Line #50 Music/NoxArcana


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nox_arcana.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Music from the shadows for Creatures of the Night]]
3	->''[[OminousLatinChanting Incarnatus iure,]]''\
4	''Benedictus ave,''\
5	''Nox Arcana glorium-''\
6	''Ad limina tempus,''\
7	''Vestigia cantus,''\
8	''Nox Arcana glorium!''
9
10	''Nox Arcana,'' a {{Goth}}ic Classical group creating self described music from the shadows, formed in 2003 as a collaboration between gothic fantasy artist Joseph Vargo (of ex-Music/MidnightSyndicate fame) and musician William Piotrowski. The group's first album ''Darklore Manor'' introduced the music world to what would become Nox Arcana's signature style -- a darkly beautiful, but wonderfully eclectic sound that centered around the brilliantly realized backstory of the album's concept.
11
12	With the albums being published by Vargo's company ''Monolith Graphics,'' the group put out new album after new album, each with an entirely new concept. Concepts ranged from the works of Creator/HPLovecraft and Creator/EdgarAllanPoe to [[CircusOfFear dark carnivals]], [[{{Uberwald}} Transylvania]], pirates, fairy tales, and (surprise!) four Holiday albums.
13
14	In 2009, the band put out two more albums (''Blackthorn Asylum'' and a second Holiday album, ''Winter's Eve''), within a few months of each other. In 2010, ''House of Nightmares,'' the band's second collaboration with ''Buzz-Works'' was released. As of 2019, twenty-two albums have been released, with the most recent being ''The Haunted Symphony.''
15
16	Perhaps the most unique aspect of Nox Arcana's work is that it is not simply music. The music is only one part of the whole (albeit the most important part). The band creates stories that tie in with the album's concept, often including vocals and sound effects that help to tell the story. Vargo's artwork adorns the album covers and booklets. On the official website, an interactive area known as "The Arcanum" allows listeners to enter the world of the music through solving puzzles hidden in the [=CDs=]. ''[[Literature/TalesFromTheDarkTower The Dark Tower]]'' and ''Darklore Manor'' have books that tie into their stories, and Monolith Graphics released in 2018 a point-and-click puzzle game that ties into ''Theater of Illusion'' called ''[[VideoGame/TheCabinetsOfDoctorArcana The Cabinets of Dr. Arcana.]]''
17
18
19	----
20
21	The band's discography is as follows:
22
23	* ''Darklore Manor'' (2003)
24	* ''Necronomicon'' (2004)
25	* ''Winter's Knight'' (2005)
26	* ''Transylvania'' (2005)
27	* ''Carnival of Lost Souls'' (2006)
28	* ''Blood of Angels'' (2006): Collaboration with ''Michelle Belanger.''
29	* ''Blood of the Dragon'' (2006)
30	* ''Shadow of the Raven'' (2007)
31	* ''Grimm Tales'' (2008)
32	* ''Phantoms of the High Seas'' (2008)
33	* ''Blackthorn Asylum'' (2009)
34	* ''Zombie Influx'' (2009): Collaboration with ''Buzz-Works.''
35	* ''Winter's Eve'' (2009)
36	* ''Theater of Illusion'' (2010)
37	* ''House of Nightmares'' (2010): Another collaboration with ''Buzz-Works'' for the Halloween season.
38	* ''The Dark Tower'' (2011)
39	* ''Winter's Majesty'' (2012)
40	* ''Legion of Shadows'' (2013)
41	* ''Gothic'' (2015)
42	* ''Season of the Witch'' (2017)
43	* ''Ebonshire'' (2018)
44	* ''The Haunted Symphony'' (2019)
45	----
46
47	!! ''Nox Arcana'' provide examples of the following:
48
49	* AbandonedHospital: ''Blackthorn Asylum'', which has been abandoned ever since a mysterious tragedy.
50	* AllThereInTheManual: An extreme example with the puzzles inside the [=CDs=], and a more mild example with the stories and the contents of ''The Arcanum.''
51	** The Darklore Manor book and the ''[[Literature/TalesFromTheDarkTower Tales from the Dark Tower]]'' trilogy provide more context for their respective albums.
52	* AnotherDimension:
53	** ''Theater of Illusion'' features the shadow realm, which is a mysterious dimension hidden between space and time.
54	** In ''Blackthorn Asylum'', [[MadDoctor Dr. Aldritch]] performs his [[PlayingWithSyringes inhumane experiments]] to gain insight into another dimension.
55	%%* BedlamHouse: ''Blackthorn Asylum.''
56	* BuriedAlive: Happy endings are few and far between with Nox Arcana, but one of the most chilling parts of their whole career is the hidden track of ''Shadow of the Raven,'' at the end of "Nevermore." [[spoiler: It's [[Literature/TheCaskofAmontillado Fortunato]] screaming that he's still alive and begging for help.]]
