| A-Lex | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Sepultura | ||||
| Released | January 23, 2009 | |||
| Recorded | São Paulo, Brazil at Trama Studios, in 2008 | |||
| Genre | Groove metal, thrash metal | |||
| Length | 54:19 | |||
| Label | Steamhammer | |||
| Producer | Stanley Soares Sepultura Monika Cavalera |
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| Sepultura chronology | ||||
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A-Lex is the eleventh studio album by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura. It was released on 23 January 2009 by independent German record label Steamhammer Records. This is the first album featuring new drummer Jean Dolabella, since the departure of Igor Cavalera in 2006.[1]
This is the second concept album released by Sepultura, following 2006's Dante XXI which was based on Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. A-Lex is based on the 1962 book A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, which in 1971 was adapted into a film version by Stanley Kubrick.
Contents |
The album was recorded in São Paulo at Trama Studios and mixed at Mega Studios during 2008, since February through the process of composition[2] until August when the band finished the mixing process and revealed the track listing and album title.
Andreas Kisser stated about the influences obtained from Burgess work:
| “ | We will write our soundtrack for this story and Burgess' life will be an inspiration also to write the music, lyrics and for the artwork.[3] | ” |
The title is a pun on the main character from the novel, Alex and the Latin for "without law":[4] a (without) + lex (law); presumably referring to how Alex and his companions behaved.
A-Lex is available in three versions: a deluxe digipak with an embossed cover, a regular jewel case and on a vinyl gate-fold LP. On January 16, 2009, the album was released for exclusive listening on last.fm.[5]
Two music videos have been made for the album. The first, "We've Lost You", was filmed in São Paulo, Brazil, and was released in February 2009. A video for "What I Do!" was released in May 2009. Sepultura performed on the A-Lex World Tour 2009 in Europe and North America.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| 411 Mania | (8.5/10)[6] |
| About.com | [7] |
| Allmusic | [8] |
| Blistering | (7.5/10)[9] |
| Glide Magazine | [10] |
| Metal Underground | [11] |
| MetalSucks | (3/5)[12] |
| Record Collector | [13] |
| Rock Sound | (8/10)[14] |
| Sea of Tranquility | [15] |
Allmusic gave A-Lex 4 stars out of 5 and called it a "vicious, loud sledgehammer of an album".[16] Alternative Press (p. 108) gave it 3.5 stars out of 5 and said, "A-Lex deftly fuses the band's many stylistic phases, from the thrash and death metal that launched their career to later explorations of punk, hardcore, groove metal and even tribal rhythms."[17] Record Collector (p. 103) gave it 3 stars out of 5 and said, "Much closer to a live, hardcore punk sound than the refined digital crunch of their previous records... As ever with Sepultura, Kisser's slick riffage and the visceral drums are the point."
A-Lex received positive reviews despite the absence of Igor Cavalera. New drummer Jean Dolabella has been well received by fans and media. A-Lex sold 5,000 copies in its first week of release in Brazil[18] and 1,600 in its first week of release in the United States.[19]
All songs written and composed by Sepultura except "Ludwig Van", based on the Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, and "Paradox", co-written by Lucas Kater.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A-Lex I" | 1:53 |
| 2. | "Moloko Mesto" | 2:09 |
| 3. | "Filthy Rot" | 2:45 |
| 4. | "We've Lost You!" | 4:13 |
| 5. | "What I Do!" | 2:01 |
| 6. | "A-Lex II" | 2:18 |
| 7. | "The Treatment" | 3:23 |
| 8. | "Metamorphosis" | 3:01 |
| 9. | "Sadistic Values" | 6:50 |
| 10. | "Forceful Behavior" | 2:27 |
| 11. | "Conform" | 1:54 |
| 12. | "A-Lex III" | 2:03 |
| 13. | "The Experiment" | 3:28 |
| 14. | "Strike" | 3:40 |
| 15. | "Enough Said" | 1:36 |
| 16. | "Ludwig Van" | 5:29 |
| 17. | "A-Lex IV" | 2:46 |
| 18. | "Paradox" | 2:15 |
Album – Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Top Independent Albums | 48[20] |
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | MRC 30 Charts (Germany) | 1 |
| Austria | 53[21] | |
| Switzerland | 68[22] | |
| Germany | 82 | |
| Netherlands | 106 | |
| National UK Metal Charts | 22 | |
| France | 150[23][24] |
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