Prior to forming Alice In Chains w/ Jerry Cantrell, Layne Staley played drums in a glam metal band called Alice N' Chains. Alice N' Chains originally used the name Alice In Chains but were too worried about being mistaken for some kind of female bondage group so they changed the spelling of the name to Alice N' Chains. Layne and Jerry met shortly before Alice N' Chains disbandment, after which the two jammed together for a couple of years without a band name before deciding to use Alice N' Chains original band name, Alice In Chains.

Although never officially disbanding, Alice in Chains was plagued by extended inactivity from 1996 onward due to substance abuse, which resulted in the 2002 death of Layne Staley, and the 2011 death of former bassist Mike Starr (who left the band in 1993).