Sepultura - "A-Lex" (2009)

[under666taker]

http://www.hardcoresounds.net/modules.p ... &func=4082

Sepultura: A-Lex
Rating: 5/5

Sepultura was formed in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera in memory of their fallen father. Their sound can only be described as a mix between hardcore punk and metal all of which they have melded into a sound all their own. "A-Lex" proves to be a logical progression for Sepultura as it showcases them at their absolute best. The songs are short and brutal and get straight to the point without boring the listener. Many of you may have fallen victim to the many years of controversy that has seem to dog Sepultura over the years. But alas the time has come for you to put those differences aside and rejoin the horde. Line-up changes may have taken place, but that should not detour you from enjoying these out right metal legends. Sepultura sound has changed little if any and they sound just as strong as it did when they first arrived on scene. Now that is taken care of it is time to delve further the madness that is "A-Lex".

You know I am really at a loss of words about how to explain my feelings towards "A-Lex", now some of you might think that it is a bad thing but I assure you it´s not. The first thing that I noticed about this album is it´s none stop in your face intensity, I mean the shit just never lets up and it´s fucking crazy. Playing at such incredible speeds is not a task for the weak and can easily be screwed up, but Sepultura have managed to do it flawlessly. One of my upmost favorite things in metal today is the use of tribal drums in a song and for me to hear them in "Filthy Rot" just reinforced why Sepultura kicks ass. What makes “A-Lex” such a stand out album is how the songs go from in your face brutality to brutal yet mellow. This again brings me back to the song “Filthy Rot” with its tribal drums and awe inspiring chanting amidst guitar ridden shreds. Now it would be a crime if I didn´t mention some of the other stand out songs on "A-Lex" which include “Forceful Behavior”, and “Sadistic Values”. The songs that Sepultura have produced are as brutal as those that came before, and will command your respect.

So many of you will let "A-Lex" pass by you just because you are still upset over the departure of the former lead singer. To me to keep judging Sepultura by this standard is a total injustice, because they are just as good if not better than when they started. So I ask all you here in the USA, and other places around the world to put your dislike aside and try "A-Lex" and tell me it´s not good. Get off your ass go to the store and get this brutal piece of shit before I slap you.

Kanwulf

[under666taker]

http://www.radiotangra.com/?page=review ... =en&id=291

SEPULTURA A-LEX (2009)
Label: SPV / Wizard
Author: Stefan Topuzov
Rate: 4.75 / 6


Sepultura are in the somewhat odd situation where it doesn’t really matter how much of a good album they release with Derrick Green behind the mic, as fans will always have the impression that they’re offered not what they had expected. Things kinda changed with “Dante XXI”. It was a totally solid album – with strong songs and a cool concept. And it managed to set the bar of expectations for its successor at least a little bit higher.

That’s why as soon as I got my hands on “A-Lex” and I pressed “play” I took the prayer pose in front of the monitor while mumbling “Please, don’t suck, don’t suck, don’t suck…” After a short intro we’re hit by the first song “Moloko Mesto”. It’s fast but kinda pointless. At some point we reach a crushing middle part that makes up for it though. OK, it’s a good start. “Filthy Rot” is slower, more crushing and at some point it features some weird choruses. Kinda sounds like Korn and I ain’t sure if this is a bad or a good thing really. “We’ve Lost You” I was familiar with a s it was the first new song they had played live and it did leak on the Internet (didn’t quite impress me back then). Well, it turns out it is one of those slow not so technical tracks that get under your skin after a few dozens of listens and become favorites of yours…

And as it is kinda lame to go song by song for the whole album I’ll just point out that it is full of this type of songs. Not catchy at first, but lasting after you’ve given them a chance. There’s a lot of music in “A-Lex” that is not quite as obvious on first listen. And the album is yet again a concept one with “A Clockwork Orange” being the theme this time. And in this context the adaptation of Beethoven’s Ninth symphony that you can hear towards the album’s end is not as out of place as you might think.

