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German/American power metal sextet
THEM
has released album
‘Psychedelic Enigma’
track-list:
Ad Rem
Catatonia
An Evil Deed
Reverie
Remember To Die
Silent Room
Psychonautic State
The Scarlett Remains
Electric Church
Echoes Of The Forgotten Realm
Troubled Minds
Delirium
The subtle arc of suspense woven through Them’s new concept album, ‘Psychedelic Enigma‘, recalls the haunting tension of classic horror films.
Kicking off with ferocious, fast-paced power metal assaults, the record spins an enigmatic tale around its mysterious protagonist – whose secret, much like in ‘The Others‘ (Nicole Kidman) or ‘The Sixth Sense‘ (Bruce Willis), is only revealed in the epic, progressive finale.
Musically, ‘Psychedelic Enigma‘ continues the dark narrative that began with ‘Sweet Hollow‘ (2016), ‘Manor of the Se7en Gables‘ (2018), ‘Return to Hemmersmoor’ (2020), and ‘Fear City‘ (2022), yet delivers an even more powerful punch.
“Psychedelic Enigma not only features some of the rawest and fastest songs of our career,”
says guitarist Markus Ullrich,
“but also showcases new sonic experiments and technical craftsmanship.”
Legendary sound engineer Randy Burns (Megadeth, Suicidal Tendencies) gave the album its razor-sharp, ultra-aggressive edge.
“When someone like Randy shapes your sound, you know he’s got solid reasons for doing so,”
Ullrich adds.
No question, ‘Psychedelic Enigma‘ pushes Them – Ullrich, vocalist KK Fossor, guitarist Markus Johansson (Sylencer, 4ARM), bassist Alexander Palma, and keyboardist Richie Seibel (Lanfear, Ivanhoe) – to new levels of intensity.
“It’s not a change in style,”
the band explains,
“but a deliberate move toward greater dynamics and stronger contrasts.”
The single ‘Catatonia‘ bursts with furious energy and infectious hooks, while ‘Remember to Die‘ stands out as
“probably the fastest and most brutal track Them have ever written.”
In contrast, ‘Psychonautic State‘ is a mesmerizing fusion of prog and thrash –
“a song that will twist your brain, and you’ll love every second,”
says Ullrich.
The catchy, progressive ‘The Scarlett Remains‘ condenses the band’s multifaceted sound into five minutes, while ‘Electric Church‘, ‘Echoes of the Forgotten Realm‘, and ‘Troubled Minds‘ form a sprawling three-part epic.
Capping it all off is the striking cover artwork by Giannis Nakos (Evergrey, Kamelot, Amaranthe), whose mirrored design on the inner sleeve – complete with a reimagined Them logo – visually reflects the album’s duality and complex narrative.
With ‘Psychedelic Enigma‘, Them deliver not just another chapter in their ongoing saga, but their boldest, most ambitious work to date…
German/American power metal band
THEM
has released single
‘Psychonautic State’
The German-American metal band THEM released their new single together with a great lyric video for the song ‘Psychonautic State‘.
The song is taken from the upcoming studio album ‘Psychedelic Enigma‘.
The band comments:
“Does Prog-Thrash still exist? This one will melt your brain and you’ll love how that feels. An altered state of consciousness allows a deeper look into the psyche of one troubled mind!”
‘Psychedelic Enigma‘ will be released on October 24th, 2025 through Steamhammer as CD digipak, 2LP gatefold version (incl. 3 bonus tracks) and digital…
German/American power metal group
THEM
has released single
‘Remember To Die’
The German-American Power/Thrash Metal band THEM released their brand new single together with a great lyric video for the song ‘Remember To Die‘.
The song is taken from the upcoming studio album ‘Psychedelic Enigma‘ (out October 24th, 2025 through Steamhammer/SPV).
The band says:
“Probably the fastest and most brutal song THEM has ever created. We feel the fear exuding from two lovers that are bound during their final moments alive!”
German/American power metal act
THEM
has released single
‘Catatonia’
additional discography:
EP
The subtle arc of suspense on the new Them concept album, ‘Psychedelic Enigma’, brings to mind legendary horror movie classics:
The power metal recording kicks off with extremely tough, brutal and fast-paced numbers, spinning an enigmatic storyline around its mysterious protagonist and only revealing his secret – similar to the blockbusters ‘The Others’ (featuring Nicole Kidman) or ‘The Sixth Sense’ (featuring Bruce Willis) – at the very end, in an epic-progressive grand finale.
The content of the disc takes up where its four predecessors ‘Sweet Hollow’ (2016), ‘Manor Of The Se7en Gables’ (2018), ‘Return To Hemmersmoor’ (2020), and ‘Fear City’ (2022) left off, but is even more powerful musically.
“‘Psychedelic Enigma’ not only includes some of the rawest and most fast-paced tracks of our career to date, but also a number of sound experiments and technical masterpieces,”
guitarist Markus Ullrich describes the current album and goes on to talk about legendary sound engineer Randy Burns (Megadeth, Kreator, Possessed):
“Randy has given our new material that ultra-aggressive sound, and when an icon like him does that kind of thing, he of course has good reasons for it.”