57	* CircusOfFear: The Carnival of Lost Souls/Circus Diabolique.
58	%%* ConceptAlbum: ''22'' of them.
59	%%* CoolHorse:
60	%%** "Steeds of Thunder"
61	%%** "Ivory Steeds"
62	* CreepyChild: The children's voices narrating "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA9YB4CDbsc Nursery Rhyme.]] and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86kK62kQpKA The House Beyond the Graveyard]]".
63	* CreepyCircusMusic: Pretty much every song on ''Carnival,'' but especially: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhjEVO0_FoU Ghosts of the Midway,]]" "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_gmkw0_81E Calliope,]]", [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lvC8b1_2bI Pandora's Music Box]] and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UC1qCApnd8 Haunted Carousel.]]"
64	* CreepyMonotone: Several of the narrations sound like this.
65	* {{Curse}}: ''Darklore Manor'' is a classic case -- Natives called it: "the place where shadows walk," it became a hot spot for black magic, a bunch of deaths and other tragedies happened, and... You get the point.
66	* DarkReprise: "The House Beyond the Graveyard" from ''Gothic'', already creepy in its first version, makes a return as a bonus track, where instead of a children's voice and eerie background noise it's instead narrated with [[EvilSoundsDeep deep male voice]] (Vargo's) and backed with a quiet organ.
67	* DontGoInTheWoods: "Shadow Forest," "Deep in the Woods," and "The Haunted Forest."
68	* {{Dracula}}: ''Transylvania'' is a musical adaptation of the story.
69	* DragonHoard: The Treasure of the Four Crowns is protected by a dragon named Flame Tongue.
70	* DramaticThunder: A frequent sound effect in their music.
71	* DrivenToMadness: "Descent into Madness," one of the tracks on ''Shadow of the Raven,'' the album based on the work of Creator/EdgarAllanPoe.
72	* ElectricTorture: "Shock Treatment."
73	* EldritchAbomination: ''Necronomicon'' has several, being based of [[Creator/HPLovecraft Lovecraft's]] Franchise/CthulhuMythos.
74	* EtherealChoir: All the time. The "Gregorian Shadow Choir."
75	* EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes: "Highland Storm."
76	* EvilLaugh: In "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP7EVNNc07w Hall of Mirrors.]]," "Heart of Darkness," "Hidden Horrors," "Creeper," "Testament," and [[spoiler: the end of "Dark Surrender."]] There's also a sinister chuckle at the end of [[spoiler: "Lair of the Vampire."]]
77	* EvilSorceress: Sinistra, the witch queen.
78	** Also Mara, the vampiric Dark Queen from ''The Dark Tower''
79	* EvilSoundsDeep: Vargo's baritone provides sinister vocals on most albums. He takes it up to eleven with the dragon Flametongue's voice, and the voice at the beginning of "Lair of the Vampire." Downplayed on the ''Necronomicon'' album, in which it sounds higher.
80	* EvilTowerOfOminousness:
81	** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwKUbPDWrs4 Castle of Nightmares,]]" anyone?
82	** ''The Dark Tower.''
83	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Their album ''Necronomicon'' is about... ''The Necronomicon.''
84	* FlyingDutchman: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk_mDIF8v9g The Tempest]], from ''Phantoms of the High Seas''.
85	* FallenAngel:
86	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9lPV7TFCUc ''Children of Heaven'']] is the story of an angel who fell from Heaven after desiring a mortal man.
87	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZmLLm3c0XI ''Blood of Angels'']] is a song from the perspective of the descendants of fallen angels.
88	* ForDoomTheBellTolls: Ominous bells are used quite a lot in their music. At least a couple times on every album, but especially on ''Winter's Knight''and ''Winter's Eve.''
89	** Special mention goes to "Vesper Tolls" from ''The Dark Tower'' and "Gothic Sanctum" from ''Transylvania.''
90	* FracturedFairytale: The whole concept behind ''Grimm Tales.''
91	* GhostPirate: The titular ''Phantoms of the High Seas.''
92	* GhostShip: The ''Tempest'' in ''Phantoms of the High Seas.''
93	* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Sinistra, the witch queen, and Mara, the vampire queen.
94	* GoMadFromTheRevelation: A given in the ''Necronomicon'' album, based off of the works of Creator/HPLovecraft. It's also implied to have happened to some of the inmates at Blackthorn Asylum, based on the Lovecraft story "From Beyond."
95	* HauntedCastle:
96	** "Castle of Nightmares." [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin It says it right there in its name.]]
97	** ''The Dark Tower''.
