Mix Review: Alice in Chains — Bleed the Freak

Ethan Reynolds
Aug 25, 2017 · 2 min read

The song Bleed the Freak by Alice in Chains is on their first album Facelift released in 1990.

The track starts with guitar, slowly joined by the lead guitar and two other rhythm tracks panned hard right and left first starting on the right side accompanied by cymbal washes and the bassline. The intro has four guitar tracks, three playing rhythm and the other playing lead. The lead was overdriven with reverb, to gain a piercing and eerie tone, and the rhythm almost sounded like an acoustic or an electric with a very bright clean tone.

The vocals come in as double tracked at first and then returning to single track vocals, alternating between the two until the chorus kicks in at full force, again with alternating between single track and double tracked vocals just as the intro had done, but now featuring backup vocal harmonies by the guitarist/singer. When the drums kick in you notice there is reverb on the snare and the kick is consistent in volume. The first verse of the song is a slow chugging segment that also features the guitarists backup vocals supporting the lead singers harsh melodies. The transition into the chorus was done with a long vocal that sounds as if it is overlapping the next part of the song.

The chorus is the same as the previous one with some vocals backed up with double track to accentuate them and then transitions into the second verse which is slow and chugging again with the guitarist contributing backup singing. To transition into the third chorus the lead singer will do so by singing a long note all the way into the chorus which will be a repeat of the other choruses before it only it will lead into a guitar solo which has a rhythm track beneath it. The solo is a short one with impressive licks and a loud position in the mix more than twice as loud as the rhythm, bass and drums.

After the solo there is a bridge or sort of interlude which has whispering, and eerie vocals overlaid with reverb leads and slicing vocals which sing with the lead melody and slowly build up into the final chorus of the song. at one point in the bridge around the 2:28 mark it sounds as if they whack a spring reverb, it sounds as if maybe they knock an amp over or kick it.

The song ends with all band members ceasing to play and letting their final notes ring out, until it is faded out.

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