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.