"In the Shadows" is a song by Finnish

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band

the Rasmus The Rasmus is a Finnish rock band that formed in 1994 in Helsinki while the band members were in upper comprehensive school.Main source of the band's history: The original band members were Lauri Ylönen (lead singer-songwriter), Eero Heinone ...

, included on the group's fifth studio album ''

Dead Letters ''Dead Letters'' is the fifth album by Finnish band The Rasmus released in 2003. It was released later in 2004 in the US, UK and Australia. Their previous album, '' Into'', had seen some success in some parts of Europe, particularly Scandina ...

''. Released in 2003, the single achieved considerable chart success throughout Europe and Oceania, including the United Kingdom, where it reached 3, and New Zealand, where it topped the chart. The song was nominated for the Kerrang! Award for Best Single in 2004.

Composition

"In the Shadows" is written in the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

. The chorus is based on the " millennial whoop" vocal pattern, and is considered the earliest XXI century example of this tool in popular music. The "whoop" did exist before, but only became ubiquitous after "In the Shadows".

Music videos

There are four different music videos for the song: the Finnish (Bandit) version, the European (Crow) version, the American (Mirror) version, and a fourth, simplified version. A new version of the song, co-written by and featuring Ukrainian rap group

Kalush Orchestra Kalush (stylised in all caps) is a Ukrainian rap group formed in 2019. The group consists of founder and rapper Oleh Psiuk, multi-instrumentalist Ihor Didenchuk, and breakdancer MC KylymMen (). Didenchuk is also a member of the electro-folk ...

, is accompanied by a music video.

Finnish (Bandit) version – 2003

The video (directed by Finn Andersson for Film Magica Oy in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

) shows the Rasmus performing on a stage that resembles a helipad, and are in the process of stealing from a bank when the police arrive unexpectedly.

Lauri Ylönen Lauri Johannes Ylönen (born 23 April 1979) is a Finnish singer-songwriter, best known as the co-founder and frontman of the Finnish alternative rock band The Rasmus. Biography The Rasmus When he and Heinonen started at Suutarila high school ...

is almost caught, but manages to grab onto the safe-door, which is being dragged behind the tow-car that the group uses for the robbery, and goes skidding down the road. He falls off and runs into the woods where police dogs find him. Drummer

Aki Hakala The Rasmus is a Finnish rock band that formed in 1994 in Helsinki while the band members were in upper comprehensive school.Main source of the band's history: The original band members were Lauri Ylönen (lead singer-songwriter), Eero Heinonen ...

then ushers him into the car where Lauri makes his lucky escape and the car drives off. The video was included in the soundtrack of Finnish movie ''

Pahat pojat ''Bad Boys'' ( fi, Pahat pojat) is a 2003 Finnish crime drama film directed by Aleksi Mäkelä, based on the story of a notorious real-life family of criminals known as "the Daltons of Eura". It was the second most successful film in Finnish th ...

'' and footage from the film was used in the video.

European (Crow) version – 2003

The band are placed on a stage in a nondescript location and perform the song. Around the room there are crows flying around, who later break through the small rectangular windows. Towards the end, one crow breaks a light on the ceiling with its wings and the band performs in a shower of sparks. In the end, the band transforms into feathers. The video was directed by Niklas Fronda and Fredrik Löfberg, Baranga Film in Stockholm, Sweden.

US/UK (Mirror) version – 2004

In the video, directed by

Philipp Stölzl Philipp Stölzl (born 1967 in Munich) is a German director. He began to direct music videos in the mid-1990s and directed his first feature film in 2002. Life and career Philipp Stölzl was trained as a set and costume designer at the Münchner ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, Romania, the band are performing a concert in what looks to be an old Victorian mansion. During the verses, a maid (Madalina Ghitescu) is seen constantly busy serving the masters of the house in what appears to be the past of the mansion. The maid sees (lead singer) Lauri and the concert in mirrors on the walls, which causes her to become distracted, making mistakes and dropping trays. Eventually, while despairing over her errors in her room, she sees Lauri and all the fans in her mirror, while the master of the house is approaching with somebody else, possibly the head maid, presumably to reprimand the new maid. Lauri tugs her through the mirror in her room to where they are performing. She then finishes watching the concert. It concludes with the master of the house and the others entering to find the maid's room empty.

Fourth version – 2004

The Rasmus are seen performing in a plain-looking room, similar in appearance to where they perform in the "Crow" version.

Kalush Orchestra version – 2022

The group released a new version of the song, titled "In the Shadows of Ukraine" and featuring Ukrainian rap group

. The music video for this version is directed by Leonid Kolosovskyi.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

In popular culture

"In the Shadows" was released for '' Guitar Hero: World Tour'' as downloadable content. It is available as either a single track or as part of the European Track Pack 03 alongside "Break It Out" by

Vanilla Sky ''Vanilla Sky'' is a 2001 American science fiction thriller film directed, written, and co-produced by Cameron Crowe. It is an English-language remake of Alejandro Amenábar's 1997 Spanish film '' Open Your Eyes'', which was written by Amenábar ...

and "C'est comme ça" by

Les Rita Mitsouko Les Rita Mitsouko (, translation: ''The Rita Mitsukos'') were a French pop rock group formed by Fred Chichin and Catherine Ringer. The duo first performed as Rita Mitsouko at Gibus Club in Paris in 1980. They went on to become one of the most a ...

. The song was also unlockable in '' Guitar Rock Tour''. In France, the song is used since 2006 as the title theme for TV show '' On n'est pas couché''. In 2004, ''

Eddsworld ''Eddsworld'' (capitalized as ''EDDSWORLD'' in the official title design) is a British Flash-animated web series created by Edd Gould. Since premiering on 20 December 2004, the series has been published through Newgrounds, DeviantArt, YouTube ...

'' creator

Edd Gould Edward Duncan Ernest Gould, (28 October 1988 – 25 March 2012) was a British animator, artist, writer, director, and voice actor. He was best known for creating '' Eddsworld'', a media franchise consisting of flash animations and web comics ...

featured the song in his 2004 animation "Creative Shadows".

References

External links

The Rasmus' official website

{{Authority control 2003 singles 2003 songs 2004 singles Island Records singles Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Hungary Number-one singles in New Zealand Playground Music Scandinavia singles The Rasmus songs Songs written by Lauri Ylönen Universal Records singles