We Die Young is a song and single EP by Alice in Chains, engineered and co produced by Dave Jerden. It was released in July 1990 and is their first studio EP. This was a promo only EP released on vinyl and cassette, and is thus a sought-after collector’s item amongst Alice in Chains fans.
A CD version of the EP exists, however this only includes the title track and features artwork different from the vinyl/cassette version. We Die Young and It Ain’t Like That were released on the band’s debut album, Facelift, later that year (1990).
A demo version of We Die Young was released on Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), the only song released on the compilation which was not available on Music Bank. The studio version was included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999) and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).
The version of the song Killing Yourself is exclusive to this EP; a faster-tempo demo version was later released on Music Bank. The music video was released in 1990 and was directed by Rocky Schenck, who would later direct the music videos for Them Bones, What the Hell Have I, and Grind. The video features the band performing while various people drown in pools of blood.
It was filmed in Glendale California on the site of a house that was destroyed by the 1990 Glendale wildfires. The video is available on the home video releases Live Facelift and Music Bank: The Videos. An early music video for the song directed by The Art Institute of Seattle is also available on Music Bank: The Videos. In the liner notes of 1999’s Music Bank box set collection, guitarist Jerry Cantrell said of the title track:
I’d just temporarily moved in with Susan Silver because Sean Kinney and I had just had a fight. So I was riding the bus to rehearsal and I saw all these 9, 10, 11 year old kids with beepers dealing drugs. The sight of a 10 year old kid with a beeper and a cell phone dealing drugs equaled “We Die Young” to me.
Tracklist:
Side A
A. We Die Young
Side C
C1. It Ain’t Like That
C2. Killing Yourself
Alice in Chains
Layne Staley: lead vocals
Jerry Cantrell: guitar, backing vocals
Mike Starr: bass
Sean Kinney: drums
Engineer (Additional): Ron Champagne
Engineer (Assistant Mix): Bob Lacivita
Lacquer Cut By: Kr*
Mastered by: Eddy Schreyer
Photography by: Rocky Schenck
Producer, Recorded by, Mixed by: Dave Jerden
Remastered by: Bob Ludwig
Alice In Chains, We Die Young: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, EP, Record Store Day, Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered (April 23, 2022)
Layne Staley (August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002)
Mike Starr (April 4, 1966 – March 8, 2011)
