"The greatest show on earth... an absolutely enchanting opus; besides
the brilliant orchestrations, Carnival of Lost Souls manages to conjure
the underlying sensation of this Magical world... you will never want to leave... (5/5
stars)
Draconis Blackthorne
Carnival of Lost Souls evokes a place of wickedness and danger. Perfect for haunted
houses or Halloween parties.
Big
Ole Face Full of Monster
"Nox Arcana give us that great gothic atmosphere that just
seeps out from the speakers. It's almost like you're actually
traveling with this carnival throughout the country. Each musical
piece gives us images of this dark and brooding carnival, one
that you wouldn't want to be at alone at night..."
Kitley's
Krypt
A quality soundtrack that no one with any love of Halloween
or dark fantasy whatsoever should be without. I can imagine wandering
through an amusement park maze, a carnival after hours, or haunted
house... Think Tim Burton meets Jim Henson, with a touch of Dario
Argento. I think it's rather challenging to create a theme album
and not sound cheesy but somehow these two professional music
composers, Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski, managed it.
Morbid
Outlook
Deeply mesmerizing, very entertaining, and technically brilliant.
Nox Arcana knows how to make the Dark Side fun.
JEFarrow, Parallel Perspectives
As always Nox Arcana delivers the best.
Music
Extreme (Argentina)
In every Nox Arcana release we're taken to a new place
and another dark world. In Carnival of Lost Souls we visit
a spooky, "Something Wicked This Way Comes" style fairgrounds...
Legends
Magazine
I highly recommend Nox Arcana's Carnival of Lost Souls to fans of dark orchestral music. It's one of my top favorites
of 2006!
Ron
Fuchs, Prognaut
Carnival of Lost Souls is one of the boldest moves Nox Arcana has
made to date. Overall, this CD shows off Nox Arcana's skill and musicianship
with a large breadth of composition set within a very, challenging setting.
This isn't a CD about scary clowns with bad makeup and evil flamethrowers;
this is music that tells the story of the frightened child within all of
us, swept away by the Carnival of Lost Souls.
Flames
Rising
Another first rate collection of creepy symphonic music from
Nox Arcana as I suspect best exemplified by "Storm"
an 11:28 epic of nasty proportions. Most of the rest of the tracks
are under 3 minutes; ie perfect for incidental music in any soundtrack.
Good music like this makes you wonder if you have heard it before
somewhere and this release is no different.
The common theme throughout the
CD's 21 tracks is the Circus Diabolique, a carnival which only
returns once every century. Needless to say if you are already
a fan, this is essential. If you consider yourself a fan of symphonic
soundtrack music of the creepy kind, then this is a good place
to start with the band.
Marty Dodge, BlogCritics
Carnival of the Lost Souls is a ultimate soundtrack
for all nightmarish visions. When you are listening this material
you will imagine the most wicked parade of skeletons dancing
in the circles, diabolical masquerades, evil witches on the
pale horses and other creepy and most unlikely creatures around.
Metal-Sound.net
Rated 10/10, Editor's #1 pick.
Be careful when the Circus Diabolique gives a guest performance in your town.
As nightfalls the once-festive midway exudes an eerie sense of menace. Pale green
lights eminate from somewhere in the distance, and the murmor of voices mixed
up with ghostly music drifts over the site. As well as other more unsettling
sounds. Dark rumours of missing children and drifters have followed the carnival
from town to town and though they are well aware of the dangers of trespassing
there, they cannot resist the temptation to explore the circus grounds after
dark. Even with their new work Carnival Of Lost Souls Nox Arcana know
yet again how to summon an other creepy concept. It's always a surprise how they
translate the topic into music. As they used gothic choirs and vampiresque sounds
on their previous release "Transylvania,"
they're now using midway melodies on "Carnival Of Lost
Souls."
Barrel-organ, tambourine, chimes, piano, spinet but also diabolical
laughter or childish tittering mix to a dark, malicious, very
beautiful poem. On the whole the music captures you, your thoughts
drift to that old-time, creepy midway, with attractions like
the fortune-teller Madame Endora, the hall of mirrors, the
haunted carousel, the living dolls, the snake charmer, the
freaks and the more bizarre and odd things. Standout tracks
are "Harlequin's Lament," which enchanted me with
very beautiful, melancholic, dreamy piano, reminded me a bit
of Dimmu Borgirs "Sorgens Kammer" from the Stormblast album, "Madame
Endora,"
my flesh began to creep 'coz of the evil voice, "Nightmare
Parade," the chimes, the organ and the fantastic choir
mix to a great atmosphere. But also "Cries In The Night,"
which is very tender but is atmospherically very fitting, "Soul
Stealer," which is exceedingly dramatic, "Lost In
The Darkness," where you can hear a spinet, but especially
the whispered choir I like a lot and "Circus Diabolique,"
which brings the concept of this work to the point.