98	** "Castle Dracula."
99	** Ravenwood Castle, from ''The Haunted Symphony''
100	* HauntedHouse: ''Darklore Manor'', ''House of Nightmares'', and "Grimstone Manor" from ''Gothic''. ''Blackthorn Asylum'' and ''The Dark Tower'' could count as well.
101	* HeartbeatSoundtrack: Used to great effect in "Darkness Rising."
102	* HiddenTrack: At least once per album. Usually twice. Sometimes three times.
103	* HollywoodVoodoo: "Voodoo" from ''Theater of Illusion.''
104	* {{Homage}}: To ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' in ''Transylvania,'' to Creator/EdgarAllanPoe in ''Shadow of the Raven,'' and to Creator/HPLovecraft in ''Necronomicon'' and ''Blackthorn Asylum.''
105	* IdiosyncraticAlbumTheming: All of ''Nox Arcana'''s albums (that weren't assistance to other artists) have 21 tracks. As Joseph put it, "We are contractually bound to put 21 tracks on all our [=CDs=]. It's part of our [[DealWithTheDevil pact with the Devil.]]" Every CD also has a hidden track, one or more.
106	* IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace:
107	** ''Blackthorn Asylum''? [[SarcasmMode Sounds like your friendly neighborhood hospital!]]
108	** Edmund ''Darklore'' should not have named his mansion after himself if he wanted it to sound nice...
109	** Grimstone Manor in ''Gothic''.
110	** The Dark Tower, from ''The Dark Tower''.
111	** "Castle of Nightmares" and the "Hall of the Witch Queen", from ''Grimm Tales''.
112	* {{Instrumentals}}: Most of their output. Occasionally they have [[SpokenWordInMusic spoken narration]]. Songs with sung vocals are rare, although not completely unheard of (examples include "Fate of the Tempest", "Spellbound" and the album ''Blood of Angels'').
113	* IntergenerationalFriendship: Joseph first teamed up with William when he (William) was 15 years old.
114	* IronicNurseryTune: "Nursery Rhyme" is a perfect example.
115	** Another good one is "The House Beyond the Graveyard" from the ''Gothic'' album
116	** Grimm Tales' intro has hints of it too.
117	* KnifeThrowingAct: "Diablo" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdglkD8KT9w The Devil's Daggers.]]" [[ForegoneConclusion This being the Circus Diabolique, it doesn't go well...]]
118	* LighterAndSofter: ''Winter's Eve'' is significantly lighter than other albums, consisting mostly of pretty piano and guitar pieces. Despite this, it was ''very'' well received in the fandom.
119	* LonelyPianoPiece: 30-50% of their songs are this.
120	* {{Lust}}: Sephiriel, the main character of ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9lPV7TFCUc Children of Heaven]]'', is an [[FallenAngel angel who falls from heaven because of her desire for a mortal man]].
121	* MadDoctor: Dr. Neville Aldritch.
122	* MagiciansAreWizards: ''Theater of Illusion'' is about stage magicians who use real magic.
123	* MagicalSociety: The Arcanum from ''Theater of Illusion''.
124	* MasqueradeBall:
125	** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3MfwOtT9zo Grande Masquerade.]]"
126	** "Masque of the Red Death."
127	* MegaMaelstrom: "Maelstrom."
128	* MonsterClown: The clowns in the ''Carnival of Lost Souls.''
129	* MrFanservice: Just ask any Joseph Vargo fangirl. William has his fair share of female fans as well.
130	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast:
131	** Dr. Neville Aldritch, whose last name is a play on "[[EldritchAbomination Eldritch.]]"
132	** Sinistra, whose name is derived from "sinister".
133	* {{Necromancer}}: Well..."[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Necromancer.]]"
134	* OminousLatinChanting: Many songs, but "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6XRyS7PFMk Gregorian Hymn]]" stands out as a shining example.
135	* OminousMusicBoxTune:
136	** "Music Box" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lvC8b1_2bI Pandora's Music Box,]]" which kindly have "music box" in the title to alert you. Also, the background music on "Hypnos." [[spoiler: Also on the hidden track of ''Carnival of Lost Souls.'']]
137	** While ''Theater of Illusion'' is LighterAndSofter, the music box tracks on this album still fits the ambience.
138	* OminousPipeOrgan: Several songs- "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eczq0jLe-LI Masque of the Red Death]]," "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnJPmvVbmzQ Mask of Arcana]]," "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WgCOgyoqfQ Darkness Immortal]]," and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AApoGe82yjQ Oblivion]]" are all very organ heavy.
139	* OneWomanSong: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fovJqI-gFbo Belladonna]]", “Lorelei,” and [[Creator/EdgarAllanPoe “Annabel Lee.”]]