Sepultura hit somewhere around the bull’s eye once again and this is a good thing. “A-Lex” probably won’t become anyone’s favorite album, but it is full of reasons for you to come to the show on February 6th and have one hell of a good time.

[under666taker]

http://www.hardradio.com/hr3.html?http: ... views.php3

SEPULTURA: A-Lex (SPV)
Rating: 8/10

by Martin Popoff

Gotta hand it to them, Derrick, Andreas, Paulo Jr. and new drummer Jean Dolabella haven't taken the easy way out, crafting (quickly, mind you, from studio jams), a concept album based on the book and movie A Clockwork Orange, including a chapter of the book not portrayed in the film. As you may know, Alex is the main grinning, leering character of the film, and as you didn't know, "a-lex" means no law or lawless in Russian. In any event, the point the guys wanted to get across is the same as Anthony Burgess', and that is the ultimate authority of free will. Where that is in all of Derrick's shouting is neither here nor there, for what we get is Sepultura 2.0's usual pageant of groove and rigidity, thrashing, main tool being Kisser's curious automaton guitar riffing, the man stacking the tight-cornered blocks of sound that helped invent both nu-metal and Fear Factory. Moonspell, Enslaved and Monotheist-era Celtic Frost come to mind as well, given the band's penchant for atmospherics and sculpture and loud to soft dynamics. It's certainly an art installation, especially when we crawl up to the end of the sharp show, and there's a stumbling, chaotic, weird bit of Beethoven, Trans-Siberian metal fused to classical that mixes strings and horns and everything and then leaves the whole mess sorta quiet and mixed way back. This is to reflect Alex's love of Ludwig Van, and frankly the album breaks down for this and then a dump of noise called 'A-Lex IV' before a standard thrash-to-groove Sepster called 'Paradox' closes the show with Derrick roaring "This is your life" repeatedly. So what's the score? Max and Iggor (sic) cranked one of the more enjoyable expressions of the Seps/Soulfly sound last year with The Cavalera Conspiracy, while the official Seps continue to make the hard-hearted art for the aching head.

[under666taker]

http://www.hot-music-releases.com/album ... -2009.html

Artist: Sepultura
Album: A-Lex
Genre: Metal / Thrash Metal

Rating: 4/5

I have an old college roommate and (still a good friend) who is a thrash/speed metal man. During our stint rooming together,there was one day that we sat around drinking a few beers and he broke out Sepultura's Chaos A.D. It was fantastic to say the least. When I'm in the mood for something that makes me feel like I want to drive 100+ mph, Chaos A.D. is quickly in hand. I also bought and listened to Roots but not nearly as much as Chaos. After Roots, Max Cavalera was out of the band and I didn't really follow Sepultura anymore. Oddly enough, I didn't latch on to Max's new bands Soulfly or Cavalera Conspiracy either.

I had heard from my friend that Sepultura really went back to their thrash roots after Max's departure. I'm sure that's true but I'd say with A-Lex they're walking a line somewhere between full-on assualt and the heavy melodic power of Chaos. A-Lex is a concept album based on A Clockwork Orange and I believe it shows through pretty well. A-Lex, by the way, is a modified form of the Latin phrase for "without law" (ab+ lex). The track list stacks up like this:

1. A-Lex I (1:54)
2. Moloko Mesto (2:09)
3. Filthy Rot (2:46)
4. We've Lost You! (4:14)
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 (5:30)
17. A-Lex IV (2:46)
18. Paradox (2:15)

All of the songs titled as "A-Lex" (i.e. I, II, III, and IV) begin with electronic intros, lead into a pounding instrumental, and then transition back out with some electronic sounds. It's almost as if these pieces serve as segues between different portions of a musical storyline and they do so pretty successfully. My only gripe is that the album starts off with one and it was a big of a stutter start to the album. After the first track, "Moloko Mesto" is some blazing thrash. THIS is more of what I expected. The album has a great flow to it. Most of the songs are short and to the point while keeping your blood pumping. The tracks go from thrash to some more melodic metal to a concept song to thrash, etc., etc. When I say more melodic metal, think Pantera's "Walk". The screaming is there. The energy is there. And this ain't no Metallica Black Album. These guys mean business. Then they throw in another "A-Lex" track to remind you that it's a concept album.

