Nox Arcana

Nox Arcana is the American neoclassical dark wave musical project of Joseph Vargo. The group was founded in 2003 as a duo with William Piotrowski, who left the group in 2008 to pursue a career in film score composing and Vargo continued on as a solo act under the name. Piotrowski still acts as Nox Arcana's studio engineer. The name in Latin translates to "mysteries of the night."[1][2] All of Nox Arcana's music is released independently on the Monolith Graphics label, a publishing company owned by Vargo. With their third album, Nox Arcana became a Billboard Top Ten charting artist in the holiday genre.[3]

Nox Arcana
Origin	Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Genres	Neoclassical dark wave, dark ambient, dungeon synth, ethereal wave
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Monolith Graphics
Associated acts	Michelle Belanger, Buzz-Works
Website	www.noxarcana.com
Members	Joseph Vargo
Past members	William Piotrowski (2003–2008)

Concept

Nox Arcana specializes in concept albums based on original stories, as well as gothic fiction and classic horror literature[4] Some of their albums also make reference to medieval themes and ancient mythology.[5]

In addition to the storytelling aspect of each album, hidden puzzles and interactive quests are incorporated into the album artwork and into the music itself. Beginning with the Blood of the Dragon CD in 2006, Vargo began a tradition of incorporating a quest or adventure within the album artwork and sometimes leaving clues in his narratives. He later went back and did the same for some of the earlier CDs. Now more than half of Nox Arcana's CDs contain some sort of hidden puzzle, which is left to the listener to discover.[6][7]

Nox Arcana's music is often used to provide atmosphere for films, public events, role-playing games and during Halloween at theme parks, several of which have based haunted attractions on Nox Arcana's original theme albums, Transylvania and Blackthorn Asylum.[8][9][10]

Musical style

Nox Arcana's music is melodic and moody, focusing on a dominant melody line. Instrumentation varies with each album as appropriate to the theme or time period of the album concept, and typically includes piano, bells, violin, pipe organ, harpsichord, timpani drums and other percussion. Some albums also include cymbals, lutes, acoustic guitars, bagpipes and glockenspiel, depending on the theme of a given album.

Their music is generally classified as dark wave or dark ambient, "sometimes sandwiched into the gothic music genre" [11] and aptly labeled "atmospheric gothic."[12] The moods associated with Nox Arcana music describe it as ominous, romantic, lush, epic, otherworldly, menacing, spooky and eerie, Nox Arcana's music covers a broad range of subgenres within the rock and alternative music categories.[13]

Joseph Vargo explained Nox Arcana's style to a blogger from Gnostics.com: "Our music is mainly classically based instrumental, although we do incorporate chanting choirs and spoken narratives for dramatic effect to achieve a blend of darkly haunting melodies that encompass the complete gothic spectrum the romantic, the mysterious, and the horrific. We utilize a variety of instruments such as piano, pipe organ, violin, acoustic guitar, drums and tolling bells to achieve symphonic orchestrations. Our concept has always been to create moody and melody-driven gothic soundscapes that take the listener on a musical journey through various dark realms of fantasy." [1]

Carnival of Lost Souls though primarily a dark cabaret-style album, also contains a heavy metal song, while the music on the Blood of Angels album blends industrial dance and tribal rhythms with ethereal-style vocals.

Vocals and narratives are also used sparingly to help relate a story or serve as introduction to a musical piece, for example, the voice of "Jonathan Harker" and whispered female voices of "Dracula's brides" that beckon to the listener, a carnival barker with the indistinct sounds of an audience in the distance, or "Edgar Allan Poe" and a voice calling out from the grave after being prematurely buried, the gravelly voice of a "witch" casting a spell, and a variety of low Gregorian-style chanting and choirs.[14] Enforcing the theme and the narrative are the use of sound effects, such as a door creaking or a pendulum swinging on the Poe-inspired Shadow of the Raven.[15]

Their trilogy of winter holiday-themed albums feature a range of ethereal-style choirs, Gregorian-style chanting, classical music, and Celtic new-age instrumentation,[15] giving a darker overtone to music for the Christmas and Yuletide holidays. Their third release,Winter's Knight peaked at #8 on the Billboard chart for Top Holiday Album in 2006 and again in 2007.[3]

Three albums, Blood of Angels, Zombie Influx, and House of Nightmares were recorded as side-projects with other artists or vocalists. William Piotrowski released his first solo film soundtrack with Crimson Winter. Joseph Vargo wrote and recorded solo for later albums, Blackthorn Asylum, Winter's Eve, Theater of Illusion, The Dark Tower, Winter's Majesty, Legion of Shadows, Gothic, Season of the Witch, and Ebonshire, which has become a series of holiday music EPs released each year, culminating in 2018 with the full collection.

