The Band: Them
Country: United
States/Germany
Answers by: Troy Norr
(vocals)
THEM. Since I listened
to their debut album, “Sweet Hollow”, my dreams and nightmares, inspired by the
story they tell, are recurrent: I only hear voices of every range and guitar
solos from every shadow. THEM was orignally a tribute band to the great King
Diamond, but thanks to the metal gods it has grown into the mosnter it’s now,
producing killing songs by itself. And they will carry on with it, but...what
the hell!, you can read it by yourself in this awesome interview with Troy
Norr, the mastermind behind this project, and a great vocalist too.
Hello Troy and
congratulations for your fantastic debut album “Sweet Hollow”
TN: Hello Alberto and thank you for your praise! We are all
very excited for the release of “Sweet Hollow”
Initially Them was
created by you, Troy Norr, as a tribute band to King Diamond repertoire, right?
TN: Yes, THEM was originally “Them – The King Diamond
Tribute”. The tribute version had completely different members except for
myself and stopped performing in May 2011.
In fact, it’s easy to
imagine that the band’s name has something to do with Kind Diamond’s
discography, am I wrong?
TN: Yes, the name THEM was greatly influenced by King
Diamond’s 3rd solo record with the same name. When it was a tribute band the
name “Them – The King Diamond Tribute” was chosen because the “them” album was
my favorite KD album of all time. When it came time for the original version to
form I felt the name “THEM” kept to the roots of the band’s origin. I also
worked on having the logo developed by 2 different artists to make sure it
would be a killer logo. The name THEM also is very simple and easy to remember!
A great point,
indeed. How long was Them touring around in the early years and which were the
biggest shows you made?
TN: “Them – The King Diamond Tribute” performed over 20
shows from the years 2008 through 2011. The original “THEM” performed their
first tour early in 2016 as direct support for Helloween on their 2016
USA/Canadian Tour. The biggest shows for the Tribute version were when Mike
Wead and Hal Patino performed with us. Mike Wead performed a few songs with us
for a Halloween Show we did back in 2008. Hal performed 4 shows in the span of
two weeks with us back in 2011. For the original version of THEM, all the shows
performed so far were big since we were on tour with Helloween and the crowds
came early to watch THEM perform. It has been great so far!
TN: The musicians that comprised the tribute band originally
consisted of 3/5 of the band held so close to my heart growing up, COLDSTEEL. I
knew putting a tribute band like this together needed to have great musicians
otherwise it would not sound right. As for the Original version of THEM, I
believe we raised the bar a full step upward. Again, stellar musicians from
around the globe come together to write and record something we are all very
excited about. So the main difference is the distance. With the tribute band, I
used to have to drive about 1.5 hours one way to rehearse. Now with the
original band, most of us have to fly on an airplane to rehearse!
The current line up
is really awesome, full of guys from the champions league. So, the question is:
there will be a second part with this line up? Or it’s a take it and run story?
TN: “THEM” is a band consisting of musicians from other
bands. Everyone part of this lineup would definitely have the choice to
continue being part of it. If not, then not. Right now, we are discussing the
basics for album #2. But keep this in mind. “Sweet Hollow” and any album
afterwards will be a selft contained story. “Sweet Hollow” has a definite
ending and it isn’t a pleasant one. Each Album would introduce a new story with
new characters. However, that does not mean there might be a tie in to a
character or place from a previous album at a later date. The only character
that exists in all the stories is my character “Klaus Konig Fossor”. As time
goes on the listener will see and hear how KK evolves.
Awesome, it seems you
have dedicated a long time to think and build that frame. In what moment did
you take the decision to leave the role of a cover band and started creating
your own songs and why?