There were some songs on here that had a bit of a different feel to them. "Sadistic Values" is the longest song on the album at 6:50 and it has about three minutes of a dark and mellow electronic intro followed by some thrash. "Metamorphosis" seems to have aimed for a much darker sound than many of the other songs. "Filthy Rot" gives you some of those classic Sepultura drums like "Refuse/Resist" did on Chaos. "The Experiment" sounds like it was lifted right off the Chaos album. The only song that really sticks in my side is "Ludwig Van". It has orchestral strings with the occasional guitars thrown in an attempt to make it sould like Beethoven if he wrote for a metal band. My issue is that it ends up sounding more like one of those lame Trans Siberian Orchestra commercials. It flat out bites.

"Ludwig Van" aside, I really like A-Lex even if the title tracks break it up into pieces. I made the comparison earlier in the review and I'll expand on it here. I believe if you take out the "A-Lex" tracks and "Ludwig Van", you have an album that's got a pretty similar feel to Pantera's Far Beyond Driven or The Great Southern Trendkill. You'll see mosh pits in your mind without the music ever getting monotonous in the way that some thrash does. If you liked Chaos A.D. or the Pantera trilogy of Vulgar Display through Trendkill, I'd highly recommend A-Lex to you.

[under666taker]

http://www.stalker.cd/index.php?lang=2& ... cd&id=1457

Title A-Lex
Label SPV/Steamhammer
Web www.sepultura.uol.com.br
Rating: 8/10

It must be really annoying! After Max Cavalera quit the band, Sepultura became really creative. But many of the old fans did not follow their idols, despite they received much excellent press feedback. It was the same problem with the last release ``Dante XXI``, a really ambitious project where Sepultura were supported by an orchestra. ``A-Lex`` is again a concept album, this time concerning the classic ``Clockwork Orange``.

And ``A-Lex`` has become excellent again. Smashers as `Molokko Mesto`, `The Treatment` or `Forceful Behaviour` are as convincing as slower tracks like `Filthy Rot` (superb!) or `Metamorphosis`. But there is also a thing I don’t understand: The last three titles are some sort ``Covers`` of classical themes. Where is the relationship with ``Clockwork Orange``? Maybe I just don`t see it. But nevertheless, ``A-Lex`` is again a well done album.


Timo Päßler

[under666taker]

http://www.unboundzine.com/nr202.html

Sepultura: A-lex
(SPV USA, 2008)
Rating: 4/5

Many people expected the final nail to be in the coffin of Sepultura after founding member Igor Cavalera recently departed from the band. Let's face it, the line-up is very different from the classic line-up that brought us what are considered some of the benchmark albums in the death metal genre. So while people are expected the worst from this album, it is infact that best album the band has released since Chaos AD.

This is the most fierce the band has sounded in a very long time. The first two songs, A-lex 1 and Moloko Mesto, are ridiculously fast thrash songs that will rip your head off with what seems like renewed vigour from the band. The third song, Filthy Rot, brings in the rythmic side the band is known for and throws in some unique clean vocals for the song. This song is a bit more typical of the band but still has the energy that was missing from the previous few albums. What I Do! follows and has feel very similar to the Roots album from the band but without sounding like the band was trying to mimic the album. The rest of the album is similar in nature and the band has really kept the energy levels high by making the songs usually between 2 or 3 minutes.

If you were waiting for Sepultura to release an album on par with their classic albums it has finially arrived. A-lex is a aggressive return to form that shows the band playing with an energy that rivals that of any of the classic albums from this band. You could say that this album finally manages to bridge the gap between the intensity of the early material and the experimental nature of the newer albums. If you are a Sepultura fan, this is a must own album.

[Last Light]

não coloques tanta review, assim entopes o tópico põe mais a conta gotas

[Wisdoom]

Ou só os links.Estou pasmado com tanta boa review.