Influences

Nox Arcana is influenced by new-age, classical, ambient music, rock music, and film soundtracks, citing other composers such as John Carpenter, Danny Elfman, AC/DC, Wojciech Kilar, Enya, Loreena McKennitt, Beethoven, Jerry Goldsmith, and Hans Zimmer.[4][8][16][17] Their literary references include H. P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker, The Brothers Grimm, Ray Bradbury, and Edgar Allan Poe.[4]

Discography

Year	Album details	Billboard peak
		US
2003	Darklore Manor Released: December 15, 2003 Label: Monolith
2004	Necronomicon Released: October 10, 2004 Label: Monolith
2005	Winter's Knight Released: July 10, 2005 Label: Monolith	8
	Transylvania Released: October 21, 2005 Label: Monolith
2006	Carnival of Lost Souls Released: June 6, 2006 Label: Monolith
	Blood of Angels (with Michelle Belanger) Released: October 13, 2006 Label: Monolith
	Blood of the Dragon Released: November 27, 2006 Label: Monolith
2007	Shadow of the Raven Released: July 20, 2007 Label: Monolith
2008	Grimm Tales Released: April 30, 2008 Label: Monolith
	Phantoms of the High Seas Released: October 13, 2008 Label: Monolith
2009	Blackthorn Asylum Released: June 21, 2009 Label: Monolith
	Zombie Influx (with Jeff Hartz of Buzz-Works) Released: September 15, 2009 Label: Monolith
	Winter's Eve Released: November 27, 2009 Label: Monolith
2010	Theater of Illusion Released: July 15, 2010 Label: Monolith
	House of Nightmares (with Jeff Hartz of Buzz-Works) Released: October 1, 2010 Label: Monolith
2011	The Dark Tower Released: September 30, 2011 Label: Monolith
2012	Winter's Majesty Released: December 12, 2012 Label: Monolith
2013	Legion of Shadows Released: October 31, 2013 Label: Monolith
	Crimson Winter: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Released: October 31, 2013 Label: Monolith
	Ebonshire - Volume 1 (EP) Released: December 7, 2013 Label: Monolith
2014	Ebonshire - Volume 2 (EP) Released: December 1, 2014 Label: Monolith
2015	Gothic Released: October 9, 2015 Label: Monolith
	Ebonshire - Volume 3 (EP) Released: December 1, 2015 Label: Monolith
2016	Ebonshire - Volume 4 (EP) Released: December 1, 2016 Label: Monolith
2017	Season of the Witch Released: October 1, 2017 Label: Monolith
	Ebonshire - Volume 5 (EP) Released: December 12, 2017 Label: Monolith
2018	Ebonshire (Compilation) Released: December 7, 2018 Label: Monolith
2019	The Cabinets of Doctor Arcana (Game Soundtrack) Released: February 14, 2019 Label: Monolith
	The Haunted Symphony Released: August 20, 2019 Label: Monolith
	Snow Globe and Nightshade (Non-album singles) Released: December 5, 2019 Label: Monolith
2020	Evergreen and Hidden Hollow (Non-album singles) Released: December 5, 2020 Label: Monolith

Stage and screen

Nox Arcana support a wide variety of independent productions like radio dramas and student films to which they lend their music. A number of professional performances of gothic plays, such as Frankenstein, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Dracula and Richard III have featured music by Nox Arcana.[18][19]

In 2013, a young Corsican filmmaker Ariakina Ettori won first place in the L'Institut Régional du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel (IRCA) with her modern version of "Little Red Riding Hood" inspired by Nox Arcana's song "Night of the Wolf." The film school credits Joseph Vargo and Nox Arcana for their unconditional support.[20]

William Piotrowski wrote the score for a local production entitled Ghosts of Ohio, a video documentary about Mary Ann Winkowski, a real-life medium who inspired the CBS television show Ghost Whisperer.[21] In 2013, William wrote and performed the motion picture soundtrack for the vampire film Crimson Winter.[22]

Nox Arcana's music is used by theme parks such as Busch Gardens, Six Flags, Knott's Scary Farm and Universal Studios during Halloween for scenes and haunted houses based upon their album themes.[8][23] Nox Arcana's music is featured exclusively on the TV show America Haunts for the Travel Channel, which has aired throughout the Halloween weekend each year since 2009.[24][25][26] Music from Nox Arcana's Transylvania album was featured on the FOX TV show So You Think You Can Dance.[27]

In 2016, Nox Arcana's musical composition "Night of the Wolf" from their Transylvania album is the centerpiece of a live performance for Cirque des Voix, a show that combines orchestral and choral music with contemporary circus acts.[28]

Work with other music acts

Nox Arcana's sound has been used by other performing artists to introduce their albums or live shows. Joseph Vargo recorded the vocal Intro for the 2008 album Witchtanic Hellucinations by Acid Witch.[29] He also provided the intro music and vocals for Legion of the Damned albums Cult of the Dead (2008) and Decent Into Chaos (2011). LOTD also opened their 2010 "Slaughtering" tour with Nox Arcana's song "Circus Diabolique" from their album Carnival of Lost Souls.[30][31] In 2013, Blood on the Dance Floor opened their Bad Blood tour with "Essence of Evil" from Nox Arcana's Blackthorn Asylum album.[32]

Monolith Graphics

Monolith Graphics publishes and distributes Nox Arcana music worldwide. The publishing company is owned by Joseph Vargo, who became world-renowned[33] as a gothic-fantasy artist in the early 1990s with work ranging from album covers and books to posters and other products.[34] Before forming Nox Arcana in 2003, Joseph Vargo produced two albums for Midnight Syndicate[35][36] but left the band in 2000 to co-write Tales from the Dark Tower,[37] a book that follows the exploits of a vampire during the First Crusade. Over the next 8 years, he published Dark Realms magazine, released a best-selling card deck, The Gothic Tarot,[38] and wrote a book based on his original story for Nox Arcana's debut album, Darklore Manor.[39] In 2011, Vargo released, Beyond the Dark Tower,[40] a sequel to Tales from the Dark Tower along with The Dark Tower album based on his book series.