TN: Back in 2010, I truly believed the members I was
performing with were more than capable of writing an original offshoot of what we
were doing cover wise. When Hal Patino visited and performed with our tribute
band, Hal wanted to visit the Amityville Horror house in LI. I explained to Hal
that the windows in the house were changed so it looks like every other house
in the area. I offered to take Hal to “Sweet Hollow” Cemetery instead and he
thought that would be awesome so we went. “Sweet Hollow” is what the locals
call the cemetery but the real name is “Melville Cemetery”. The cemetery is on
Sweet Hollow Road in Melville and locals call it “Sweet Hollow” probably
because it sounds better than Melville Cemetery. So after our last show in 2011
which was with Hal, our drummer had hurt his ankle so it was time to write an
album. That fall, interest in the resurrection
of Coldsteel (Even for a brief moment) started brewing with the re
releases of demos and the debut album “Freakboy” so we shelved the “Sweet
Hollow” album and worked on an EP for Coldsteel called “America Idle”. The
original members decided to part ways with me in 2012 when Coldsteel were
offered to tour as direct support for Helloween throughout USA and Canada. I
accepted, the other members refused so then we parted ways. I had met Markus
Ullrich at a business dinner a year before and we became friends. When I told
Markus what had happened he offered to write the album with me. I instantly
agreed and the rest is history! I met Kevin through a friend and Kevin was
interested in the project after having heard the material Markus and I had
demoed. I met Markus Johansson through Kevin. He had performed with Kevin on
the Sylencer album and was very interested in the material and concept. Mike
Lepond had seen me perform a few times in the King Diamond Tribute band and was
interested years before we even started writing! Richie Seibel came as a
recommendation from Markus Ullrich since he performed with him in Lanfear.
Well, another proof
that good thing attract good things. That decision has proved to be very right,
because “Sweet Hollow” is a monster of an album. Did you ever imagine you would
complete so a great album?
TN: I always envisioned that “Sweet Hollow” would be my
personal opus and it is. I was planning on only writing this last piece and
calling it a day. I knew it was good and I was 100% happy with the outcome. I
have accomplished so much in my life as a musician and a person and at this
point was comfortable walking away from music after the release of this album.
However, me stepping down is not going to happen anytime soon. I am 47 years old and just getting warmed up!
Many reviews so far have called “Sweet Hollow” an opus, epic, and a
masterpiece! I call it our vision!
A great vision. How
long did you work on “Sweet Hollow” and how was the composition process?
TN: “Sweet Hollow” took about 2 years to finish. Mainly
because it was my first concept album and on top of that we needed to develop
my character KK Fossor as well as the band’s logo. The writing took place
between Markus Ullrich in Germany and myself in NY (USA). Markus would write
the music and I would write the vocal meldoies and patterns. Finally the story
and lyrics were developed. Solos were recorded in Germany and Chicago, IL.
Drums were recorded in San Antonio, TX. Rhythm guitars were recorded in Germany
and so were keys. Vocals and bass were recorded at the same studio in NY. The
entire project was mixed and mastered by Dave Otero from Flatlineaudio.com in
Colorado. I flew out to Colorado for a few days to sit with Dave and see him
mix over 300 tracks! It was insane.
I do believe you, but
the final result deserves that effort. For those who has not listened to “Sweet
Hollow” I would say it’s a heavy metal work with all the mistery and darkness
of Kind Diamond’s legacy...
TN: Yes, I agree with your comment. There are influences of
King Diamond but it is 100% original with a complex storyline. 3 separate
stories merge and all characters are original. Aside from the homage paid to
King, I have paid homage to some of my other favorites such as the movie Evil
Dead as well as Tales from the Crypt. The story of “Sweet Hollow” is part fact,
part Long Island, NY folk lore and the rest pure fiction. Look up “Sweet
Hollow” and you will find very interesting reads on the internet.
Maybe, there will be
those people that think that your sound is too similar to King Diamond’s, do
you care about it?
TN: There are some people that think we are flat out copying
King. That is just not true. A lot of what I/We have done has been out of
homage and respect to King. There is only one King Diamond now and forever.
I/We are not trying to replace him. We just felt it would be interesting to go
into a heavier and more dynamic original direction. Some unsupportive comments
bothered me a little bit initially but I realized that people have the right to
criticize however they want. I know that I had a vision and I brought that
vision to fruition with everyone’s help in THEM. I am 100% happy with how
everything turned out and looking back I would not have done anything
different.
TN: Actually I never counted the different voices. What a
good question. There are 3 similar voices that King uses but the rest are mine.
I even use a clean singing voice at times. There was a reason for all of these
voices. When writing a concept album the music and tone of the voice helps
direct the mood of the current chapter of the story. If I sang the same way
throughout the album something would be lost. The feeling would be lost. I
never sang with this many voices before. As limited as it may sound, I am a
Thrash singer. There really is not much diversity with Thrash singing. If you
compared the last Coldsteel EP “America Idle” to the THEM “Sweet Hollow” album
you might think there are two different singers. It has even been noted that it
sounds like there are multiple singers on “Sweet Hollow”. I assure you never
once has anyone else recorded their voice or were there ever use of any
Harmonizers on “Sweet Hollow”. In some cases there were over 20+ tracks of
vocals with each part being Quadrupled! The only voices on the album that are
not mine are the ones record by Amanda Norr, my daughter who played the role of
Miranda/Mary and Henrietta who was played by Angela Deritis. There are some
angelic voices that may appear to be female on the record in some songs such as
“The Quiet Room” and “The Crimson Corpse” but in fact are mine!
