ALIRIO – All Things Must Pass
- Posted on 16-09-2021
The incredibly talented Brazilian vocalist Alirio Netto (Shaman, Khallice) released these ten tracks of his not that long ago via Frontiers and "All Things Must Pass" is melodically strong and pretty damn impressive with respect to its massive sound and punchy production.
As opposed to numerous other releases by the label, Alirio’s brand of hard rock is surprisingly diverse in terms of influences and ideas, and the entire endeavor comes across as a modern, crisp-sounding opus that oozes professionalism and confidence with respect to the musicianship and songwriting. Despite the many surprises and the fact that this is a musically diverse offering, there are arguably too many filler songs here and too few moments on the disc that are truly brilliant. The title track is a deftly executed anthem from beginning to end and "Back to the Roots" is a chugging rocker that kicks ass too. "Back to the Light" contains some interesting textures and a superb verse while "You Hate" is a gritty and groovy album closer. The ballads, namely "Grey" and "Here I Am", are rather underwhelming and sound way too cliched and fail to take flight and deliver something emotionally charged.
The disc is quite heavy in terms of its percussive aspects, there is a current sheen to the proceedings throughout, and Netto and his skilled cohorts are definitely adept at making sure that the song material is dynamic in general. However, it is a mixed bag in terms of quality and loses its momentum a little too often, so it could have been more cohesive with respect to that. There are things here that would not have sounded out of place on records by Guns ‘N Roses or Hardcore Superstar, but then unfortunately, there are others that recall Nickelback and the likes. If nothing else, make sure you check the gloriously well-crafted title track out as it is a memorable delight.