Review Summary: The 7th album from Sevendust is one that really shows who they are and how they play. One of they're best and heaviest yet, with their longest song recorded to date- this is a CD to buy.
Alpha marks Sevendust's 7th album (including Southside Double Wide), and is one of their best and heaviest. Going for a more earth-shattering sound, unlike their more melodic sound in Seasons and Next (not saying they werent heavy), the band pulls off a hardcore album but still keeps they're good ol' Sevendust sound.
Deathstar kicks the CD off with Lajons deeper and more agressive voice which you will hear a lot throughout
Alpha, which is the first indication of their change of sound. Fast attacking riffs from the guitars of Sonny and John fill the verses and chorus' soon followed by Morgan screaming "Watch how I blow through you!" which leads into the bridge- very drum orientated. One of my least favorite tracks off the album, but still good. 3.5/5.
Fast paced bass drum and hi-hat, low guitar fill and Lajon start off the next song,
Clueless. In this one the lyrics show off how people are selfish and think they are owed something, with a classic Sevendust melodic chorus, some more screaming by Morgan (gotta love it), leading into a- what seems to be quiet bridge, somewhat like the intro: just drums and guitar... till it gets faster, louder, heavier then bursts into the best part of the song, another quick chorus and exit stage left. One of my favorites off the CD, definately worth a listen. 4.5/5.
"Stop the man!!" is the first thing you hear from Morgan after a brief wah'd guitar and snare drum intro in
Driven. This is one of the first songs you heard from the new CD before it was released, being on the band's Myspace page. More fast paced, driven, palm mute verses and a catchy chorus. The bridge, to me, isnt the best Sevendust has come up with, pretty simple and generic for them, but still pretty good. 4/5.
The intro to
Feed kinda reminds me of the intro for
Desertion on
Next, guitar with wah effects, followed by drums and then Lajons singing, but this one quickly turns in the other direction with the double bass, back to single guitar, then full band (not full attack yet though), followed by the chrous. Now we have the full double bass attack, guitars, and bass for the chrous, till it quiets way down with just a slightly distorted guitar with chorus and light drums and Lajon singing "I've replaced you/With a vision that you... cant see". This is the first song on the album that has a solo, and a pretty good one at that. But with a drum roll the melody has left and the heaviness has returned for the end chorus. Good song. 4.5/5.
Suffer goes back to the heavier side of Sevendust. The verses sound like boulders falling from the sky onto metal, and the chorus' sound besically the same, a little faster- and with a bit more melody, not much though. The bridge in this one sounds like
Face to Face from
Seasons, driving guitars and bass, good for headbangers like me. Worth a listen. 3.7/5.
Bass drum, hi-hat, and a weird effect on the guitar starts off
Beg to Differ. "Slow down!" is yelled from Lajon, as the band keeps a steady beat with good bass, drums, palm muted guitars, till the chrous when it picks up, a lot. This one is pretty agressive, lots of double bass... which makes it all the better, the next verse is a little different mainly because of the guitar effects, well, lack of, when it comes in. The bridge starts off slow as usual, "Ill never understand... Ill never understand" que's Morgan screaming "Ill never f**king understand!!". More driven riffs and one more chorus, followed by an outro. 4/5.
Under, in my opinion, is the best song on the CD. Full band intro and palm muted verse, followed by a great drum and bass driven chorus, with good riffing from the guitars. Brief pre-chorus, chorus, then... the best part of the song. "Help me..." is whispered with fast palm muted guitars... silence, guitars again, then Morgan screaming "Help me!" then making good used of his double bass peddals, repeat the chorus. "Help me!/Im Under!" in the outro with some more double bass. Great song. 5/5.
Que the muffled guitars for
Story of Your Life, that sound like they are 'warming up' till they break into the full band verse, that is driving as most have been up to this point. The chorus tames down a little, adds some melody, and screaming from Morgan. The bridge follows the pattern most other have, build up then blast away on the guitars, bass and drums. Not a bad song. 3/5.
