Remember the '90s Band With Layne Staley, Tom Morello + Other Alternative Musicians?

Do you remember the Class of '99, the one-off all star band featuring Layne Staley and Tom Morello that covered a Pink Floyd classic for a late '90s sci-fi horror film?

Who Were the Class of '99?

As stated, the group was formed to record music for the 1999 Robert Rodriguez-directed film The Faculty, which centered on the students and faculty facing a parasitic invasion.

It would be Layne Staley's final studio recording as he had mostly dropped out of public appearances at that point. The singer would also appear in the video like his counterparts in the band, but his scenes were actually footage pulled from a 1995 Mad Season live video.

Staley was joined in the band by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins, Porno for Pyros bassist Martyn LeNoble and producer/keyboardist Matt Serletic (Matchbox Twenty).

The group recorded and released their cover of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)." They also recorded "Part 1" of "Another Brick in the Wall" as well. The two songs bookended the soundtrack track listing.

Class of '99, "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1 + 2)"

Class of '99, "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" Music Video

What Happened With Class of '99?

Though there has been speculation over the years that grander plans were afoot for the all-star collective, it's since been confirmed that their primary reason for gathering was to record music for the movie. Therefore, the two Pink Floyd covers are the only recordings from the band and the video was their lone visual offering.

The collective gathered in November 1998 to record the song, which would appear just two months later as the focus single from The Faculty soundtrack. According to Far Out Magazine, Roger Waters actually praised the cover sharing in a 1999 interview, “It was great. It was really good. I liked the way they treated the line “All in all it’s just another brick in the wall” without any gaps in it, just running one syllable into the next. I thought that was very cool.”

The cover saw modest returns, peaking at No. 18 for Mainstream Rock radio and No. 34 for Alternative Airplay. The soundtrack was stacked with alt-rock favorites from the day, featuring material from The Offspring, Creed, Garbage, Soul Asylum, Oasis, Stabbing Westward and Neve among others.

Though not a huge box office success, the film helped in launching the careers of Josh Hartnett, Jordana Brewster, Shawn Hatosy, Clea DuVall and Laura Harris.

Was There a Deeper Connection With Any of the Members?

On the surface, it may seem like an odd collective of parts of successful acts to bring together. But there was already an established relationship between two of the key contributors — Staley and Morello.

The two musicians had previously connected on Lollapalooza 1993 and apparently Morello had a profound effect on Staley. Alice in Chains' Jerry Cantrell revealed during a 2021 appearance on Morello's Firepower podcast, “I remember, during that tour, Layne really had a shine for you. He wanted to play guitar more, and he was kind of intimidated because he didn’t play that much guitar, but he really was turned on by how you played guitar – I was a little hurt by that. [Laughs]”

Cantrell added, "You gave him the spark to learn how to play guitar and write more songs.” It was during this period where Staley wrote and played guitar on such Alice in Chains staples as "Angry Chair," "Hate to Feel" and "Head Creeps."