[Cyberquake]

Até parece que o rapaz tem acções de Sepultura na bolsa.

(joking)

[BloodTells]

Ou recebe à comissão...

[Grin]

eu estou a ler as reviews todas

acho que o user faz bem em colocar assim as reviews!

dá-lhe jovem

[under666taker]

http://www.metal-observer.com/articles. ... 1&id=15536

Sepultura: A-LEX(Brazil-2009)
Genre: Groove Thrash
Label: Steamhammer
Playing time: 54:14
Rating: 8/10

Well it is now official. “A-Lex” marks the first album ever in the history of SEPULTURA to be recorded without a Cavalera in the line-up. After the departure of Igor from the drum kit after the release of “Dante XXI” it was up in the air whether or not SEPULTURA would continue under the name, but with the release of their 11th studio recording all rumor is put to rest. SEPULTURA is here to stay.

Just because the name is here to stay officially doesn’t mean that the band is going to suddenly pull a 180 degree reversal and begin to play pop music. Fans of the direction of “Dante XXI” will be pleased to hear that the band is continuing down the same path and “A-Lex” has the band sounding the most Thrash since the “Roots” debacle. It’s not anything like their early material but it definitely has an older vibe to it – which is both a good and a bad thing as I will mention later.

What I do really enjoy about “A-Lex” is the concept album portion of the release. The band seems to really be working well with the storytelling and the constraints (and freedom) of being able to write an ‘album’ rather than just 18 separate tracks. The album as a whole works very well and the writing fits with the story and approach. SEPULTURA succeeds handily on this level of the album.

Not to mention that because it is a concept record, the band is able to approach the music in more experimental fashions than what normally might be allowed. Lots of instrumental interludes weave a thread throughout the album and the tracks range from Thrash attacks like “The Treatment” to groove centered plodding tempos like “Filthy Rot” and most everything in-between. Hell the band even pulls of a ‘Metal Symphony’ track on “Ludwig Van” which flows nicely into the final instrumental and into the very Punk sounding final track “Paradox”. The band covers quite a bit of ground on the release without sounding out of place a whole lot.

Unfortunately, “A-Lex” is still not the bed of roses I really wanted it to be. A problem that has been plaguing the band that appeared on their last album has yet to be resolved. When the band went their new direction after the departure of Max, they fully infused the down-tuned guitar into their music, but now that the band has moved back towards a Thrashier form they have yet to pull away from the down-tuning. This creates somewhat of a rift in the feeling of the album. Many of the Thrashier riffs tend to be buried in the heaviness of the guitar which makes the listener really have to concentrate to catch some of the great guitar work instead of just enjoying it. It’s somewhat of a small detail that tended to bother me throughout the album though.

As for the loss of Igor Cavalera from the kit for SEPULTURA, the band has found a very worthy replacement. Jean Turrer Dolabella makes a great debut on the album (even if he has been with the band for already about 2 years touring) and even though I still have a special place in my heart for Igor, he makes the void a little less abysmal. It’s a nice element to the album that could have been a factor to ruin the entire thing.

“A-Lex” is another great release for SEPULTURA and it’s nice to see that the band is still moving in a positive direction with their musical abilities. I would have liked to see a few things done differently on the record (like pulling further out of the down-tuned guitars) but over all it’s a solid effort. It’s been a while since I enjoyed a SEPULTURA release this much so lets only hope that they continue on to improve their sound.

