''A-Lex'' is the eleventh studio album by the Brazilian

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typi ...

band

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thras ...

. It was released on January 23, 2009 by independent German record label SPV. This is the first album featuring drummer

Jean Dolabella Jean Turrer Dolabella (born 14 May 1978) is a Brazilian drummer, multi-instrumentalist member of Ego Kill Talent. He is also a music producer and one of the founders of Family Mob Studios, where he teaches, promotes workshops and drum camps. In ...

, since the departure of

Igor Cavalera Igor Graziano Cavalera (born 4 September 1970) is a Brazilian musician, best known as the former drummer for the heavy metal band Sepultura, which he co-founded with his brother Max in 1984. Max left the band in 1996, and Cavalera himself wo ...

in 2006. This is the second

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. So ...

released by Sepultura, following 2006's '' Dante XXI'' which was based on

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

's ''

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...

''. ''A-Lex'' is based on the 1962 novel '' A Clockwork Orange'' by

Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire '' A Clockwork ...

, which was adapted into a

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

in 1971.

Album information

The album was recorded in São Paulo at Trama Studios and mixed at Mega Studios during 2008, since February through the process of composition until August when the band finished the mixing process and revealed the track listing and album title. Guitarist

Andreas Kisser Andreas Rudolf Kisser (; born 24 August 1968) is a Brazilian musician, best known for being the lead guitarist for the metal band Sepultura. He has been featured on every Sepultura release since their second album, ''Schizophrenia''. Additionally ...

stated about the influences obtained from Burgess work: The title is a pun on the main character from the novel,

Alex Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple p ...

, and the Latin for "without law": a (without) + lex (law); presumably referring to how Alex and his companions behaved. ''A-Lex'' is available in three versions: a deluxe

digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case ...

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.

Music videos

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.

Reception

''A-Lex'' received positive reviews. New drummer Jean Dolabella, who replaced

, was well received by fans and media.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

gave ''A-Lex'' 4 stars out of 5 and called it a "vicious, loud sledgehammer of an album". '' 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." ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'' (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'' sold 5,000 copies in its first week of release in Brazil and 1,600 in its first week of release in the United States. It was considered by the Brazilian edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' as one of the Top 25 Brazilian albums of 2012.

Track listing

Personnel

Derrick Green Derrick Leon Green (born January 20, 1971) is an American musician best known as the vocalist of Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura. He joined the band in 1997 after the departure of band founder Max Cavalera. Early life Born in Cleveland ...

– vocals *

– guitars * Paulo Jr. – bass *

– drums, percussion

Chart performance

References

External links

''A-Lex''
at

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professiona ...

{{Authority control Sepultura albums Concept albums 2009 albums SPV/Steamhammer albums A Clockwork Orange