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Thomsen: Unbroken

Heavy/Power Metal

3.5/5.0

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Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 29.10.2014

Thomsen is essentially guitarist and composer Rene Thomsen, a veteran of the heavy metal arena for many years. He's been heading up his namesake band/project since 2006, with this year's Unbroken his second album.

Rene Thomsen

Besides his live band, in the studeo, Thomsen gathers around him some talented guest musicians to bring his music to life. These include Udo Dirkschneider, Robert Soeterboek (Ayreon, Star One), Mathias Don Dieth (U.D.O.), Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio, Heaven & Hell), Bobby Jarzombek (Halford, Fates Warning), David Vincent (Morbid Angel), Andre Hilgers (Rage, Sinner), and Helge Engelke (Fair Warning, Dreamtide, Thomsen). Freinds since the Eighties, Engelke assisted Thomsen with much of the songwriting and production as well.

With a boatload of world class talent such as these you expect equally world class heavy power metal, and for the most part that's what you get. Generally, the songs are basically heavy and fast, thought songs lean more to the former like Unbroken and We Made It featuring Dirkschneider. Unfortunately, neither song appealed to me. I mostly found myself gravitating to songs that had more groove, catchy melody, lyrics, or refrain. That narrowed things down to several songs including New Horizon, Fools of Fortune and the very catchy Break That Spell and Into The Unknown, mostly because of the refrain and vocal arrangement. If you like the speed of power metal, Draw the Curtain is quite galloping. Another song of interest is One, where the bass and drums are simply ballistic. Overall, the material is basic and solid European heavy/power metal, both well-played and well-produced. Yet, excepting the aforementioned choice cuts, it's likely not to get heavy rotation in this domicile.

THOMSEN - Draw the Curtains

THOMSEN - NEW HORIZON

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Thomsen's Unbroken is basic and solid European heavy/power metal, both well-played and well-produced, and generally rather intense.

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The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]