The Burning Shadows of Silence
Emperor Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Benighted darker and darker as I walk through the woods, into the
silent shadows. As the sky goes from dark to black ice cold whispers
burns my skin. From nowhere to the deepest of my soul they speak unto
me... grievance of sadness, like the gift of sorrow. A moon, a
bloodred full moonlights my black hearts night. Lightning cracks the
sky and thunders roll, through the night a chaos of storms
arise. Burning flames catch my eyes... Purgatory. Into the shadows so
dark I hear the choirs of evil, a "joy" in blasphemy beyond my darkest
fantasies. The Gate is open... Into the silent shadows I crawl, upon




the throne so cold, atmosphere of melancholy. I will forever
burn... Into the silent shadows.

Overall Meaning

The Burning Shadows of Silence by Emperor speaks of a journey through the woods where the singer encounters darkness and silence. The lyrics suggest that the singer is becoming more and more "benighted" as they move deeper into the shadows. The cold whispers are like greivances that burn the skin and speak to the soul. The atmosphere is filled with sadness and sorrow like a gift from the moon. The chaos of storms and lightning that rolls through the night is described as flames of purgatory. The choirs of evil, the "joy" in blasphemy that is beyond imagination, is heard in the shadows of darkness.


The singer is crawling into the shadows upon a throne of coldness where he will forever burn. The song speaks to the experience of darkness and the idea of accepting darkness as a means to move closer to death. The lyrics are a commentary on death, darkness and the acceptance of the inevitability of both. Emperor makes reference to darkness as something that is both beautiful and terrifying, a combination of silence and violence.


Line by Line Meaning

Benighted darker and darker as I walk through the woods, into the silent shadows.
As I journey through the woods, the darkness gradually consumes me until I find myself in complete silence and solitude.


As the sky goes from dark to black ice cold whispers burns my skin.
The freezing whispers of the pitch black night send shivers down my spine and chill me to the bone.


From nowhere to the deepest of my soul they speak unto me... grievance of sadness, like the gift of sorrow.
Suddenly, a voice inside me speaks of a deep sadness and loss, like a gift of sorrow bestowed upon me.


A moon, a bloodred full moonlights my black hearts night.
A full, blood-red moon illuminates my heart, which is filled with darkness and despair.


Lightning cracks the sky and thunders roll, through the night a chaos of storms arise.
The violent storm that rages through the night is accompanied by thunder that shakes the earth and lightning that illuminates the sky.


Burning flames catch my eyes... Purgatory.
I see a burning hell before me, and it seems like I am in purgatory, caught between the worlds of the living and the dead.


Into the shadows so dark I hear the choirs of evil, a 'joy' in blasphemy beyond my darkest fantasies.
As I descend deeper into the darkness, I hear the wicked choirs of evil singing of blasphemy and sin, which brings them twisted pleasure beyond my wildest nightmares.


The Gate is open... Into the silent shadows I crawl, upon the throne so cold, atmosphere of melancholy.
The gates of hell stand open before me, and I crawl into the silent shadows of the underworld, where I sit upon a cold, dark throne surrounded by an aura of melancholy.


I will forever burn... Into the silent shadows.
I know that I will burn in eternal flames, cast into the darkness of the silent shadows from which there is no escape.




Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@antontipura2686

Benighted darker and darker as I walk through the woods
Into the silent shadows
As the sky goes from dark to black ice cold whispers burns my skin
From nowhere to the deepest of my soul they speak unto me...
Grievance of sadness, like the gift of sorrow.
A moon, a bloodred full moonlights my black hearts night
Lightning cracks the sky and thunders roll
Through the night a chaos of storms arise
Burning flames catch my eyes... Purgatory
Into the shadows so dark I hear the choirs of evil
A "joy" in blasphemy beyond my darkest fantasies.
The Gate is open... Into the silent shadows I crawl, upon the throne so cold, atmosphere of melancholy
I will forever burn... Into the silent shadows.



All comments from YouTube:

@JonnyJungle77

By pure luck, this was the first black metal album I ever bought in around 1995. I had no knowledge of the band at that time.

It sounded very strange at first, but it really grew on me in a tremendous way. Amazing album.

@superkalafragalistikexpial4212

Same here. I got it from Warehouse Music and didn't know a thing about this band...20yrs later they are my favorite band

@toprak3479

This was the first BM album I got into and it had an unnerving feel to it back then, like it's supposed to. Nowadays it's just evil, fun time. Kinda wish I could get that creepy sinister vibe again.

@gorthoth

from 0:35-1:32 during those riffs if you imagine walking through the woods and into a dark cave with a torch and a battle axe it fits very well with the song :)

@JuanManuel-qz8qi

That art cover is just amazing :)

@antontipura2686

Benighted darker and darker as I walk through the woods
Into the silent shadows
As the sky goes from dark to black ice cold whispers burns my skin
From nowhere to the deepest of my soul they speak unto me...
Grievance of sadness, like the gift of sorrow.
A moon, a bloodred full moonlights my black hearts night
Lightning cracks the sky and thunders roll
Through the night a chaos of storms arise
Burning flames catch my eyes... Purgatory
Into the shadows so dark I hear the choirs of evil
A "joy" in blasphemy beyond my darkest fantasies.
The Gate is open... Into the silent shadows I crawl, upon the throne so cold, atmosphere of melancholy
I will forever burn... Into the silent shadows.

@toprak3479

0:34 Genius riff

@HardenedByFears

Yeah so simple but so breathtaking

@HeroSword_P

And the choir elevates it to legendary status.

@t0ypuddl3

Battle ready.

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