140	* OneWomanWail: All over the place, for example, in “Siren’s Call.”
141	* PendulumOfDeath: A whole album called ''Shadow of the Raven'' is devoted to Creator/EdgarAllanPoe. One of the tracks is "The Pit and the Pendulum", and in addition to the music, there is a steady whooshing noise to portray the pendulum's presence.
142	* PirateBooty: The lost treasure of the Tempest.
143	* ReligionOfEvil: "The Arcanum" (from the Theater story) could be seen this way.
144	* SanitySlippageSong: Most of ''Blackthorn Asylum,'' but especially, well, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4axARHfgG6Y Sanity Slipping.]]"
145	* SecretCircleOfSecrets: Actually, "The Arcanum" fits this trope much better.
146	* ShoutOut: A dual one in the metal remix of "Storm" from ''Carnival of Lost Souls'':
147	-->''[[Theatre/{{Macbeth}} By the pricking of my thumbs]]''
148	-->''[[Literature/SomethingWickedThisWayComes Something wicked this way comes.]]''
149	** A variant on this same line is also in a track on ''The Dark Tower'' called "Something Wicked."
150	* SorcerousOverlord: Sinistra, the witch queen from ''Grimm Tales''.
151	* StartMyOwn: Heeey, remember that band Joseph was in before ''Nox Arcana''? Oh yeah... Music/MidnightSyndicate.
152	* TechnicolorFire: "Black Fire."
153	* ThemeNaming: All the winter albums (except the Ebonshire series) begin with ''Winter's Noun,'' which is why they are often referred to as the ''Winter's Trilogy.''
154	* TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow: In ''Necronomicon,'' some songs center around this.
155	* TitleDrop: In the track "Hypnos" from ''Theatre of Illusion'':
156	-->''Welcome to the Theater of Illusion, where dreams and nightmares come alive.''
157	* {{Uberwald}}:
158	** ''Transylvania'', which takes place in a version of Transylvania inspired by {{Dracula}}.
159	** ''The Dark Tower'', which takes place in a fictional location called Vasaria.
160	* TheUndead: Undead creatures feature frequently in the stories of each albums, including (but not limited to) [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts]], [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]], [[DemBones skeletons]], and [[OurZombiesAreDifferent zombies]].
161	* VillainSong: "Blood of Angels" is one from the perspective of the descendants of fallen angels.
162	* WhoDares: "WHO DARES INTRUDE UPON MY DARK DOMAIN?"
163	* WholePlotReference: ''Blackthorn Asylum'' [[https://noxarcana.com/arcanum/frombeyond.html is one to "From Beyond"]] by Creator/HPLovecraft.
164	* WhoWantsToLiveForever: ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRYeZue7XWA Forlorn]]'', about a character (possibly a vampire) who wants release from the curse of eternal life.
165	* WickedWitch: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yaul_d3Te5U Hall of the Witch Queen.]]" and several tracks on ''Season of the Witch''.
166	* TheXOfY: So many. "Sanctuary of Shadows," "Temple of the Black Pharaoh," "The Haunter of the Dark," "Guardian of the Gate," "Lords of Darkness," "Ritual of Summoning," "Ghosts of Christmas Past," "Reflections of Long Ago," "Spirit of the Season," "Sentinels of Stone," "Night of the Wolf," "Ghosts of the Midway," "Hall of Mirrors," "Theatre of Sorrows," "Citadel of Secrets," "Treasure of the Four Crowns," "Legions of Darkness," "Steeds of Thunder," "Defenders of the Realm," "Chamber of the Immortals," "Blood of the Dragon," "Legacy of Sorrow," "Mysteries of the Night," "Labyrinth of Dreams," "Castle of Nightmares," "Edge of the World," "Lords of the Deep," "Fate of the Tempest," "Legacy of Darkness," "Threshold of Madness," "Tapestry of Decay," "Sins of the Past," "Lords of the Night," "The Rose of Winter," "The Ides of December," "Gifts of the Magi," "Season of Wonder," "Winds of Change," "Edge of Darkness," "The Mask of Arcana," "The Swords of Kali," "Lord of Illusions," "Stir of Shadows," "Path of Shadows," "King of Fools," "Days of Olde," "The Path of No Return," "Ritual of Fire," ''Season of the Witch'', ''Shadow of the Raven,'' "Spirits of the Past," "Rites of Passage," ''Carnival of Lost Souls,'' ''Phantoms of the High Seas,'' ''Theater of Illusion,'' ''Blood of the Dragon,'' ''Legion of Shadows,'' and "Heart of Darkness."
167	* ZombieApocalypse: The plot of ''Zombie Influx.''

Context Music / NoxArcana