References

1. "Interview with Joseph Vargo - Nox Arcana". Gnostics.com. 2007. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
2. "Nox Arcana biography". Retrieved 2016-04-20.
3. "Billboard Music Charts". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2007-01-27.
4. "Interview with Joseph Vargo, Artist & Musician", Flames Rising, 2006-09-18
5. "Editorial" (PDF), Echo Immortalis, pp. 31–32, Winter 2007
6. Aponte, Paul (May 2009). "Interview with Joseph Vargo". Ideology of Madness.
7. "Treasure of the Four Crowns". Noxarcana.com. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
8. Koster, Rick (October 7, 2008), "Nox Arcana", The Day, New London, CT., retrieved 2017-06-27
9. "Theme Park videos". YouTube. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
10. "Nox Arcana performances". Noxarcana.com. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
11. "Nox Arcana "The Dark Tower" The Dark Queen's Spirit Still Haunts These Hallowed Halls". Retrieved 2014-06-19.
12. "Nox Arcana - discography, line-up, biography, interviews, photos". Spirit-of-metal.com. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
13. "Nox Arcana | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
14. Valentinelli, Monica (2009-04-24). "Review of Shadow of the Raven". Flames Rising. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
15. Reviewers describe musical characteristics: National Gamers Guild for Darklore Manor, Temple of Dagon for Necronomicon, Christmas Reviews for Winter's Knight, Chain D.L.K. for Transylvania, Draconis Blackthorn for Carnival of Lost Souls, Side-line for Blood of Angels, Paizo Publishing for Blood of the Dragon, Flames Rising for Shadow of the Raven, and Fangoria Musick for Phantoms of the High Seas
16. Haney, Josh (October 2006), "Interview with Nox Arcana", Wicked Karnival Magazine
17. Ioannou, Rania (April 2008), "Interview with Joseph Vargo", Metafysiko: Fantasy Gate, Greece, archived from the original on 2011-07-27
18. "Nox Arcana performance credits". Noxarcana.com. 2007-06-09. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
19. "Dracula performed by the Midwest Regional Ballet featuring Nox Arcana music". fourstateshomepage.com. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
20. Charles Monti (2013-07-13), Ariakina Ettori lauréate du Défi Jeunes 2013, retrieved 2014-06-19
21. MSNBC article on Ghost Whisperer and Local story on Mary Ann Winkowski
22. "Crimson Winter movie website". Crimson-winter.com. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
23. Teresenza, Serena (October 2008), "Interview with Joseph Vargo", Gothic Gateways, retrieved 2009-08-26
24. "Nox Arcana news". Noxarcana.com.
25. "TV Guide Listing: "America Haunts"". Tvguide.com. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
26. "America Haunts production credits, episodes II, III, IV". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
27. Cole Horibe performs his solo routine to the song "Night of The Wolf" by Nox Arcana. (2012-09-05). "So You Think You Can Dance". YouTube.
28. Rife, Susan (March 11, 2016). "6th edition of Cirque des Voix takes a goth turn". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Sarasota, FL.
29. "Witchtanic Hellucinations - Acid Witch | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
30. "Interview with Legion of the Damned". Lords of Metal. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
31. "Descent into Chaos - Legion of the Damned | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
32. "Blood On The Dance Floor Facebook post announcing Nox Arcana". October 1, 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
33. Bennett, Tim (October 30, 2005). "Gothic Empire: Ten Minutes with Joseph Vargo". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, OH: L3.
34. "Joseph Vargo's artist portfolio". Josephvargo.com. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
35. Pan, Marcus (February 2006), "Interview with Nox Arcana" (PDF), Legends Magazine (156)
36. "Interview with Joseph Vargo" (PDF). Gaming Report. 2004-12-23.
37. Vargo, Joseph (2000). Tales From The Dark Tower. Monolith Graphics. p. 280. ISBN 9780967575605. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
38. Previews starred item, September 2005. The Gothic Tarot ranks #7 of 10 (above Star Wars and Batman card games)
39. Vargo, Joseph (2008). The Legend of Darklore Manor and Other Tales of Terror. Monolith Graphics. p. 216. ISBN 9780978885762. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
40. Vargo, Joseph (2011). Beyond The Dark Tower. Monolith Graphics. p. 234. ISBN 9780982489925. Retrieved 2009-08-25.

External links

• Official website
• Publisher/Label
• MySpace profile
• All Music profile
• Nox Arcana at Discogs

Interviews

• Archived interviews with Nox Arcana
• Halloween Database, August 2007
• Parallel Perspectives, May 2007
• Music Street Journal, September 2006