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What does the name Nox Arcana mean?
Joseph: The name, which translates to mean "Mysteries
of the Night," was taken from the legendary book of spells,
The Nox Arcana, which is said to contain dark, forbidden
knowledge of the old ways. We thought it was the perfect name
for the kind of music we would be creating.
What was the inspiration for this project?
Joseph: It's been four years since I worked with Midnight
Syndicate on Realm of Shadows. In the meantime, I've had
plenty of projects to keep me busy, including creating The
Gothic Tarot as well as co-writing and illustrating the gothic
anthology, Tales from the Dark Tower. I developed a lot
of new album concepts over the years and now I finally have the
time to return to creating music. William and I have been friends
for several years, but we didn't get the chance to work together
until recently.
William: Joseph's painting of Darklore Manor has always been
one of my favorite pieces, so when he approached me about working
together on a soundtrack based on the Darklore legend, I was
really looking forward to creating music that would capture the
same haunted atmosphere.
What can you tell me about the concept
behind Darklore Manor?
Joseph: Darklore Manor is based on the tales
of a legendary haunted house near Salem, Massachusetts. We researched
the news articles and rumors, and took all things into consideration
when creating this storyline, which centers around the disappearance
of three teenagers who set out to hold a séance in the
house on Halloween night several years ago. The concept of the
album is our version of what took place in the house on that
fateful night.
The story itself is somewhere between
Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher and H.P.
Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. It's also
reminiscent of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House.
This real-life ghost story has all the elements of a classic
horror tale-an old mansion with a dark history, a cursed bloodline,
tales of black magic, murder, and vengeful ghosts.
The Nox Arcana website and cd booklet
are filled with some great gothic visuals.
William: The visual elements take the music to another
level with a complete storyline that offers a tour through a
haunted mansion while telling a classic ghost story.
Joseph: Being an artist, the visual aspects of a project like
this are just as important to me as the music. It amazes me when
bands put so much effort into making their music sound as good
as they can, then put absolutely no thought or effort into making
their packaging or websites appealing or even interesting for
their fans. We worked closely with Dark Realms art director,
Christine Filipak, who shot the photos, gathered the articles
and put the whole thing together. Christine and I created the
gothic look and identity for Midnight Syndicate.
Midnight Syndicate has really strayed from
the classic gothic sound that you established with them. Darklore
Manor seems to be a return to your original concepts.
Joseph: Yes. The idea was to create a moody and melody-driven
gothic soundtrack, very much like we did with Born of the
Night, but with the addition of Gregorian chanting. Born
of the Night and Realm of Shadows have been used in
Halloween attractions all over the world, but we've also received
numerous letters from fans who said that they have used the music
to set the mood for everything from gothic wedding ceremonies
to candlelit bubble baths. We took these things into consideration
when writing the music for Darklore Manor and the end result
is a blend of darkly haunting melodies that encompass the complete
gothic spectrum---the
romantic, the mysterious, and the horrific.
William: The CD is a mixture of morbid sonatas, pulse-pounding
orchestrations and some creepy narrative interludes. Tracks like
"Remnants" convey an eerie and melancholy feeling.
Likewise, the song "Belladonna," which is the theme
for one of the ghosts that is said to haunt Darklore Manor, is
a very sorrowful and lonely melody. Other pieces such as "No
Rest for the Wicked," "Nightmare" and "Resurrected"
are much more ominous and foreboding.
How do you create the music?
Joseph: As composers, we're completely in tune with one
another and we collaborate on every aspect of every song. We
begin with one idea from the concept of the album, then create
a melody that conveys that particular mood. It's really important
to begin with a strong melody, otherwise the compositions just
end up sounding like background music. Our basic melodies are
composed on the piano, then we determine what instruments would
best fit the theme of the song.
William: Since Darklore Manor is the tale of a haunted
Victorian mansion, we utilized instruments from the period, such
as pipe organs, harpsichords, violins, and tolling bells, then
accented the compositions with ghostly choirs to capture the
perfect haunted feel.
What are your musical influences?
William: The music is influenced by John Carpenter, Danny
Elfman, and various other horror movie soundtrack composers.
Jerry Goldsmith's classic Academy award-winning soundtrack for
The Omen was the major influence for the Latin chanting.
Joseph: I did several narrations with Midnight Syndicate and
the idea was originally inspired by a variety of sources, including
the disembodied tourguide voice from Disney's Haunted Mansion,
Vincent Price's narratives for Alice Cooper's "Black Widow,"
and later for "Thriller." Also the intro to Iron Maiden's
"The Number of the Beast." The idea is to set the story
and let the various dark melodies take you on a musical journey.
What are your plans for a live show
or tour?
William: We would like to incorporate as many visual elements
as possible into our live show. Since a production like this
requires a great deal of time and resources, we most likely won't
be touring until after the next CD.
Joseph: At the moment we are in the planning stages, but it
should all come together by next Halloween.
What does the future hold for Nox Arcana?
Joseph: We have several ideas for future concept albums,
but we don't want to reveal all of them too far in advance. We
are currently putting the finishing touches on Necronomicon,
a dark symphony based on H.P. Lovecraft's legendary book of shadows.
The album will be a musical opus with gothic choirs chanting
the forbidden rituals contained within the pages of this ancient
tome.
William: We've already been approached by television and independent
film producers who have asked us to score their movies and shows,
but right now we have too many of our own projects and ideas
that we want to complete first. Beyond that, anything's possible.
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