Although the late Layne Staley , vocalist of Alice in Chains , tragically lost his battle with drug addiction, passing away on April 5, 2002, from an overdose, there were moments in his life when he bravely tried to conquer his demons. One of these periods of hope seems to have occurred in early 1991.
During a new interview with radio station 101 WRIF Megadeth bassist David Ellefson recalled how impressed he was with Staley's appearance at the start of the Clash of the Titans . At the time, Alice in Chains was opening for giants like Megadeth, Anthrax , and Slayer , shortly after touring Europe together.
“I remember we started at an amphitheater called Starplex in Dallas,” Ellefson recalled. “We were all getting together, just saying ‘hi’ before the first show. And I remember Layne Staley getting off the bus or walking into the room, with his hair all blonde, styled up, looking great.” [Transcription via Ultimate Guitar ].
The bassist was very surprised. “I was like, ‘Wow, man, you look amazing. How was your break?’ And he replies, ‘Oh, I was in rehab.’ I asked, ‘Rehab? For what?’ And he says, ‘Heroin.’ I was shocked: ‘You guys were using heroin when you were in Europe?’”.
David Ellefson and Dave Mustaine's offer of help
Ellefson and Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine were both newly sober, having left rehab about a year prior. Perhaps sensing that touring would be a great temptation, they both made a sincere offer to Staley.
“That’s when I started to learn the deeper history of Alice in Chains and Seattle, I think. But he seemed great, he sounded great on that tour,” David says. “Dave and I invited him into our world. We said, ‘Listen, we’re both clean, and if you need a place to escape to and have a kind of safe haven, a place to stay, you’re welcome to hang out with us anytime.’ And Alice in Chains was a young rock band doing what young rock bands do: drinking, partying, and having a good time.”
Despite the tour audience being notoriously hostile towards Alice in Chains, it was during this tour that the band truly broke through, thanks to the massive success of the classic "Man in the Box" on MTV and rock radio.
Away from Megadeth since 2021, David Ellefson hasn't stopped. The bassist remains a prolific force in metal, involved in multiple projects. Among them, the death/thrash band Dieth , the hard rock group The Lucid Kings of Thrash project , in which he reunites with other former colleagues to celebrate the early days of the genre, proving that his passion for music remains stronger than ever.
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