Ringmasters Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski
have yet again released an excellent piece of work with Carnival Of Lost Souls,
that grips you by the throat and doesn't let you go again with nightmarish, diabolical,
sinister, chilling sounds and haunting melodies. Are you willing to overcome
your fear to go and pay a visit to the Circus Diabolique? (English translation
from original German text kindly provided by Pascal Zuger).
Arising Realm (Austria), Pascal
Zuger
By the pricking of my thumbs... Before I even put this CD in
the player, I was fondly reminded of one of my favorite horror
films, Carnival of Souls and the Ray Bradbury classic "Something
Wicked This Way Comes." I just recently had the awesome
privilege of meeting him and getting my copy signed. So I re-read
it and went into Nox Arcana's newest CD with the story still
fresh in my head. And I couldn't have found a more perfect
accompaniment.
And so what does most of our society think when
a carnival or circus comes to mind? Cotton Candy? Fresh popcorn, laughing children
and semi-operating midway rides?
For those of us that grew up in the 80s the venue
started to take on a darker connotation. True, it was a blast to win Guns n'
Roses mirrors by breaking balloons with a dart on the midway and ride the Gravitron
to blaring heavy metal tunesbut we will forever be scared by that clown you know
the one from Poltergeist. All I can remember from childhood was clowns are evil.
Not funny but scary. I mean, what can they really do to you but pelt you with
fake rubber noses or oversized shoes? It doesn't matter; something behind that
makeup is sinister. Then in my teens I saw the classic exploitation film Freaks and
read Geek Love and that was it carnivals and circuses are forever menacing
to me. And yet there is that mystique of drifters traveling from town to town
arriving with a strange seduction and a collection of secrets. A brethren of
macabre. From the midway carnies to the freak show performers.., where did they
come from? Who are they? And what ominous powers do they hold over the people
of the towns they visit? For a week or two they cast a spell, enchant, seduce
and then poof! They're gone.
I cannot say enough how sexy Nox Arcana is. It
may seem that I am contradicting myself with all this talk of evil dirty midways.
But Carnival of Lost Souls is by far Nox Arcana's sexiest CD to date.
There are thousands of us who are fascinated by the dark side. We aren't evil
and out committing crimes. We are enchanted mesmerized by the allure of that
undeniable part of ourselves we all have the dark side. How many of you have
yearned for a hauntingly handsome vampire to tantalizingly bite your bare neck?
How many of you swore that if Darth Vader attempted to lure you to the dark side
you would put up no struggle? This CD is a celebration of that seduction that
both the carnival and the dark side have. Nox Arcana become more and more refined
in that exploration of the black element of our souls.
Connoisseurs of SEXY. The unrelenting drums of "Soul
Stealer" puts into music form hidden desires and unbridled passion. "Harlequin's
Lament"
is hypnotically hot and just when I could take no more Nox
Arcana throws at me the exotic and provocative "Snake
Charmer."
With "Haunted Carousel" I was reminded of that bewitching
scene from Legend where Lily is seduced in Darkness' grand
ballroom. Images of black lace and crimson velvet filled my
ears. "Nightmare Parade" captures the beauty of the
dark side. Like in all the horror films, you want to yell at
the people "What are you doing standing there watching??
Run!" You know the evil is coming for you but you can't
move, you are entranced to see what happens next to see the
evil in action. You want to march with the shadows and be part
of their ghostly entourage. "Spellbound"
is a little treat for any of you who love that crackling of
old records you played on an old Victrola and appreciate the
flicker of REAL film! And speaking of SPELLBOUND!! What a treat
at the end of the album to hear a REAL metal song for us Old
Schoolers! I admit, I did shed a tear. I think Nox Arcana should
do this at the end of all their albums, but I am just being
very biased to my decade of choice. During this CD I was sad
at the end of each song because I wanted it to go on longer,
but the next one started and was just as perfect as the last,
from start to finish.
Let's talk about Vargo's art. We all know what
a genius he is. I was seriously considering getting the image on the back cover
as a tattoo. The green motif is superb and I still pray at night that in my next
life I will be the lady riding the haunted carousel on the insert. I want MORE!
