Alpha

Sevendust | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 6, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Asylum Records
• ASIN: B000MGBTIE
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,832 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Deathstar

2. Clueless

3. Driven

4. Feed

5. Suffer

6. Beg To Differ

7. Under

8. Story Of Your Life

9. Confessions Of Hatred

10. Aggression

11. Burn

12. Alpha

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Alpha, the latest outing from this veteran act is both good and maddening. Good because many of the riffs and the songs to which they are affixed are driven by an element of boogie––for lack of a better term––too often absent from contemporary metal. Maddening because the group often cops out and trades in original and challenging ideas for the expected mid-song freak outs that will no doubt send listeners over the brink once the band takes the stage but do little but inspire passive listening in the current setting. As good as Sevendust may be on the stage, this is the studio and they owe it to listeners to create an experience that will last them a lifetime. A few more risks and less of an allegiance to brute force may serve this band well as it does in the more subtle moments of "Deathstar" and "Driven." ––Jedd Beaudoin

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Popular Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating: PA
Release Date: 6-MAR-2007

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ten Years Later, And Still In Their Prime., March 6, 2007

By 

A. Estes (Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alpha (Audio CD)

If 2006 was a tough year for the five men of Sevendust, you wouldn't know it on the first listen to "Alpha," their toughest and most cohesive album since 2001,'s "Animosity." Despite how quickly the album came together, not one shred of quality or integrity has been sacrificed. Perhaps they work best under pressure. Afterall, it was about this time last year that their previous record label had crumbled, not even half a year after the release of "Next," leaving them without tour support. Add to that a string of bad luck for drummer and song-writer Morgan Rose which landed him briefly in jail and with a difficult divorce, and it's easy to see why Sevendust sound so much hungrier than they have in years.

Beginning with the instant assault of "Deathstar," Sevendust sound leaner and meaner than they did on their previous effort, 2005's "Next." With guitarist Sonny Mayo now fully integrated into the fold for the making of this album, the band sounds more complete than they did before. "Alpha" is 100% Sevendust. Everything good that they know how to do, all at once. Songs like "Suffer," "Under" and the first single, "Driven" are classic Sevendust, effortlessly fusing their grasp of melody with the driving intensity that is now their signature. Rest assured, though, none of the songs on "Alpha" are a bargain for radio-play. In fact, they seem to have given up any hopes of being a popular rock band, and it definitely works in their favor. "Beg To Differ" and "Story Of Your Life" show that they are still the best at making the simplest, yet most effective heavy songs on the hard rock scene. "Aggression" is probably the most experimental moment, a slow-building piano-driven song that sounds like Sevendust's best attempt at covering Nine Inch Nails. Such a song shows that Sevendust are more than just that tried-and-true road-warrior band, and are capable of doing things you probably didn't expect them to do before -- like a nine minute song by the name of "Burn."

Is there a negative aspect to this album? Well, no. It's right up there with "Home" and "Animosity" as their best work. True, if you never liked Sevendust before, you're not going to change your mind here, but if you've been with them throughout the years, you're going to find that they haven't missed a single step and still rock like they're in their prime, when many of their former peers have fallen to the wayside. "Alpha" is simply a shing 12-song example of Sevendust at their best, and lord, I can only imagine what these songs must sound like live.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sevendust At Their Finest, March 20, 2007

By 

Greg "gkw1982" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Alpha (Audio CD)

Before this album was released, I was reading a lot of reviews saying that its sound is a return to the style they had on their 1999 album, "Home." But that seemed slightly inaccurate to me because I thought that their last album, "Next", was more of a return to that sound. THIS album seems more balls-out heavy. I've also heard several Sevendust fans including my good friend say that this is possibly their best album yet.
While I must admit that this is an awesome album, I think "Animosity" will always be their masterpiece to me. However, I can say that its probably their best album since "Animosity." The second you press play on your stereo, the album bursts into the fast n' heavy tune "Deathstar." The album's first single is "Driven" and it reminds me a lot of "Ugly" from their last album. "Burn" clocks in somewhere around 9 minutes long, but to me this track seems like 2 songs put together as a medley rather than being just one long song. But it's definitely among the most powerful songs they've written. The album closes with the title-track "Alpha" and it's one of those very heavy "f-you" type songs. This album is a very good example of Sevendust at their loudest and heaviest. My only complaint is that the album didn't offer up much variety. Even though I prefer Sevendust to be heavy, I think 2 or 3 melodic songs are necessary to balance an album out, but this album is pretty much one cruncher after another. This album also doesn't offer up much of a change in the band's style, but I think that's ok because Sevendust sounds good as they are. This is definitely a great album by the band that you should consider picking up.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sevendust again, July 4, 2008

By 

C. Ian Alderman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alpha (Audio CD)

I absolutely LOVE this album! Great music for working out and running, that's for sure. Some people have the nerve to call this recycled rock in the vein of Nickelback- whoever puts Sevendust in the same sentence with Nickelback should get pistol whipped across the face. The raw intensity of this album is insane- practically every track on this album you can work out to or just listen when you're mad at the world. Lyrically, it's not that great, but many of the lyrics deal with bad relationships and a wounded past- basically Sevendust working out the issues that have been plaguing them. There really isn't a filler track to be found on the album. I dig every song with the exception of Aggression. Burn is my favorite- probably one of the longest Sevendust songs I've ever heard- I like how it starts out, sounding a little like Nine Inch Nails and ending up with the loud aggressive tone that Sevendust is known for and then exploding into the raging anthem of Alpha. Is there a low point to the CD? Some people are turned off by Morgan Rose's screaming- I really don't mind it at all- there is a lot of his voice on this album, but honestly, it's not that bad at all. This is probably my personal favorite, even over the self titled debut of Sevendust.