Sean Frasier of
Decibel was joined by band member Filiva'a James to give a track-by-track review account of the album. Frasier said that the album was a "muscular blend of catchy choruses,
Gojiran heaviness, '90s
groove metal, and
Sepultura's
Roots record." Erin Eddy's review was published in
Heavy Magazine on 25 August. The review was positive, with Eddy saying that the influences of classic metal were extremely apparent and noted that the band had drawn from the classical and pop genres. Rather than give a track-by-track review, Eddy just concentrated on the title track, "Ala Mai", noting the similarity to Sepultura, the acoustic track "Cold Summers Night" which was sung in English, and "Nafanua" which was released as a single on 4 August. In his 18 September review, Wil Cifer of
Ghost Cult also made comparisons with
Roots by Sepultura. He also said that the album was a little bit too radio friendly but there was something for everyone. He gave the album a 7 out of 10. Conor Lochrie of the
Rolling Stone magazine gave a positive review of the album which was published on 27 May 2024. He also said that the album was "a promising sign that Polynesian metal is here to stay. == Track listing (LP) ==