Layne Staley dead?

Alice in Chains Singer Believed Dead in Seattle
Sat Apr 20, 1:46 PM ET

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A body believed to be that of the former lead singer of Seattle rock band Alice in Chains, Layne Staley, has been found at his home, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported on Saturday.


The newspaper said the Seattle Fire Department found the body at a home in the city's University District on Friday night, and it appeared to have been there for several days.

The paper quoted law enforcement sources as saying the body was that of Staley, 34, but would not give specifics and referred all questions to police spokesmen -- who did not return the paper's repeated calls for comment.

An official at the King County Medical Examiner's office in Seattle told Reuters on Saturday morning that an autopsy was currently under way, and that it could take a few more hours to confirm the identification.

If the body is that of Staley, who battled drugs for many years, the circumstances of its discovery (news - web sites) would be eerily similar to those eight years ago when Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain was found several days after putting a shotgun to his head in his Seattle home.

Alice in Chains was one of the most successful bands of the "grunge" rock era of the 1990s. It shared the spotlight with other Seattle bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Mother Love Bone, Screaming Trees and Soundgarden -- all now defunct except for Pearl Jam.

Inspired in part by such heavy metal icons as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, the grunge bands ruled the charts with their densely constructed, often gloomy music.

Alice in Chains, which formed in 1987, took a more morbid tack than its peers with songs that often focused on death and decay. Its breakthrough 1992 album "Dirt" yielded the hits "Would?" and "Rooster." Its 1994 follow-up, "Jar of Flies" and 1995's "Alice in Chains" both debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. pop charts. The band won several Grammy nominations along the way.

But the band's momentum was stalled by Staley's habitual drug use, and it played its final shows in early 1996 as an opening act on the KISS reunion tour.

Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell were the group's creative minds. The band was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney and bass player Mike Inez, who replaced Mike Starr in 1993.

Seattle lost another music luminary earlier this week when Al Hendrix, the father of late guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, died of congestive heart failure on Wednesday, aged 82.

that's sad about Al Hendrix :(

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Originally posted by gerbick
that's sad about Al Hendrix :(

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rofl and it's not sad about Staley??? ;)

where's D where you need him? ;)

if it's suicide, not a sad thing. I hope it hurt :rolleyes:

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Originally posted by gerbick
I hope it hurt :rolleyes:

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What would be the point? He wouldn't be around for him to endure the pain for any length of time ;)

And I tend to agree with you and D - suicide is sad for those left behind ... it's selfish and an act of cowardice for those who aren't.

layne staley didn't kill himself. opiates ruin the cardiovascular system. eventually, either the heart or the central nervous system gives out. CNS depressants are very hard to gauge. he probably shot the same amount of the same heroin he has for years. the human body cannot take the strain of that drug. i am surprised he lasted so long, i thought this would have happened years ago. i almost thought he had found a way to live with his habit. unless you have experienced it, or watched the deterioration of someone who has, you have no idea how evil opiates are. how they creep into your life- how they take over- and how they destroy you. the saddest part of this is that AIC will never make music again.

and heroin doesn't == suicide?

got me there. all i'm saying is that heroin will suck the life out of the strongest person. opiates are truly evil, and once you are in, the chemistry in your body changes, and it will almost always be lingering in the back of your mind at the slightest sense of discomfort.

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Originally posted by darkdog9
got me there. all i'm saying is that heroin will suck the life out of the strongest person. opiates are truly evil, and once you are in, the chemistry in your body changes, and it will almost always be lingering in the back of your mind at the slightest sense of discomfort.

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I've heard that actually stopping the use of some oppiates after prolonged usage can actually kill you because your body chemistry adapts to need the opiates. When you stop putting them in you, if you can, then your body starts to die out. Very dangerous indeed.

The guy was on drugs for years - and it doesnt look like all that rehab worked, they were a cool band, but did they have anymore to contribute to the music world.

Sometimes I wish Pearl Jam would get of the music train, cause all there new stuff is slowly lessening my respect for them.
There was one time when I worshiped Eddie!! - explains why I have 32 of their CDs - ahh to be that kid grunger again, It was a cool path to go down, but we all got to grow up sometime.

you know. you guys have taught me something new about opiates.

