundgarden, and had taken a shine to the detuned, Black Sabbath-influenced sound of their Seattle neighbours.
“Facelift,” Alice in Chains’ debut, was released in 1990. It wasn’t an immediate success. The band was tasked with touring the record and opening for heavy metal groups like Slayer, routinely receiving abuse from metalheads.
“Man in the Box” was the unexpected hit single. It opened Alice in Chains up to a global audience nearly one year prior to the release of Nirvana‘s hugely successful “Nevermind” album.
The Meaning of the Lyrics to “Man in the Box”
The vast majority of Alice in Chains deal with the darker aspects of human existence. “Man in the Box” is no different.
“Man in the Box” was inspired by the heart-rending image of veal calves being transported in overcrowded trucks. Staley, who wrote the lyrics, had first set out to write a song against censorship in the U.S.A. He used the idea of animals stuck in cages to provide a fitting metaphor for consumerism and lack of choice.
In later interviews, Staley said that, ultimately, he decided against writing a directly political song, feeling that the image of the calf being slaughtered better reflected his ideas.
The song may have, in some ways, also foreshadowed lead singer Layne Staley’s tragic fate. By the mid-1990s, the musician had developed a serious drug problem that would, ultimately, claim his life.
Jerry Cantrell was the principal songwriter for the band, although the credits are shared here with Staley. The song’s well-known and often covered by bands. Cantrell’s main guitar riff, played using a wah-wah pedal (a trick picked up from Bon Jovi), and Staley’s dark tenor singing are often used to showcase the skill of young bands.
The Music Video for “Man in the Box”
“Facelift” was a heavily promoted record, not least because of the success previously enjoyed by Soundgarden and Jane’s Addiction.
The music video for “Man in the Box” was directed by Paul Rachman, who had worked with several hardcore punk bands like Bad Brains and Suicidal Tendencies. The shoot took place on a farm in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Staley produced the concept for the music video and suggested the image of the hooded caretaker with his eyes shown shut.
Shot in black and white, given a sepia look, and purposely designed to look mournful, the music video’s style was copied often by grunge and metal bands of the 1990s.
The Legacy of Alice in Chains and “Man in the Box”
Jerry Cantrell later revealed that few at the record company trusted “Man in the Box” to be a single. It did, however, open up the band to a large rock audience.
While Nirvana and Pearl Jam did steal some of the spotlight in the early 1990s, AiC’s next album, “Dirt”, was a number one hit across the board.
The group’s initial success was short-lived. Staley’s increasing drug issues meant that the band only produced a handful of additional releases during the decade. The band reunited in 2006 with singer William DuVall filling up the line-up.
“Man in the Box” was a staple of the band’s live show. Fittingly, perhaps, it was the final show that the incredibly talented Layne Staley sang at his last Alice in Chains concert.
