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

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

band

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band formed in Belo Horizonte in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera.Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. They were a major force in the groove metal, thrash met ...

. 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 1997, and Igor himself would ...

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. Som ...

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

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's ''

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

''. ''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 Utopian and dystopian fiction, dy ...

, which was adapted into a film version by

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

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 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. Similar names are Alexander, Alexandra, Alexey or Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Cook (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Forsyth (disambiguation), multiple people * Al ...

, 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 A ...

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 North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

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 database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...

'' (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 focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...

'' (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. The magazine was first known fo ...

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

Track listing

Personnel

* Derrick Green – vocals * Andreas Kisser – guitars * Paulo Jr. – bass *

– drums, percussion

Charts

References

External links

''A-Lex''
at

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{{Authority control Sepultura albums 2000s concept albums 2009 albums SPV/Steamhammer albums Works based on A Clockwork Orange