I think like Iron Maiden, each song should have a piece of art to go along with
it. But that is just me being selfish. I want a full-animated feature, but if
I had my way, Vargo would never get any sleep. Speaking of which, be sure to
check out his full color book Born of the Night, a collection of his exquisite
art available at Monolith Graphics' website along with all of Nox Arcana's CD's.
And I'm looking forward to seeing what Vargo has cooked up for his annual Halloween
event this year. Like past years, no doubt this one will be epic. This Christmas,
I'm asking to be a part of the Monolith Graphic's entourage!
Alexandra Nakelski, Fangoria
For those familiar with atmospheric horror music, the name Joseph
Vargo might ring a bell, after all he was the mastermind behind
the Midnight Syndicate album Born Of The Night. For the
last few years, however, he has been working alongside William
Piotrowski as Nox Arcana, and creating beautiful soundscapes
to haunt your mind and home. They have released five albums over
the past three years, a feat lots of bands could never pull off,
and have truly created a niche for themselves with their brand
of conceptual horror soundtrack featuring everything from deep
orchestral pieces to hair-raising sound effects, effortlessly
blended together to draw the listener into whichever world they
wish, be it a haunted Victorian mansion, a Gothic Winter wonderland,
Bram Stoker's Dracula, or HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos.
This time around though we are given a ticket, paid in full,
that allows us entrance into the Carnival Of Lost Souls.
We begin or journey with the opening
track "Ghosts Of The Midway," which ushers us into
the scariest carnival this side of the afterlife, the Circus
Diabolique. All of the attractions are here, the "Haunted
Carousel," "Hall Of Mirrors," "Freaks,"
and even "Madame Endora" the fortune-teller. The album
deftly leads us through each part of the midway, offering glimpses
of what lies in store for you inside of each tent. Some contain
magic, "Spellbound," some contain terror, "Nightmare
Parade," but all of the songs are masterful arrangements
that drag you deeper into the mythology Nox Arcana has created.
You are so engulfed in your excursion through the Circus Diabolique
that time will fly by, leaving you no choice but to cash in your
ticket once more and begin your trip down the grounds of the
circus again.
This is a fantastic album, creating
a nightmare world, which this reviewer didn't want to leave.
I highly recommend all of Nox Arcana's aural horrors, and Carnival
Of Lost Souls is no exception. As fans of fright will quickly
see these ghouls know how to create unearthly terror deep in
the minds eye. So, what are you waiting for, enter the realm
of Circus Diabolique, that is if you dare!
Josh Haney, Hacker's Source
Think back to a time when effort and pride were put into the
everyday items around your home. Think back to a time when
class and elegance were much more then pretty words. Think
back to an arcane time when the occult was feared and revered,
and the paranormal was much more then just a silly late night
TV show. To those who see the picture I am painting I have
the perfect sound track to weave your life into an endless
spook show. Nox Arcana have graced us with a new work of devilishly
dark atmosphere. The name of the album is called "Carnival
of Lost Souls" and if you are me and think highly of Carnival's
in the late 1800's as a bit magical and spooky then this will
be a treat.
A bit of back story behind Nox Arcana first of all. Joseph
Vargo has had his little hands in about all of the major spook
art on TV over the past 10 years or so. He was also part of
Midnight Syndicate, doing production and the occasional vocal
track. In 2002, he formed Nox Arcana with fellow musician William
Piotrowski. Needless to say the work of Nox Arcana is as good,
if not better, then Midnight Syndicate. Now back to the new
album.
Carnival of Lost Souls is definitally a bit of old hat
for Nox Arcana, but adds in that bizarrely twisted Carnival
feel. A bit of organ and a dash of harpsichord flair each movement
into an (non)living entity. Parts of this album take me to
a haunted carousel and other parts take me to the freak show.
Others remind me of the house of mirrors to which you will
find more then your own reflection. Still other parts of this
album make one think they are being followed by a very unhappy
specter. The main thing one must keep in mind about a Nox Arcana
album is that the songs or movements are not done justice by
themselves. The music is a must to listen to all the way through.
This particular album flows hauntingly from entering the Carnival
and hearing the gate speaker to the eventual running for ones
life from the otherworldly powers.
I will personally be listening to this and awaiting the next
masterful work from Joseph Vargo. I suggest you go and get
this then turn off all your lights and have a glass of wine.
Black Angel Productions