Is it possible for a band to be better than the one they model themselves after? Them seems to prove it is. Starting life as a King Diamond tribute band, Them eventually started writing their own material that in my opinion surpasses anything the horror metal master ever released. It helps that Them is not blindly copying King Diamond. Just listen to their brand new ‘Return To Hemmersmoor’ and the thrash and speed metal influences of guitarists Markus Ullrich and Markus Johansson are immediately obvious, though not without the drama that conceptual works like this require. This is simply excellent heavy metal.

After listening to ‘Return To Hemmersmoor’ a couple of times, it finally dawned on me why I prefer Them over their main influence. Everything on King Diamond’s albums is in service of the narrative. This includes his vocals, which are a great atmospheric tool, but don’t offer a lot in terms of memorable melodies. For example, a melodic anthem like ‘Free’ would probably not have made the cut on one of his albums, but stands out here. Them’s Troy Norr is far more capable of carrying a strong melody. Am I saying he is a better singer? Not necessarily, but yes, he is.

Them’s main appeal to me was always their guitar work and that is no different on ‘Return To Hemmersmoor’. There aren’t many bands with an actual keyboard player in their ranks this guitar-oriented, but that hardly is a complaint. Most of the riffs on ‘Battle Blood’ would not have sounded out of place on any of Exodus’ recent albums, which makes it one of the highlights of the record. ‘Age Of Ascension’ has got some vicious, yet creative riff work going on as well, providing an energetic start of ‘Return To Hemmersmoor’. Plenty of excellent dramatic guitar harmonies are all over the album as well; ‘Hellhounds: The Harbingers Of Death’ had me sold within a second in that regard.

Most albums like ‘Return To Hemmersmoor’ are designed to be listened to in one sitting, but I always feel like concept albums like Them’s are truly great when their songs are impressive even without the context of the album. This is certainly the case with ‘Return To Hemmersmoor’. Apart from the theatrical interludes, obviously, none of the songs need their conceptual surroundings to be good. Even the more dramatic tracks, such as the excellently dynamic ‘Waken’, are simply excellent songs.

‘Return To Hemmersmoor’ did not have the immediate impact on me that ‘Manor Of The Se7en Gables’ did, but it is an equally powerful record full of dynamic heavy metal that apart from its production could easily have been from the late eighties. I’m not a fan of the plasticky snare drum sound and I have never enjoyed voice acting in music, but I tend to pay too much attention to the excellent guitar work and Norr’s melodies to let that ruin my listening experience. With ‘Return To Hemmersmoor’, Them once again proves that the step from tribute band to original material doesn’t necessarily result in lesser music.

Recommended tracks: ‘Battle Blood’, ‘Age Of Ascension’, ‘Free’