Whispers in the Shadow is a gothic rock band from Austria, formed in 1996. The band's name is inspired by the story The Whisperer in Darkness by H. P. Lovecraft. The lyrics deal mainly with occult and mystic concepts.

History

Whispers in the Shadow was formed as a solo project by Ashley Dayour (vocals, guitars, also known as guitarist for L'Âme Immortelle & Veneno para las Hadas) in 1996.

They soon developed into a full lineup and released their first album, Laudanum in 1997 followed by their second album November in 1999. These two albums are heavily influenced by the sound of The Cure's early recordings such as Pornography.

In 2000, they released the third album A Taste of Decay which was a departure into a more rock oriented sound. This was followed a year later by Permanent Illusions which was very much far from the gothic rock origins of the band. Psychedelic and progressive rock bands such as Pink Floyd had a major influence on the sound of this record.

After touring all over Europe in 2001, they released their first live album called Everything You Knew Was Wrong in 2003, but several lineup and record label changes forced them to take a break.

Whispers in the Shadow returned in 2007 with the live album A-Cold-Night followed by the re-releases of their first two albums Laudanum and November, remastered with new cover artwork and unreleased bonus tracks.

In 2008, they released their fifth studio album called Into the Arms of Chaos. This album can be seen as a new beginning and was produced by John A. Rivers at Woodbine Street Recording Studios. He also worked with bands such as The Chameleons, Clan of Xymox, Love and Rockets, Dead Can Dance and Sopor Aeternus and created a more harsh and powerful but still dark and psychedelic sound, which was described by the press as "Goth-Floyd", a mixture of the traditional gothic rock sound like Fields of the Nephilim with the soundscapes of Pink Floyd.

In 2010, they released The Eternal Arcane, the second part of a 4-piece cycle about the occult concept of alchemy.

In 2011, a live DVD called Searching for Light was released. The band then toured with Vendemmian and Merciful Nuns throughout Europe. In April 2011, they released a 6-track EP, The Lightbringer which includes a cover version of the Leonard Cohen classic "First We Take Manhattan" as well as other unreleased tracks. The main theme of the EP is the fall of the archangel Lucifer. The lyrics are inspired by Chaos Magic and Occult writers such as Austin Osman Spare, Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, Kenneth Grant, as well as writers from the Weird Fiction genre like Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen and the Cthulhu Mythos by H. P. Lovecraft.

2012 marked the release of their self-produced seventh studio album, which is part 3 of the ongoing conceptual cycle, The Rites of Passage.

Discography 1996 - Descent (demo tape, compilation) 1997 - Laudanum 1999 - November 2000 - Autumn Leaves and Trippy Dreams (live EP) 2000 - A Taste of Decay 2001 - Permanent Illusions 2003 - Everything You Knew was Wrong (live double album) 2007 - A Cold Night (live in Vienna, 25.10.2006) 2008 - Into the Arms of Chaos (How to Steal the Fire from Heaven) 2008 - Into the Arms of Chaos (limited edition with 70min DVD including live concert 2008) 2009 - Borrowed Nightmares and Forgotten Dreams (the remixed, the reworked and the abandoned) 2010 - The Eternal Arcane 2011 - Searching for Light (live DVD) 2011 - The Lightbringer EP (plus limited bonus EP Music for Rituals Vol. I - The Babalon Workings) 2012 - The Rites Of Passage 2012 - If Wormwood Falls (digital download only album, live in Berlin 29.09.2012) 2014 - Beyond the Cycles of Time External links Official website Official Myspace Ashley Dayour's Myspace v t e Whispers in the Shadow Ashley Dayour Fork Martin Acid Reinhard Schwarzinger Studio albums Laudanum November A Taste of Decay Permanent Illusions Into the Arms of Chaos (How to Steal the Fire from Heaven) The Eternal Arcane Live albums Autumn Leaves and Trippy Dreams Everything You Knew was Wrong A Cold Night