In the Shadows
Released in 1993 by Metal Blade Records, "In the shadows" marked the return… Read Full Bio ↴Released in 1993 by Metal Blade Records, "In the shadows" marked the return of legendary Danish proto-black / heavy metal act Mercyful Fate after the group was disbanded in the mid 1980's following the release of "Don't break the oath".

Although largely more "modern" in structure, sound and production than "Melissa" or "Don't break the oath", "In the shadows" is considered by many fans to have been a successful return for Mercyful Fate, with several songs now considered among the band's best including "Egypt", "The bell witch" and "Is that you, Melissa".

The album marks a departure from the band's Satanic fueled lyricism, although much of the subject matter is still focused on death, and the occult (i.e. "Egypt").

"In the shadows" is also notable for being slower in tempo yet more aggressive & dirgy than their prior and subsequent albums.
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In the Shadows
Mercyful Fate Lyrics


A Gruesome Time Everything is so strange in here And as I look through…
Egypt Ahh... Egypt... Ahh O Thou of countless names Who are one a…
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Return Of The Vampire And so I saw it The birth of a vampire Fresh in…
Shadows When the darkness eats away the day And the moon bears…
The Bell Witch Back in Tennessee, I saw a Family haunted by an entity It…
The Old Oak Do you remember the bridge? The bridge that was standing in…
Thirteen Invitations The mansion was right on the shore Down by the lake Nobody…


Ben - Moderator


on A Dangerous Meeting

Hi Chris, There were 2 interviews in particular which suggested this. (Unfortunately both the references below have since been taken down so the links below are broken)

Firstly in an interview with Loudwire, King Diamond discussed the inspiration behind "A Dangerous Meeting" and stated, "It's a song about a meeting that happened in Denmark, where I'm from, with some people who were into the darker side of things. They had a lot of things with them that I didn't want to have anything to do with. They had skulls, and there was a snake there, and all kinds of stuff that really freaked me out."

Loudwire - "King Diamond Talks Paranormal, Mysterious Fires + New Album 'The Institute'" (February 6, 2020)
https://loudwire.com/king-diamond-the-institute-album-interview/

Secondly in an interview with Metal Hammer, King Diamond stated that the lyrics to "A Dangerous Meeting" were based on his personal experiences, saying, "I have seen things that are unexplainable, and there's no way that science can prove some of the things that I have seen. It's just unexplainable. It's a very, very small percentage of the population that gets to see these things, and it's been with me since I was a child."

Metal Hammer - "King Diamond: The Real Story Behind 'Abigail'" (October 24, 2017)
https://www.loudersound.com/features/king-diamond-the-real-story-behind-abigail

Let me know if I've misunderstood what you've said or if you still think the above information is misleading.

Chris


on A Dangerous Meeting

I'd like to request a fact check on the above information.
"The lyrics to "A Dangerous Meeting" are based on King Diamond's experiences with the occult and paranormal."

King Diamond has actually said that the songs he wrote for Mercyful Fate are myths and legends, and that if anything the stuff he's written is more based on folktales and myths and that King Diamond the band is more based on personal experiences with the occult (though there are exceptions like Nightmare)

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