During their most recent tour stop in Anaheim last night, grunge icons Alice In Chains whipped out a classic tune from their self-titled album from 1995 that rarely gets any live play these days.
Fronted by William DuVall for the last 17 years (oh no, we’re all getting older…), the band has long had a history of playing fan-favorite tracks from the Layne Staley era. Yet it turned out that last night was a special occasion, as once he was done dealing with some guitar issues, Jerry Cantrell and the guys launched into the slow and dour song “Sludge Factory.”
Though certainly not as big as some of that album’s hits like “Again,” “Heaven Beside You,” and “Grind,” “Sludge Factory” is an exceptional track. It’s particularly great in the band’s MTV Unplugged performance, Layne’s initial fuck up and all.
According to Setlist.FM, the song had only been played twice last year and prior to that, it hadn’t been played live since 2016 and even then, it was only a handful of times. Surprisingly enough, according to Setlist’s data, the song saw the most play in 2006 when the band got back together after recruiting DuVall to handle vocals.
Alice in Chains is currently out on tour in support of Guns N’ Roses, with some added headlining days sprinkled in between. You can find out where they’re playing using the list of dates below.
Tour dates:
Sep. 23 – Kansas City, MO – Kauffman Stadium (supporting GUNS N’ ROSES)
Sep. 24 – Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Theater
Sep. 26 – San Antonio, TX – Alamodome (supporting GUNS N’ ROSES)
Sep. 28 – Houston, TX – Minute Maid Park (supporting GUNS N’ ROSES)
Oct. 01 – San Diego, CA – Snapdragon Stadium (supporting GUNS N’ ROSES)
Oct. 03 – Anaheim, CA – House Of Blues
Oct. 05 – Highland, CA – Yaamava’ Theater
Oct. 07 – Paso Robles, CA – Vina Robles Amphitheatre
Oct. 08 – Reno, NV – Grand Sierra Resort
Oct. 10 – Las Vegas, NV – Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood
Oct. 11 – Phoenix, AZ – Chase Field (supporting GUNS N’ ROSES)
Oct. 13 – Boise, ID – Idaho Centeral Arena
Oct. 14 – Spokane, WA – The Podium
Oct. 16 – Vancouver, BC – BC Place Stadium (supporting GUNS N’ ROSES)