[under666taker]

http://risemetal.com/2008/12/30/reviews ... #more-2543

SEPULTURA- “A-Lex”
(SPV/Steamhammer)

Y yo dije, empiecen a ahorrar dinerito porque se viene un 2009 asesino.
Sumado a los discos de Saxon y Kreator, Sepultura no se queda atrás y se manda con nueva producción titulada “A-lex”.
Su décimo primer disco ya no incluye a ninguno de los hermanos Cavalera, mas aun así, mantiene la esencia extrema con la que el combo llegó a la fama.
Algunos dirán que Sepultura es una broma, otros preferirán mantenerse acoplados a ellos como ha sucedido con un sin numero de grupos comenzando con Deep Purple, Queen y Black Sabbath en los cuales sus integrantes originales se fueron esfumando.
Independientemente de la política a tomar de cada uno de ustedes, me atengo a comentar que este disco es muy potente, con algunos detalles diferentes al Sepultura que yo recuerdo, dejando en claro que su último trabajo “Dante XXI” jamás lo escuché.
Entre ellos podría destacar que hay un par de instrumentales como lo es “A-lex” en sus cuatro versiones.

Aparte el track “Ludwig Van” incluye parte de la novena sinfonía de Beethoven llevada hacia lo metal pesado, y lógicamente es también instrumental.
El disco es una producción conceptual basada en la película “A Clockwork Orange” de Stanley Kubrick, el cual fue grabado en Sao Paulo y mezclado en New York, y el cual por primera vez incluye al nuevo baterista Jean Dolabella quien ya tocó junto a Paul Dianno de Iron Maiden.
Será esto un poco el anticipo del disco solista de Andreas?
Mas info: http://sepultura.uol.com.br o http://www.spvusa.com

Lucas Gordon.

[under666taker]

http://www.lastfm.ru/user/rakdos/journal

Sepultura: A-Lex

Esse sim pelo menos cumpriu com as expectativas! Pra começar um álbum conceitual: inspirado em A Laranja Mecânica! Já ganha um ponto. Assim como todos os álbuns do Sepultura, A-Lex é violento, um soco no estômago. Ponto positivo. Derrick mandou muito bem de novo. Mais um ponto. Pode não ser o Sepultura extremamente inventivo que fez alguns trabalhos memoráveis, como o Chaos A.D., mas não se pode dizer que não é música boa. E diferente. Parabéns ao Sepultura por ainda manter a criatividade viva dentro do metal.

Rakdos

[under666taker]

http://www.thedwarf.com.au/nd/albumrevi ... _sepultura

Sepultura: A-Lex
by tephanis

The Brazilian masters of metal are back, this time with another concept album; A-Lex is inspired by Anthony Burgess’s book, the cult classic, A Clockwork Orange. I can only infer that the album cover, a nightmarish mass of machines and human body parts, represents the violence and desires in the mind of the protagonist, Alex. The album title, A-Lex, is a play on his name, as well as an expression of ‘no law’ in Russian (or so the producers say – I make no claim to speaking Russian!)

Sepultura are a band who really need no introduction in the metal world, but I’m going to give one anyway. I’m special like that. Sepultura formed up in around 1984 in Brazil. With a reputation for a phenomenal live set (which still is true) they quickly became a major player in the evolving thrash and death metal world – albums such as Chaos A.D. and Roots frequently feature in most-important/best-metal-album-of-all-time lists. In the late 90’s and 2000’s they began to experiment more with industrial techniques and traditional Brazilian rhythms, and have since been credited with the creation of the groove metal genre.

A-Lex is quite a solid album. As should hold true with a record inspired by A Clockwork Orange, the music is all about violence, and I can quite assuredly say that people who have read the book or seen the movie will get a lot more out of the CD. There are constant references to the book strewn through the CD, with titles like The Treatment and Ludwig Van common. Who knows, perhaps the album will even help to renew interest in the cult classic. As a concept album, a solid high score.

The music of A-Lex is good, solid stuff. It is set alternately in furious guitars and pounding drums, and very quiet, creepy intermissions with electronic sounds. Personally I would like to see the bass level drawn up a touch, but I can see why they left is so low – while raising it would improve the music quality, it would also erase some of the dense angry atmosphere that surrounds the album. There are a good mixture of different songs on the record. Perhaps some of them have tried to be a touch too fast, but other than that, no real complaints. Good stuff.

An album that is as much about the atmosphere and the meaning as the music quality, A-Lex clearly shows Sepultura are not, and never will, pander to commercial tastes. Love it.