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King Diamond: "Them" (1997 Remastered Version) Heavy Metal Roadrunner Records July 18th, 1988
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Review
One of the most successful albums in the discography of King Diamond, "Them" has received the reissue treatment as well for 1997. While some argue that this is the best album by King Diamond, others will contest that it was below par in comparison to Abigail. Well, to be honest, the story to "Them" isn't quite the greatest, and with the inclusion of two new members, there is a rather dramatic change in music between this and Abigail. This change in music seems to leave something lacking with this album. While the opening songs "Welcome Home" and "The Invisible Guests" are great, and really suit the dramatic vocal range, "Tea" really just lacks a lot of impact, and "Mother's Getting Weaker" just sounds rather mediocre with nothing all that catchy in the guitar work. The story really starts to pick up during "Bye, Bye Missy", however the music seems to work against King at times as either is just rather boring, or simply too much, like when they first mention a demon's growl, it sounds like a completely different song then just ends like the song was cut off. The ending of the album isn't really all that great either. "The Accusation Chair" is a decent song with riffs that would definitely work in the background of a Halloiween film, and really sets up the ending for this album, which is followed after the ambient, interlude title track. "Twilight Symphony" will make you happy, as it's as enjoyable as the first two on this release. "Coming Home" is the actual ending to the story of this album, but it's clear that there was a sequel planned for this album, as the "Phone Call" track, which is poorly acted and rather lame, acts as more of an introdction to the next album. 1997 Remastered Version The remastered version of this release is something die hard fans would want to look into. The quality of the music on this release sounds great compared to the originals, though there was nothing wrong with them in the first place, really. This version also includes two bonus tracks, both rehearsal recordings of the music itself, no vocals. These are just nice tracks to hear and have in your collection, but outside of that, you probably will not go back and listen to them again. All in all, "Them" by King Diamond may have been his most commercially successful release, but the story on this release isn't all that great and leaves a lot to be desired lyrically. This somewhat commercially driven album lacks a lot to be desired, and only has a handful of killer tracks, and some songs that just seem like filler, or are about tea. All in all, this is one of the album by King Diamond that simply doesn't live up to the hype.
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