Here we get to hear Vinny alone for the first time, along with Morgan drumming away for the intro to
Confessions of Hatred. Sounds like John? Maybe Sonny talking into the mic for the verses followed by Morgan screaming "With undeniable f**king hate!" to break into the chorus, which brings a little melody back to life after the the last song, inbetween Morgans screams. The bridge is pretty mellow, light guitars and drums, sounds a little like
Desertion from
Next. But that soon ends when they go into the 2nd part of the bridge and the last chorus and outtro- "Ill show you pain!" is the last line from Morgan in the song. Pretty good. 4/5.
Ok when I first saw
Agression on the back of the CD case I expected it to be generically heavy and bonecrushing. I was surprised to hear a piano intro...
very surprised. Some spacy effects are in the background, dont know if they are from the guitar or not. Lajon comes in and sings for a bit, and palm muted guitars are now heard, followed by drums, and full band chorus. This one sounds pretty unique because of the guitar in it, listen and you'll see what I mean. The chorus ends abruptly, back to weird noises, Lajon, and then another chorus... but this one doesnt end as abruptly. The bridge follows and it almost sounds like Clint is singing it... "Im left to deal with my concience/Forgive me now/I have to finish the sh*t I started/Not what I wanted!" but as we all know, he is not in the band anymore. I really like this solo, the perfect mix of everything. The outtro is really heavy though, makes up for the piano (lol). Good song. 4.5/5.
You ready to feel the
Burn? This song clocks in at over 9 minutes long, and is the longest Sevendust has ever made, but also one of the best. Tremello guitar intro, sounds almost haunting with quiet acoustic in the background. This goes on for a while gradually building itself up little by little, then electric guitar comes in and Morgans blood curdling screaming "Rescue me!!!". The verse is a little different from all the others, which sounds really good. The chorus is one of the best on the CD, very melodic and reminds me of some older 7D, very catchy. Take a break for another dose of Morgan's screams, and faster paced everything for the next verse. At about 3 minutes in, they build up for the bridge... really build up. I wondered to myself where it was going to go for the next 5 minutes... till they break into another melodic verse, which really gets you into the song. There is another chorus, around 5 minutes they start the outtro... or do they? Some more piano, sounds like bongo drums? There are also several other instruments worked in it seems. Very mellow, and calming, especially when Sonny (I think) starts singing. "I often wonder how it came to this again/I often wonder why it had to end". Lajon backs up the singing, and at around 8:17 the outtro starts- this time it is the outtro. Excellent song. 5/5.
Last but not least, lets not forget the title track
Alpha. When I first heard the intro this, it reminded me a lot of Slipknot. Maybe its because of the drums or the same tuning the two bands use, but the intro is very similar so some Slipknot songs... till of course they blast into the verse, then you know for sure its Sevendust. Fast paced drums and driving guitars. This is probably one of the heaviest songs on here. The chorus doesnt slow down much at all, and the bridge doesnt make exceptions either as Morgan whails on the cymbals (like he normally does). "Now go f*ck yourself!" is screamed by Morgan and Lajon, and it almost sounds demonic to set the outtro and the attitude of the album. Good way to end a great CD. 4.5/5.
Ok, now that my fingers are bleeding and my eyes are watering, I hope you like what I had to say about
Alpha. I give it an overall rating of 4.5/5... extreamly well done. Props to all the members, who are all very tallented. Definately an album you want to add to your collection, even if you arent a Sevendust fan.
Recommended Tracks:
Under
Burn
Clueless
Alpha
Pro's:
+ The band has progressed a lot and have a lot of tallent.
+ Good for headbanging and moshing
+ The band keeps to their sound and doesnt sell out
+ Great choruses in
Burn and
Under
+ Surprisingly well put together for being released so close to the previous album.
Con's:
- The bridges get a little repetitive in some songs.
- I would have liked to hear more solos, but they were going for earth shattering with this CD.
Ok, and thats all folks... let me know what you think!