<finds even more reasons to never, ever try drugs>

Was Stakey really confirmed dead? Sad thing :( Always liked AIC...
In Holland we had this artist, maybe some of you know of him, since he was a great inspirer for U2's Bono... His name was Herman Brood, he was a musician and a painter and Holland's best known junkie... he died about a year ago aged 54(!!! 2x27 !!!) after jumping from the Amsterdam Hilton leaving behind a wife and 2 kids... sad... I really am in favor of legalising cannabis, but I think justice should severely punnish the ones responsible for harddrugs...

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Originally posted by neway
The guy was on drugs for years - and it doesnt look like all that rehab worked, they were a cool band, but did they have anymore to contribute to the music world.

Sometimes I wish Pearl Jam would get of the music train, cause all there new stuff is slowly lessening my respect for them.
There was one time when I worshiped Eddie!! - explains why I have 32 of their CDs - ahh to be that kid grunger again, It was a cool path to go down, but we all got to grow up sometime.

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I'm with you on that! I used to devour Nirvana, AIC and Pearl Jam as a kid, and I think that if Nirvana had kept on going they would eventually suck as Pearl Jam does today; it happens to all bands (well almost all). But you gotta admit it, Pearl Jam's music may suck today but they still put on a killer show, with all the good stuff from yesteryear (been to 2 shows). No more grunge but don't mean I moved on to...hip hop!

Ah, you guys ever listened to Mad Season, Layne's side project from '95? That stuff is amazing, still listen to it today.

perry ferrel said about herion, "it's so good, don't even try it once."

sounds like good advice to me :)

:(

love mad season. i dont know that AIC had nothing left to give. while the last cd was lacking, it was due to the lack of contribution on layne's part. don't get me wrong, i eagerly await jerry's new cd, but together, they were something special. their music had a chemistry that i believe is unmatched by the other bands of the era. its the little things- like when the left channel goes out on your car stereo and you realize that jerry is singing almost the whole time, something completely different than layne, which makes layne sound incredible. jerrys tremendous guitar work, which i really appreciate as i have grown as a guitarist, is still chilling and inspirational- but now not the same as when it is coupled with layne's icey voice.

AIC - One of the most under-rated bands. I wouldnt even compare them to the whole grunge scene bands. Their music was ten times better in my opinion. I love their unplugged album. Sad indeed. :(

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Originally posted by gerbick
where's D where you need him? ;)

if it's suicide, not a sad thing. I hope it hurt :rolleyes:

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Nice one there.

I can't believe someone would say such a thing. Are you kidding!?


What hurts to me is he was there so long before anyone even noticed.

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Originally posted by skitten78
I can't believe someone would say such a thing. Are you kidding!?

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You're kidding, right?

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Originally posted by LanSite

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Originally posted by skitten78
I can't believe someone would say such a thing. Are you kidding!?

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You're kidding, right?

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WTF???

Just... a LITTLE inhumane if you ask me

not to mention unnecessary

if you choose to do something that will harm your body: smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, do drugs, shoot yourself in the head; and continue to do that bad deed, then why should anybody even honestly mourn your decisions?

this person - outstanding musician aside - was a drug user. It finally caught up - whether mentally or physically - with this person.

sounds cold. I know. but it's honest.

how is it inhumane? that's their decision to do the drugs; it was their birth-given prerogative. it's mine to state what I stated. as well as yours to state what you feel. I'd have it no other way.

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Originally posted by skitten78

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Originally posted by LanSite

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Originally posted by skitten78
I can't believe someone would say such a thing. Are you kidding!?

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You're kidding, right?

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WTF???

Just... a LITTLE inhumane if you ask me

not to mention unnecessary

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I'm not talking about death in general, here and the original comment you quoted was in regard to suicide ... now really - do you think suicide is ... humane? Suicide is selfish and cowardly ... I feel for the people left behind.

So ... what's your point?

He said (what I thought was) a meaningful quote after Kobain's death:

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"At the end of the day or at the end of the party, when everyone goes home, you're stuck with yourself."

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:(

some scoff at religion, some are controlled by it; whatever your beliefs are, personally, i feel extremely bad for those who have taken their own lives. they face an very looooooong period of suffering. some may argue that heroin is basically suicide. the addicted of various substances i have known always seem to have a hope of breaking free. there is a difference.

I think it is inhumane to actually hope for the hurt of another person. In general.
Only because- for someone to resort to suicide, they are obviously suffering and hurting enough as it is! no?

This whole thing makes me sad too and I guess I am just saddened more by someone wanting him to hurt more than he already did.

H*ll yes I feel for those left behind too...


Wait a minute, I don't even think any report has come out saying it looked like he killed himself so why are we talking about it anyway.

Sorry if I offended anyone.