Captain Beyond's Files: ALICE IN CHAINS : Heaven Beside You (1995)

Let's start off 2008 rocking! I guess you could say this song is on the 'lighter' side, in terms of Alice In Chains' material, but there's plenty of implied heaviness with the dark melody and atonic sounds. Two things that make this band stand out from their contemporaries: 1. They can make a melody over any riff, and 2. They have great vocal harmonies, especially for a heavier rock band.

Here are some blurbs:

"Heaven Beside You" is a song by Alice in Chains,from their self-titled album. Written and mostly sung by Jerry Cantrell, a change of which due to Layne Staley being the lead vocalist. Heaven Beside You is a mid-tempo song that contrasts the general overall "heaviness" of the eponymous album.
The song later appeared on their "Greatest Hits" album in 2001 and "The Essential Alice in Chains album in 2006. An acoustic version also appeared on their "Unplugged" album in 1996. (Wikipedia)

Appearing on the band's final, self-titled album, "Heaven Beside You" continued in the vein of "Jar of Flies" with its lead acoustic riff and generally low-key presentation, at least at the start of the song. Though Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell once again can create a strangely beautiful harmonizing, it's not one of the band's more immediate numbers, partially heightened by Staley himself never completely letting go in his familiar fashion. The sense is subtle, heightened by the way that the song fires up on the chorus while never really exploding. Cantrell's electric work is some of his best, moving beyond the admittedly powerful blasts of feedback he was known for to find a new, textured approach that balanced volume with a richer, less oppressive feel. The unplugged flow of the song predominates, though, even though it certainly doesn't promise lighter moments all around, given the full chorus: "Heaven beside you, hell within." (allmusic)