THEM – Psychedelic Enigma (Album Review)

KK Fosser’s ultimate mind trip set to metal.

There comes a point in every prominent horror franchise where successive sequels will compel a massive left-turn in the story arc. Even when the frequent companion theme of the supernatural allows for titular characters to cheat death and/or abruptly shift the setting of the narrative, a corresponding twist in the mode of storytelling is also called for to keep the concept fresh and the audience engaged.

Enter the predicament of KK Fosser, the protagonist and brainchild of Troy Norr and King Diamond tribute band turned unique conceptual heavy metal powerhouse THEM, who has had not only the misfortune losing his family and being subsequently killed, resurrected and repeatedly thwarted by the evil machinations of the witch hunter Peter Thompson, but returned to life in the 1980s and was apparently expelled from the world again via exorcism at the close of 2022’s Fear City. One can only ask just where the story could go at this point, and the answer provided by THEM’s fifth and latest studio offering, Psychedelic Enigma, presents the most jarring plot twist yet.

To those uninitiated into the creepy world of KK Fosser, the commonality with iconic Danish heavy metal icons Mercyful Fate and their theatrical frontman King Diamond’s solo work is obvious, but takes on a more subtle character. Despite their namesake being drawn from the 3^rd studio album of the latter focal point of influence, THEM plays in sonic territory that can be best described as a high-impact blend of thrash metal with a highly technical but old school take on traditional metal, touched by a horror aesthetic that includes dense atmospheric keyboard and vocal arrangements that are uncommon to the 2 aforementioned metal subgenres.

In relation to past endeavors, Psychedelic Enigma benefits from the continued tenure of 5/6 of the membership that put together its riveting predecessor, Fear City, and the sonic results are comparably elaborate, though a little less focused on narrative interludes and more on raw, high-octane metallic aggression. Trading riffs in a manner that resembles that of Andy LaRocque and his various collaborators over King Diamond’s roughly 4 decade solo run, Markus Ulrich and Markus Johansson spearhead an explosive cacophony of auditory mayhem with keyboardist Richie Seibel weaving spooky ambient tapestries in its midst, all to erect a mighty mansion of sound from which Troy Norr can effectively channel his elaborate narrative via singing, shouting and the occasional banshee wail.

In most respects, this album follows the basic heavy metal principle of “more is more”, repeatedly serving up one haymaker anthem after the next, most often in a fairly compact and banger-oriented fashion. After a brief prelude that sets the stage of a man comatose in a hospital bed about to embark on a bizarre mind trip in “Ad Rem”, things cut to the chase in rapid succession with the kinetic thrasher to rival every Iced Earth speeder “Catatonia”. Suffice it to say, this is the ideal opener to any horror story set to heavy metal, and sets a precedent of machine gun metallic precision with an ethereal keyboard backdrop that is recapped on the complex dueling guitar extravaganza “An Evil Deed” and the creepy thrashing rollercoaster ride “Silent Room”.

The lone exception to the excess of warp speed drumming, shred-happy solo interchanges, and haunting synthesized strings and choirs is Troy Norr’s vocalizations, which largely stick to a mid-ranged bellow flanked by frequent gang vocals right out of the Bay Area formula. This proves to heighten the impact of occasional bursts of King Diamond-inspired falsetto shrieks that paint over the head-banger extravaganza “Remember To Die” and the dissonant and ghostly extremeness of “Psychonautic State”.

Though Psychedelic Enigma tells a tale of existential horror in a comparatively straightforward fashion compared to prior efforts, some sizable occasions are taken to explore the elaborate songwriting territory of a more epic scope. Not too far into things, the extended anthem “Reverie” draws out the quick-paced thrashing formula of the shorter material with more twists and turns, coming close to channeling the same brilliance that King Diamond took to the Conspiracy album opener “At The Graves”, albeit minus the heavy falsetto vocal employment and at an even more chaotic speed.

The more melancholy and atmospheric yet still highly metallic “Electric Church” veers even closer to orthodox early King Diamond territory with a series of sorrowful ballad-like segments woven into a still strongly thrashing template that seems to pay tribute to Abigail, with Troy eventually letting those banshee wails soar at the song’s apex. A somewhat shorter and more consistently riff-happy take is told on “Echoes Of The Forgotten Realm”, which features Ulrich and Johansson showcasing a more melodically rich guitar presentation. But it all comes to a head at the album’s tail-end with the riveting 8 minutes plus coup de grace “Troubled Minds”, which comes with the most moving parts in every respect and stands as the most complex yet memorable long-form anthem in THEM’s catalog so far.

Arguably, the only thing that proves more compelling than the massive musical undertaking that culminates in Psychedelic Enigma is where the story is ultimately taken, which is far more cerebral than the classical horror elements of the previous installments. In similar fashion to the famed Alan Moore run of the Swamp Thing comic series, the trials of KK Fosser take on a more existential nature, one that presents the possibility that the more than 120 year quest for vengeance against the Thompson bloodline might have itself been the elaborate fantasy of a man named Troy living in the late 20^th century while in a coma after murdering his unfaithful wife.

Indeed, the entire KK Fosser persona may well be either entirely imaginary or the alternate persona created by dissociative identity disorder. Then again, it could just as easily be the bizarre side-effects of the prior exorcism being either botched or thwarted, and that the entire hospital scenario itself is an illusion.

Until THEM returns for the inevitable 6th installment of the series, all bets are off, but in the meantime, the open-ended nature of the story provides the icing on an extremely delicious heavy metal cake that is sure to turn lots of banging heads upon its release.

Release Date: October 24th, 2025
Record Label: Steamhammer
Genre: Thrash / Heavy Metal

Musicians:

• Markus Ullrich / Guitars
• KK Fossor / Vocals
• Markus Johansson / Guitars
• Alexander Palma / Bass
• Richie Seibel / Keyboards

Psychedelic Enigma Track-list:

1. Ad Rem
2. Catatonia
3. EvilDeed
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

Order the album here.