Alice In Chains – MTV Unplugged (2xLP, 30th Anniversary Edition)

Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged captures the band’s April 10, 1996 performance at Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, a show made more charged by the fact that they had barely played live in the previous few years. In an era when acoustic sets could feel like side projects, this one underlined how much of Alice in Chains’ weight came from the songs themselves: close vocal harmonies, uneasy melodies, and a sense of tension that survives even with the amps turned down.

The set draws from across their catalogue and turns familiar material into something more exposed rather than simply softer. “Nutshell,” “Down in a Hole,” and “Would?” are especially well served by the stripped-back setting, while the performance as a whole shows how naturally the band’s darker, reflective side fit the Unplugged format. It remains one of the clearest snapshots of Alice in Chains in the Layne Staley era, balancing fragility and control in a way the studio records only hint at.

This 2026 30th anniversary vinyl edition brings that full 13-song performance back on 2xLP, including “Brother,” “Rooster,” “Frogs,” and “Killer Is Me.” For a record often discussed as a major live document from the 1990s, the appeal is still straightforward: these songs hold up when there is nothing to hide behind.

Features

• 2xLP, Black Vinyl, 30th Anniversary Edition
• Full 13-song 1996 MTV Unplugged performance