Really crazy! I just
can say congratulations for the big vocal execution. Although heavy metal is
the dominant style we are also gonna find some other approaches, as the speed
metal in The Harrowing Road to Hollow, the thrashy riffs in The Crimson Corpse
or the progressive touch in Blood from Blood...
TN: You are correct! The reason being the mood. The entire
mood of the record was structured out before a single note was written. As
songs were written, I knew which position on the album they needed to be in.
Musically they were not written in the order they are listed. THEM has been
tagged as a Power Metal band by many critics. I am not so sure that is
accurate. I think THEM is more like a heavy metal opera. Especially with the
live theatrics we induce into our live show.
That variety apart
from the heavy metal core of your sound only makes your album more and more
enjoyable. I suppose it is the consequence of the different visions and
contributions from all the guys in the band, right?
TN: Not really. Like I said, when writing the album the
speed/tempo/mood was determined as how the story would flow. Yes, with each
musician contributing his input and his person vision to his performance helped
sculpt the mood even further.
I would like to
mention the weight in the band of Lanfear’s guys. Especially Markus Ullrich has
been in so many projects this year... what happens with this guy? He can stop
time at his will or what...?
TN: Markus Ullrich is a song writing machine! He released 3
fantastic albums this year. Both of which I personally love and not because he
is my friend and co author of “Sweet Hollow”. Richie (Keys) added a whole other
atmospheric element to the record we would not have without his presence on the
album. Richie’s role was so important for this concept album. As for Markus, he
will not stop anytime soon. He is writing a follow up to the Septagon album and
starting the beginning process for the follow up to “Sweet Hollow”. The man is
never out of great ideas!
We will have to
interview Markus again hahaha. Troy Norr, you, was another big surprise, where
were you hidden all these years?
TN: I stopped singing in 1993, developed my career in
Information Technology and created a family. I started to sing once again in
2004. I did not really get involved in originals on a more serious note until
2011.
Never late to be back
if it’s for good, as fortunately it happened this time. By the way, I think the
album tells a whole story, following the tradition of Kim Bendix’s bands, can
we talk about a concept album?
TN: Yes, Sweet Hollow is a concept story told in a horror
fashion. Like I said previously it is 3 stories that merge.
The cover art is just
perfect, who made it?
TN: vancekelly.com created the artwork. It came out just as
we requested. Vance is great!
Before starting the
composition of “Sweet Hollow” did you have some talk with Mr. Bendix, kind of
we are going to make your legend bigger or something...?
TN: No I didn’t however I did meet King in the fall of 2015
and told him about THEM as well as handing him a cd containing 4 songs from
“Sweet Hollow”. I am not sure if he listened to it or not but I explained to
him that in no way was this created out of disrespect.
If you have to choose
between King Diamond or Mercyful Fate, what it would be?
TN: I would choose King Diamond. I like the more progressive
nature of his solo work a little more than Mercyful Fate material even though
MF rules!
After listening to
your album many people will be wishing to see you on the road. It would be
memorable to see you playing, any gigs around for this 2016 or 2017?
TN: Like I said we performed early 2016. Our booking agent
is putting together a European tour for fall 2017. Perhaps a few festivals
thrown into the mix? We are open to all.
Great! Would you play
the whole album from beginning to the end? Any covers in the set list?
TN: On our planned fall tour in 2017, we are headlining so
yes we would perform the entire album in it’s entirety the way it was meant to
be heard. If we are direct support or performing on a festival we will be
performing key songs only.
A show to attend, no
matter what. Troy, what are your plans
for the future?
TN: Write another THEM album. Possibly write another
coldsteel album. Go hiking in the mountains!
Hahaha, we will be
here to tell it. Thank you very much Mr. Troy Norr for your attention and wish you all the
success you deserve
TN: Thank you so much for the interview and we hope to see
you all on the road in 2017! \m/ \m/
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