Country: USA, Germany
Genre: Progressive thrash/power metal
Full length: Psychedelic Enigma
Format: Digital album
Label: Steamhammer
Release date: October 24, 2025
It has been a long time since I listened to Them's "Sweet Hollow" and "Manor of the Seventeen Gables," and I wanted to see what they've been up to lately, see how far they'd come since they released those landmarks of underground metal.
Them was founded in 2008 by KK Fossor aka Troy Norr (also of Coldsteel) as a King Diamond tribute band, gradually moved away from emulating King's stage show to write original songs. Keeping what inspired them about King's horror elements, crossing over classic metal, thrash, symphonic metal, and some prog metal. They also developed a conceptual narrative spanning more than one full length. One of the more ambitious metal bands to emerge this century, Them continues to establish themselves as the next step in metal’s evolution. It’s been a slow, steady ride with no signs of stopping soon.
Searching their catalogue at Bandcamp, I found "Fear City," an album they released in 2022 that continues the epic story depicted on "Sweet Hollow," "Manor of the Seventeen Gables," and "Return to Hemmersmoor." Offering a unique spin on that storyline. "Fear City" takes place over a century later in modern-day New York, complete with crime and general ugliness. The characters are descended from the main characters of the trilogy mentioned above. One of the lead characters here is Peter Thompson, a televangelist who descended from The Witchhunter from the previous albums.
I'll have to catch up on "Fear City" another time, however, as we're talking about their most recent album released last month. "Psychedelic Enigma" is a conceptual horror story presented with another twist, focusing on a core protagonist and building a plot comparable to turn-of-the-century supernatural classics such as "The Sixth Sense" and "The Ohers," and developing mystery and tension until the epic conclusion arrives. This is all Them chooses to reveal about "Psychedelic Enigma" at their Bandcamp link. You get a little more from the lyric videos released to promote the album.
Whereas Them's previous albums incorporated symphonic and progressive metal, the songs on this album are thrashier, more abrasive, sharp and energetic, and more inventive than I remember Classic thrash's execution and its spirit, are recaptured here. The increasing emphasis on thrash doesn’t make "Psychedelic Enigma" less progressive. The composition and musicianship are more experimental, with more hooks to pull you in, and a range of keyboards written to portray the intended mood and make you experience the oddities here, as well as the occasional blast to underline the point.
Randy Burns, who has engineered sound for Megadeth, Death, Possessed, and Dark Angel, achieves an impresssive job of bringing these qualities to the forefront in "Catatonia," "Silent Room," "Psychonautic State," "The Scarlett Remains," "Electric Church," and "Echoes of the Forgotten Realm." KK Fossor's vocals have his distinctive blend of melody and ferocity, similar to old-school power metal vocals, with clear phrasing and a tendency to fluctuate and provide emphasis for the emotionality here.
The album becomes more expressive and dramatic with each song, with the musicianship telling the story as convincingly as the lyrics, and the payoff at the finale is well worth the wait, seriously rivaling horror classics like "Rosemary's Baby," "The Omen," and "The Changeling" in terms of suspense and visceral enjoyment. "Psychedelic Enigma" celebrates the spirit of metal while pushing the ingredients that make classic horror films memorable for years after their screenings. –Dave Wolff
Lineup:
KK Fossor: Vocals
Markus Ullrich: Guitars
Markus Johansson: Guitars
Alexander Palma: Bass
Richie Seibel: Keyboards
Steve Bolognese: Drums
(Session drums by David De Liniers)
Track list:
1. Ad Rem
2. Catatonia
3. An Evil Deed
4. Reverie
5. Remember To Die
6. Silent Room
7. Psychonautic State
8. The Scarlett Remains
9. Electric Church
10. Echoes Of The Forgotten Realm
11. Troubled Minds
12. Delirium
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