Released September 29, 1992 Label Columbia | Length 5:16 Writer(s) Layne Staley | |
Recorded March–May 1992 at Eldorado Recording Studios, Burbank, California; London Bridge Studio, Seattle, Washington; One on One Studios, Los Angeles, California Producer(s) Alice in Chains, Dave Jerden | ||
"Hate to Feel" is the tenth track on Alice in Chains' album Dirt (1992). The song was included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999) and The Essential Alice in Chains. It has also been the ninth track on later prints of the album and eleventh on others.
Contents
Origin and recording
In the liner notes of 1999's Music Bank box set collection, guitarist Jerry Cantrell said of the song:
Again, a lot of pride in seeing Layne grow as a guitarist and songwriter to create something so heavy. He's always been so honest in his songs, which is like all of us. We don't bullshit in our music, we always pushed each other to say it as it needed to be said. We've always been fully for letting it all out.
Staley wrote the song about his drug addiction which he blames partly on his father. Staley eventually died from his addiction in 2002.
Reception
Ned Raggett of Allmusic said that the song "shows Alice in Chains in woozy, murkily descending riff mode, taking its time to grind down into the ground" and added, "The near-constant theme on Dirt about drugs, specifically heroin, doesn't disappear here: 'Used to be curious, now the shit's sustenance'." Although never released as a single it peaked at number 27 on Billboard Modern Rock Tracks.
Live performances
A live performance of "Hate to Feel" can be found on the "Angry Chair" single.