No doubt about it, ‘Psychedelic Enigma’ sees Markus Ullrich, vocalist KK Fossor, guitarist Markus Johansson (Sylencer, 4ARM), bassist Alexander Palma and keyboardist Richie Seibel (Lanfear, Ivanhoe) raise the energy level of their songs even higher.
“For us, it’s not a change in style but a conscious step towards greater dynamics and stronger extremes,”
explains the Them musicians.
Psychedelic Enigma ‘Catatonia’ is a furious number with catchy hook lines.
The catatonic state which lasted 17 years is now abruptly broken.
German/American power metal band
THEM
will release
album ‘Fear City’
track-list:
Excito
Flight of the Concorde
Welcome To Fear City
Retro 54
An Ear For the Action
Graffiti Park
191st Street
Home Stretch
The Crossing of Hellgate Bridge
Death on the Downtown Metro
Stay Tuned…
A Most Violent Year
The Deconsecrated House of Sin
In the 11th Hour
THEM are:
KK Fossor – vocals
Markus Johansson – guitars
Markus Ullrich – guitars
Steve Bolognese – drums
Richie Seibel – keyboards
Alexander Palma – bass
pics are copyright Steamhammer/Them
discography:
EP
Full-length
Full-length
Full-length
Them will release on October the 28th 2022, via Steamhammer/SPV their new album ‘Fear City’.
It will be available as a CD digi pack and as green/black vinyl LP with a printed inner sleeve.
By way of explanation:
New York City was often referred to as ‘Fear City’ in the early 1980s.
At that time, illegal prostitution, protection rackets and drug trafficking thrived in the city which was notorious for its high crime and violence rates.
For international power metal band Them the perfect setting for the continuation of their trilogy surrounding main protagonist KK Fossor.
What was set in the 19th century on their first three album releases, ‘Sweet Hollow’ (2016), ‘Manor Of The Se7en Gables’ (2018) and ‘Return To Hemmersmoor’ (2020), is continued on ‘Fear City’, albeit with a 120-year time shift and the descendants of the original characters.
Markus Ullrich, the band’s German guitarist and creative mastermind explains:
“In a nutshell: KK Fossor is trying to find the descendant of the Witchhunter, who works as a televangelist under the name of Peter Thompson in 1981 New York.”
Already there has been released one single/video ‘Welcome To Fear City’.
‘Retro 54’ is set to follow on 30 September 2022.
The third single/video, ‘Graffiti Park’, will probably be released simultaneously with the album or immediately afterwards.
This exciting mélange of horror and fantasy story is flanked by the usual dynamic songs, a hybrid of raw metal riffs, complex and frequently fast-paced grooves and surprisingly catchy chorus parts.
Markus Ullrich:
“This is a special feature with Them: We play hard, technically accomplished guitar parts, combined with a solid basic toughness, yet we don’t just bark out the chorus, but sing it very melodically. Some songs on ‘Fear City’ are even heavier than expected, you could say: They really let rip! But our singer is fantastic and our songs make purposeful forays into a wide range of different stylistic directions.”
Ullrich is referring to typical Them numbers such as the opener ‘Flight Of The Concorde’, the above-mentioned first single ‘Welcome To Fear City’ and even a slightly slower track such as ‘The Crossing Of Hellgate Bridge’ with its wonderfully elegiacal atmosphere.
At the same time, ‘Fear City’ holds a number of unexpected elements in store:
‘191st Street’ features classic progressive metal, the verse on ‘Graffiti Park’ has a dark doom part, ‘The Deconsecrated House Of Sin’ starts with a classic black metal riff, and ‘Death On The Downtown Metro’ surprises with blast beats.
Ullrich:
“I’m especially proud of the final track ‘In The 11th Hour’ with its atmospheric intro and sustained, epic doom metal vibe.”
Speaking of atmosphere:
As usual, ‘Fear City’ succeeds in transporting its listeners to a different, fictional world, in this case the year 1981.
“We’ve deliberately included keyboard sounds, little radio play snippets and cross-references to the 1980s,”
explains Ullrich, who has first-rate musicians by his side, namely vocalist KK Fossor, guitarist Markus Johansson (Sylencer, 4ARM), bassist Alexander Palma and keyboardist Richie Seibel (Lanfear, Ivanhoe), and only had to enlist a new drummer in Steve Bolognese (ex-Witherfall, Into Eternity) due to the lockdown caused by the pandemic.
As on the previous albums, American sound mastermind Dave Otero was in charge of the mix and drum recordings at his Flatline Audio studio in Denver, Colorado.
Last but not least comes the not entirely insignificant question:
Is the new concept album ‘Fear City’, like ‘Sweet Hollow’, the prelude to a story that will be continued in several instalments?
Ullrich:
“Everything’s possible, nothing is carved in stone. The end of the story leaves lots of options. And that’s precisely what makes our new album so exciting right down to the very last note!”