Thomas Carlsen, a multi-talented musician from Norway, has just released his debut album entitled “A Brave Horizon” on July 14, 2023. Using the name THOMAS CARLSEN’s TRANSMISSION, this musician has released an EP album titled “Redemption” in 2021 and a single “The Fire Within” in May 2023. News about the upcoming release of the debut album “A Brave Horizon” has been reported since May 2023, and since then when I saw the cover artwork I immediately felt enthusiastic to immediately listen to the songs in it. And now, the wait is over, with spontaneous responses after listening to song by song and it’s the result.
Opened with an instrument song which is also the title of this album “A Brave Horizon” which is melodic and feels the spirit of encouragement, and continues with the song which is also the first single that has been released before “The Fire Within“, a song which immediately begins with a guitar melody and fast drums met by vocalist Atli Guðlaugsson that clear and powerful from the power metal band POWER PALADIN. The guitar-driven rhythms characterizing the music of power metal bands with melodic-laden solos and non-stop drum beats put this song in the category of a bright and uplifting melodic power metal song.
In the song entitled “Flight Of The Wolves“, some of the rhythm parts quite smell of IRON MAIDEN but wrapped in melodic power metal guitar melodies and equipped with the powerful and shrill character of vocalist Arnaud Ménard from the band ALKEMYST, making this song really very unique and interesting. The fourth song on this album is titled “Keys To Reality” with a bit of AOR music character and heavy metal rhythm and drum beats that make us keep on rocking and headbanging along. The hard rock vocal character of Alain Concepción from the band BLACKHEARTH in this song fits perfectly with his music, complemented by melodic guitar solos throughout most of the song.
“Transcending Time”, this song immediately takes us into the uplifting melodic nuances of speed power metal, with Marius Danielsen, who doesn’t know this multi-talented musician in the power metal music scene who is famous for his metal opera LEGEND OF VALLEY DOOM. Here, Marius contributes his voice to this passionate song with powerful high-pitch shrieks, complemented by melodic guitar solos and even with double guitars which are very melodic and the thumping of drums that never stop throughout the song. And on the other hand, Marius is also in control of the mixing and mastering process on this album.
The sixth song, “Force Majeure” is a melodic power metal instrument song that is very slick with melodies that are quite uplifting and can be used as a mood booster.
The song “Crownless” has a guitar and bass melody as an opening which is a bit reminiscent of the nuances of IRON MAIDEN songs with vocals by Sebastián “Dragón” Palma from the band BLIZZARD HUNTER which feels epic wrapped in music that has a slight touch of progressive metal which for me personally feels a little boring but That changed when entering the solo section, with a fast guitar melody enough to change the boring atmosphere into a bright euphoria with high-pitched vocals.
“Vermilion Skies” is a melodic heavy metal song with light rhythms and a bit of progressive metal elements, especially towards the solo part but not for a long duration. In the singing position, again the hard rock vocal character Alain Concepción from the band BLACKHEARTH is entrusted in this eighth song. In this song vocalist Alain sometimes reminds me of the character of vocalist Johnny Gioeli (AXEL RUDI PELL). Followed by the ninth song “Climbing The Heights“, and immediately greeted with powerful screams from vocalist Sebastián Palma and heavy metal guitar and rhythm rock melodies and a cathcy and very upbeat chorus complemented by guitar solos the beauty of this song makes this song perfect for uplifting our souls. In this song, vocalist Pancho also shows his skills in high-pitch shouts several times.
Closing song “The Distant Chimes” which is also the longest song on this album, which is more than 10 minutes, begins with a guitar and bass melody and then drums followed by breaking the harmony. With a melodic and light rhythm, it sometimes turns into a progressive metal feel with heavy and powerful vocals and beautiful guitar melodies. Sometimes I think this song reminds me of SYMPHONY X but I think not really but sometimes the more I listen to this song the more I feel an epic journey in this song.
Overall, as a debut album, Thomas Carlsen seems to have started very well and with the support and collaboration with several other multi-talented musicians, this album has become even more quality. From the musical elements and production quality, I feel that this album will not disappoint the melodic rock heavy power metal music lovers around the world.
Line up:
Thomas Carlsen – All instruments
Tracklist:
1. A Brave Horizon
2. The Fire Within
3. Flight Of The Wolves
4. Keys To Reality
5. Transcending Time
6. Force Majeure
7. Crownless
8. Vermilion Skies
9. Climbing The Heights
10. The Distant Chimes
Score:
Music: 8
Production: 8
BandCamp: https://transmissionmetal.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/transmissionmetal
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2f96eIwR385gcuobzsUbti
