After releasing a number of ground-breaking albums, collaborating with well-known musicians and the tragic departure of guitar riff architect Clint Lowery, Sevendust still prevails. Clint joined his brother Corey (former bassist of Stereomud) to help form the super group Dark New Day. While writing new material for their sixth album you would think Sevendust would be grasping at straws. On the contrary, Alpha truly exhibits their abilities as songwriters. In the absence of Clint emerged his replacement Sonny Mayo, former guitarist of Snot fame and long-time friend of Sevendust.

Time and time again, vocal ensemble Lajon Witherspoon and Morgan Rose never seize to amaze me. However without Lowery in the formula with memorable songs Angel's Son and Xmas Day, speculation has surfaced whether or not Sevendust will live up to their renowned reputation. With that in mind, Alpha is the follow-up to Next, which was their first album without guitarist Clint Lowery. Over the years Sevendust has paved the way with their heavy riffs, angry vocals and thrash-like drumming. One admirable trait this band possesses is their consistency, despite having five other albums under their belt.

Personally, the only track on Alpha that I particularly don’t care for is the opening track entitled Deathstar. With the exception of Deathstar, my favorite tracks include Clueless, Driven (the first single), Feed, Under, Story Of Your Life, Aggression, nine minute progressive opus Burn and title track Alpha. So in layman's terms not only is this album music to my ears, but Alpha showcases how drastically Sevendust has progressed musically and lyrically. Even though many have said that Alpha sounds like regurgitated material from their previously released albums Animosity, Seasons and Next, I strongly disagree with that statement. Irregardless, certainly every follow-up album shares similarities, but that’s evident.

Nevertheless, Alpha definitely exceeds any preconceived expectations I had for Sevendust’s new album. In my opinion Alpha is Sevendust’s definitive album to date, with drummer and lyricist Morgan Rose enraged his presence on this album is simply out of this world. Alpha will satisfy die-hard Sevendust fans and intrigue first time listeners.