Jar of Flies - EP

Recorded after their mainstream breakthrough, Dirt, this mostly acoustic EP is actually some of the Seattle band's heaviest work. Though Jerry Cantrell's murky electric guitar work shows up on the opening "Rotten Apple," the song quickly mutates into a weighty, unplugged rumination on depression and addiction. "Nutshell" and the violin-enhanced "I Stay Away" explore alienation with finely plucked guitar arpeggios worthy of Zeppelin and beguiling vocal melodies from Cantrell and the late Layne Staley, proving the group didn't need heavy riffs to exorcise their demons.