Maps of Music

The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013)

Where the lyrics of The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here take you, and where it was really made.

The title came from an anagram puzzle the band posted for fans, and the cover hides a second skull picture.

Key places

Where work on the album began (2013)

Recording site A&M Recording Studios — Alice in Chains began working on the new album at this Los Angeles studio in July 2011. Recording continued here until the sessions were completed in December 2012. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Fifth studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains
• Released 28 May 2013 through Capitol Records, the band's last album on that label
• Originally set for 14 May 2013, then postponed to 28 May
• Produced by Nick Raskulinecz and Alice in Chains
• Promoted with the Funny or Die mockumentary AIC 23

Background

• Followed the 2009 album Black Gives Way to Blue and a worldwide tour
• Work began in July 2011 at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles
• The making of the album lasted more than a year, with release dates pushed back several times
• Jerry Cantrell's shoulder surgery delayed the album; he could not play guitar for eight months
• Recording sessions were completed in December 2012

Recording

• The riff for 'Stone' came to Cantrell while he recuperated at home, and he sang it into his phone
• Cantrell returned to the studio in early 2012 to finish the album
• Nick Raskulinecz, producer of Black Gives Way to Blue, returned to helm the new album

Cover

• Triceratops skull on a red background, with a second skull hidden steganographically in the image
• When revealed, the two skulls combine to form the image of the devil
• The title refers to a belief that Satan planted dinosaur bones in the Earth

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Seattle in 1987; the original lineup was Jerry Cantrell, Sean Kinney, Layne Staley, and Mike Starr.
• The name came from Staley's earlier band, Alice N' Chains.
• Signed to Columbia Records in 1989 after The Treehouse Tapes demo.

Members

• Current lineup since 2006: Jerry Cantrell (vocals/guitar), William DuVall (vocals/guitar), Mike Inez (bass), Sean Kinney (drums).
• Original vocalist Layne Staley died in 2002; former bassist Mike Starr left in 1993 and died in 2011.

Career

• Rose to fame in the early 1990s grunge movement with Facelift (1990) and Dirt (1992).
• Jar of Flies (1994) and Alice in Chains (1995) both topped the US Billboard 200.
• Hiatus from 1996 due to Staley's substance abuse; reunited in 2005.
• Released Black Gives Way to Blue (2009), The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013), and Rainier Fog (2018).
• Has sold over 30 million certified records in the US and received eleven Grammy nominations.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here has received positive reviews from music critics
• Metacritic average of 70, indicating generally favorable reviews
• Loudwire (Chad Childers): four and a half out of five stars
• The Skinny (Dave Kerr): four out of five stars
• Melodic (Johan Wippsson): a good and stable record, but not counted among the band's best
• AllMusic (Stephen Erlewine): a more mixed review, three out of five stars
• Rolling Stone (Jon Dolan): three out of five stars, with a similar impression
• Pitchfork (Stephen M. Deusner): a mixed review

Reappraisal

• Loudwire: ranked No. 4 on its 2019 list of the Best Rock Albums of the Decade

Records

• Debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top Rock Albums chart
• Sold 61,000 copies in its first week of release in the US; 120,000 copies by 31 July 2013
• Debuted at No. 2 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 7,300 copies in its first week
• Reached the top ten in Australia, Finland and Norway
• Nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical in 2013

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The mockumentary AIC 23 features cameos by Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam and Lars Ulrich of Metallica
• A limited edition of Jerry Cantrell's Dunlop Cry Baby Wah pedal was released as a tribute to the album, with the cover artwork on it
• 'Hollow' spent 5 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart
• 'Stone' spent 3 weeks at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock chart
• The album's original release date was 14 May 2013 before it was postponed

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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