After the release of their debut album Enter in 1997, the band became prominent in the Dutch underground scene. It was not until 2001 that they became known to the general public, with the single "Ice Queen" from their second album Mother Earth, which reached No. 2 on the Dutch charts. This was followed by the band winning the Conamus Exportprijs, a Dutch music award, four years in a row, and a fifth in 2016. Their next albums The Silent Force (2004) and The Heart of Everything (2007) debuted at No. 1 on the Dutch charts and expanded their international recognition. In 2008, they released Black Symphony, a live album recorded with the Metropole Orchestra. This was followed in 2009 by An Acoustic Night at the Theatre, another live album, this time with acoustic renditions of the songs.
The band's fifth studio album, The Unforgiving, was released in March 2011 and was one part of a transmedia effort, alongside both a comic book series and a series of short films that together encompass a story. The album saw the band increasingly venturing on new musical territories outside symphonic metal. Their sixth studio album, Hydra, was released in early 2014 in Japan, Europe, and the United States. The album advanced the band's exploration of new musical genres and features guest appearances from various artists: Finnish singer Tarja Turunen, who appears in the lead single "Paradise (What About Us?)"; Howard Jones, former vocalist of American metalcore band Killswitch Engage; Dave Pirner, lead vocalist of American alternative rock band Soul Asylum; and American rapper Xzibit. The band had extensive airplay on BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom with one of the songs from the album, "Whole World Is Watching" featuring Pirner.
Their latest studio album, Resist, was released in February 2019 and incorporates influences from other musical styles such as industrial and EDM. By 2016, the band had already sold more than 3.5 million albums worldwide.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Within_Temptation
Studio albums
Enter (1997)
Mother Earth (2000)
The Silent Force (2004)
The Heart of Everything (2007)
The Unforgiving (2011)
Hydra (2014)
Resist (2019)
Bleed Out (2023)
Deceiver of Fools
Within Temptation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He feeds on hate
He rules again
With growing hate
He will gain their faith again
Light in the darkness is too small to see
There's always a sparkle of hope
If you just believe
He told the tale so many times
About the dream not meant to be
In the world of the free
He plays with your mind
As faith for the future faded fast
He grows strong with their displeasure
It sets him free
Deceiver of hearts
Deceiver of fools
He rules with fear
Deceiver of hearts
Deceiver of fools
He rules again
He feeds on fear
Poisons the truth
To gain their faith
To lead the way
To a world of decay
He rules your heart
He will sell your soul to the grave
Without a hesitation to make
He belongs to the dark
Please awake
And see the truth
He can only be
If you believe what he tells you
Remember who you are
What you stand for
And there will always be a way
In my heart there is a place
In my heart there is a trace
Of a small fire burning
A sheltering ray shines through this night
Although it's small, it's bright
But darkness is lurking
He will sell your soul to bitterness and cold
All fear him
Deceiver of hearts
Deceiver of fools
He rules with fear
Deceiver of hearts
Deceiver of fools
Shall he rule again?
The lyrics to Within Temptation's song Deceiver of Fools speak about a manipulative and deceptive leader who feeds on fear and hate to gain power and control over the people. This leader uses their charismatic personality to play with the people's minds and make them doubt their own beliefs and values. The lyrics warn about the danger of blindly following such a leader, who ultimately leads to a world of decay and darkness. However, there is always hope and a way out, as long as people remember who they are and stand up to this deceiver of fools.
The song is a commentary on the dangers of blind faith and the need for critical thinking, especially in the face of charismatic and manipulative leaders. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a world where fear and hate rule, and darkness is always lurking. However, the song offers a glimmer of hope, a small fire burning in the darkness, representing the hope that can arise if people believe in themselves and their ability to stand up to tyranny.
Line by Line Meaning
He feeds on fear
His power and control comes from people's fear
He feeds on hate
Hatred fuels him and gives him strength
He rules again
He has regained power and is in control once more
With growing hate
As peoples' hatred grows, so does his strength and control
He will gain their faith again
He will manipulate and deceive people into believing in him once more
Light in the darkness is too small to see
The hope that people have is being overshadowed by darkness and despair
There's always a sparkle of hope
Even in the darkest of times, there is always a small glimmer of hope to hold onto
He told the tale so many times
He repeats a story to manipulate and control the people
About the dream not meant to be
He convinces people that their dreams and aspirations are not attainable
In the world of the free
Even in a world with freedom, he finds a way to control and manipulate people
He plays with your mind
He toys with people's thoughts and emotions to gain control over them
As faith for the future faded fast
People's hope for the future is dwindling quickly
He grows strong with their displeasure
His power and control increase when people are dissatisfied
It sets him free
Their displeasure towards those in power sets him free to gain power
Deceiver of hearts
He deceives people and gains control over their emotions and hearts
Deceiver of fools
He deceives and manipulates people who are easily fooled
He rules with fear
He controls people through fear and intimidation
He feeds on fear
People's fear fuels his power and control
Poisons the truth
He distorts and perverts the truth to gain control over people
To gain their faith
He manipulates and deceives people to gain their trust and faith in him
To lead the way
He leads people down a dark path towards destruction and despair
To a world of decay
He leads people to a world of ruin and decay
He rules your heart
He has complete control over people's emotions and actions
He will sell your soul to the grave
He will lead people to their demise, and they will give up everything to follow him
Without a hesitation to make
He has no qualms or reservations about leading people to their destruction
He belongs to the dark
He is a part of the darkness and desires to bring others down into it
Please awake
Wake up and see the truth
And see the truth
See through his deception and manipulation
He can only be
He can only have power if people believe in him and follow his lies
If you believe what he tells you
If you are easily manipulated and deceived, he will have power over you
Remember who you are
Remember your identity and your values
What you stand for
Remember what you believe in and what you fight for
And there will always be a way
No matter how dark things may seem, there is always a way to resist and fight against him
In my heart there is a place
There is a small piece of positivity in everyone's heart
In my heart there is a trace
Even when things seem hopeless, there is a spark of hope within us
Of a small fire burning
The small glimmer of hope within us is like a fire that can grow and spread
A sheltering ray shines through this night
Even in the darkest of times, there is a bright light that can guide us
Although it's small, it's bright
Even though the light of hope may seem small, it shines bright and can overcome the darkness
But darkness is lurking
Despite the light of hope, there is still darkness and despair that threatens our well-being
All fear him
He wants people to live in fear of him and his power
Shall he rule again?
Will he regain power and control over the people once more?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: OSCAR C. HOLLEMAN, RENE J. MERKELBACH, ROBERT WESTERHOLT, SHARON J. DEN ADEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind