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IMMORTALIZER
Born For Metal

BrainLab (2023)
Rating: 7/10

In 2015 the leather-clad Canadian multi-instumentalist Dave D.R. launched his one-man project Immortalizer. A year later the single ‘Unleashed’ / ‘Lost’ emerged and then he seemed to disappear. Fast-forward to 2020 and a single entitled ‘Lemmy’ was released followed in quick succession by a batch of other singles, but he then went quiet again. Of course, what was clearly happening during this time was Dave’s continuing work on this debut full-length offering which features a majority of the singles issued previously.

When I first saw the digitized cover art I wasn’t sure I was going to like this, but was rather surprised. Born For Metal bridges that gap between Annihilator and Megadeth at their most melodic, which is summed up by the catchy opening track ‘Out In The Streets’ where Dave’s melodic sneer is quite the joy.

The album keeps its rhythm throughout bringing forward ten solid tunes which marry traditional metal, power metal and to a lesser extent thrash, whether it is the galloping ‘Cut Loose’, the anthemic thrasher ‘We Were Born For Metal’ (featuring guest vocals from Primal Fear’s Ralf Scheepers) – complete with cheesy lyrics – and personal favourites ‘Back In Time’ with its mid-paced fire and the steely slog of the title track.

Born For Metal engages on melody alone, and believe me it is far more melodic than I expected it to be. At times the production feels a tad thin and it’s a shame that the opus seems to suffer in the weight department, but one cannot deny Dave’s axe work throughout. Again I refer to the sizzling solo on the title track, while ‘The Fallen’ – probably the heaviest number on the record – trudges nicely, as does ‘Can’t Let Go’.

Fans of pure metal will dig this and although the vibe does at times feel entrenched in the mid-90s when a lot of the bands we loved began to sound watered down, one cannot overlook the metallic core of this, even if elements tend to drip too much with cheese.

Neil Arnold

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