The album received marginally positive and mixed reception from major publications . Allmusic 's Stephen Thomas Erlewine estimated that Cantrell was a reluctant solo artist who would prefer his work to be published through Alice in Chains . However , Erlewine claimed , " everything that an Alice fan has loved ... is here in spades . " He detailed how guitar solos tend to drag songs too long and that , while '' Boggy Depot '' lacks the " psychological weight " of '' Dirt '' , it " comes close to replicating the sound . " Rob Sheffield of '' Rolling Stone '' commended Cantrell 's writing but gave a less enthusiastic review . He regarded it as the " same reliably hook-y '70s metal album that Alice in Chains always made " and " basically Alice in Handcuffs . " Sheffield also claimed " ' Breaks My Back ' sounds exactly like Led Zeppelin 's ' No Quarter ' except it lasts eight seconds longer and fails to mention Thor . . . Nothing here would 've sounded novel or Earth-shattering in 1978 , let alone 1998 , but Cantrell sure does know his trade . " '' Billboard '' described '' Boggy Depot '' as similar to Cantrell 's work in Alice in Chains and considered it " an album that solidifies Cantrell 's reputation as a singer/songwriter/performer in his own right . " In December 1999 , '' The A.V. Club '' 's Stephen Thompson listed '' Boggy Depot '' as a nominee for Least Essential Solo Album in his article " Least Essential Albums of the '90s . " In April 2002 , Thompson gave the album a mixed review , commending " My Song " and " Between " as the best tracks while regarding " Dickeye " and " Devil By His Side " as " pedestrian . " He elaborated on the overall sound as " too much ... like Alice in Chains minus a recognizable vocalist ; in other words , a little bit like Creed and Days of the New . " Thompson compared it to Scott Weiland 's '' 12 Bar Blues '' as another " bad post-grunge solo album . " The promotion of '' Boggy Depot '' led to Jerry Cantrell 's first concert experiences as a band frontman which he considered " intimidating . " On June 24 in West Palm Beach , Florida , Cantrell began touring for the album with Days of the New and headlining act Metallica on their Poor Re-Touring Me Tour . For his lineup , Cantrell enlisted former Queensrÿche guitarist Chris DeGarmo , Old Lady Litterbug bassist Nick Rhinehart , former Fishbone keyboardist Chris Dowd , and Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney . The band also opened for Van Halen on their 1998 summer tour . Naturally , Cantrell 's concert set featured songs by Alice in Chains , and he often closed with Pink Floyd 's " Brain Damage/Eclipse . " Despite Cantrell 's uneasiness towards performing as frontman , concerts were quickly met with praise by critics from the '' Los Angeles Times '' , '' Variety '' , and other major publications . The broad approval led Cantrell to schedule a headlining tour starting October 1 in Milwaukee , Wisconsin . Flight 16 filled the slot as his opening band
1998 summer tour
III Tour
Boggy Depot