In the Shadows (album)

For other uses, see In the Shadows (disambiguation).

In the Shadows
Studio album by Mercyful Fate
Released	June 1993
Recorded	February and April 1993
Studio	Dallas Sound Lab, Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	53:28
Label	Metal Blade
Producer	King Diamond, Hank Shermann, Tim Kimsey, Brian Slagel
Mercyful Fate chronology
Return of the Vampire (1992) In the Shadows (1993) The Bell Witch (1994)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	8/10[2]
Sputnikmusic	4.5/5[3]

In the Shadows is the third full-length studio album by Danish heavy metal band Mercyful Fate. It is the first offering of the band since their reunion in 1992.[4] This would be the final full-length album Timi Hansen would appear on before his death in 2019. The album was released in June 22, 1993 via Metal Blade Records.[5] Unlike previous Mercyful Fate albums, which were entirely centered around lyrical themes of Satanism and the occult, the lyrics on this album are rather focused on more conceptual horror-themes, akin to King Diamond's work with his eponymous band. The band would return to a primarily occult/Satanic lyrical approach the following year on the, Time album released in 1994.

Some editions of In the Shadows contain a bonus track, "Return of the Vampire... 1993", that is a re-recording of the song "Return of the Vampire", present in the homonymous 1992 compilation album, featuring Lars Ulrich of Metallica on drums.

The album cover was painted by Torbjorn Jorgensen / Studio Dzyan.^[citation needed]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by King Diamond

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Egypt"	Diamond	4:52
2.	"The Bell Witch"	Hank Shermann	4:34
3.	"The Old Oak"	Shermann	8:55
4.	"Shadows"	Diamond	4:42
5.	"A Gruesome Time"	Michael Denner	4:31
6.	"Thirteen Invitations"	Diamond	5:17
7.	"Room of Golden Air" (instrumental)	Denner	3:07
8.	"Legend of the Headless Rider"	Shermann	7:43
9.	"Is That You, Melissa?"	Diamond	4:41

Bonus track

No.	Title	Music	Length
10.	"Return of the Vampire... 1993"	Shermann	5:08

Personnel

Mercyful Fate

• King Diamond - vocals
• Hank Shermann - guitars
• Michael Denner - guitars
• Timi Hansen - bass

Additional musicians

• Morten Nielsen - drums, except on "Return of the Vampire... 1993"
• John Marshall - harpsichord on track 9
• Lars Ulrich - drums on "Return of the Vampire... 1993"

Production

• King Diamond - production, mixing
• Hank Shermann - production
• Tim Kimsey - production, engineering, mixing
• Sterling Winfield - assistant engineering
• David Rosenblad, Thom Caccetta - digital editing
• Eddy Schreyer - mastering at Future Disc, Los Angeles
• Brian Slagel - executive production
• Torbjorn Jorgensen / Studio Dzyan - cover art
• Thomas Grondahl - photography

References

1. Huey, Steve. "Mercyful Fate - In the Shadows review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
2. Popoff, Martin (August 1, 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 272–273. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
3. Nash, J. "Mercyful Fate - In the Shadows". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
4. Biography - Hank Shermann | Official Website
5. "In the Shadows at KingDiamondCoven.com". KingDiamondCoven.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved 2024-02-09.