Former Midnight Syndicate mastermind Joseph Vargo pairs
off with a new partner-in-crime, William Piotrowski, and the
21-song litany of lament they orchestrate is pure Goth... The
blackened compositions Vargo and Piotrowski have written are
irredeemable but gorgeous, dreary but exquisite. Not since Hammer
has an ominous Gothic sensation been so effectively produced.
Legends
Magazine
Nox Arcana has a rich essence and timeless goth appeal.
It is beautiful music to play in the evening. I think it is a
Don Henrie, "The
Vampire"(Mad Mad House)
Darklore Manor isn't merely music, it's good music.
FlamesRising
Having read that Joseph Vargo used to be in Midnight Syndicate,
a band that I like a lot, I was really anxious to listen this
album. And I was not dissapointed. Yes, here there are the dark
atmospheres and concept that links all the tracks contained on
this album. Here is the imagination of Vargo and his partner
William Piotrowski at its full capacity. You can even imagine
the story behind, such as you can imagine an Edgar Allan Poe
story, like being where the action takes place. Everything is
dark orchestration, black harmonizations, sad melodies and haunting
arrangements. These guys manage to link closely the music with
the artwork, the interaction of which is really perfect. A masterpiece
of darkness. Favorite tracks: All the CD.
Federico Marongiu, Music
Extreme
Each dark composition is a chapter in the story, a piece
in the puzzle, skillfully crafted to guide your journey through
the unhallowed halls of Darklore Manor. Darklore Manor's appeal is likely to cross genres—the
dark and brooding orchestrations are just as likely to appeal
to the gothic crowd and gamers alike. Combining a well thought
concept with solid orchestration, Darklore Manor succeeds
where others in this genre have failed.
National
Gamers Guild
Former Midnight Syndicate member Joseph Vargo has embarked in
his own haunted project, Nox Arcana, teaming up with William
Piotrowski to create a landmark album of gothic and eerie atmospheres
and classic orchestrations. If this debut album, Darklore
Manor, is anything to go by, rejoice your dark souls... Nox
Arcana will lead you through this haunted and grim manor house
impeccably, by means of a soundtrack that projects you instantly
into the dark fantastic realm it depicts and keeps you there
with bated breath throughout the over 50 minutes of the journey. Darklore Manor is pure, classical goth, the main body
of which is made up of fast progressing melodic orchestrations,
with abundance of cello, piano, pipe organs, and the occasional
pounding sequence. Ghostly interludes punctuate the developing
story with treated vocals and atmospheric noises, while some
sparse vocal narrations are used to great effect, which increases
the evocative power of the music. Macabre and refined, Darklore
Manor is highly recommended to gothic audiences of all kinds,
and of course, to any fan of old-style horror movies. Candlelight
listening is obligatory.
Gianfranco, Darklife
Magazine (Germany)
5 stars ***** Darklore Manor, the debut CD from Nox Arcana,
takes listeners on a musical journey, invoking images of dark
spirits that haunt the night and lurk within the cursed halls
of a forsaken Victorian mansion. This sinister soundscape from
the duo of Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski will stir your
darkest fantasies and put you in the mindset of a classic tale
by Poe or Lovecraft. The predominantly instrumental music stands
alone as a haunting and moody soundtrack, but the disc is further
enhanced by the addition of unsettling artwork and a creepy story
in the liner booklet that is included with the CD.
The tracks are evenly balanced
between darkly elegant classical pieces, haunting instrumental
melodies and ghostly interludes from some of the mansion's undead
residents that serve as introductions to some of the songs. "Trespassers"
is a suspenseful and foreboding track that conjures the sense
of exploring the cobwebbed corridors of the forsaken manor. Sinister
church bells toll mournful melodies to serenade the ghosts that
haunt "The Grand Hall" and summon the restless spirits
of the dead in "Phantom Procession." A solemn harpsichord
melody echoes throughout "Remnants," while an ominous
Latin chorus chants to the sounds of a gothic pipe organ in "Sanctuary
of Shadows." "Nursery Rhyme" and "Music Box"
convey the story of a ghostly child, trapped between the realms
of the living and the dead. "No Rest for the Wicked,"
"Beyond Midnight" and "Resurrected" are terrific
pulse-pounding orchestrations. In "Incantation," a
thunderous heartbeat sets the pounding rhythm as forbidden, ancient
rites echo in the distance. And for those brave souls who would
dare, just try to listen to the eerie "Seance" while
alone in the dark.
Darklore Manor rises far
above the campy, low-budget Halloween soundtracks filled with
cheesy sound effects. This CD is an extremely high-quality production
in the same league as classic horror soundtracks like Bram
Stoker's Dracula, The Omen and Halloween.
Darklore Manor is music
from the shadows for creatures of the night. This is Gothic music
in the truest sense. Highly recommended.
Jordan Wright, Vampire's Crypt
It's too bad they no longer make
those "read-along-with" 33 rpm records of decades past;
if they started being pressed again for adult fans, Joseph Vargo
of Nox Arcana would be the perfect choice to produce them. Case
in point: Nox Arcana's CD album Darklore Manor, based on a legendary
spectral abode in Salem, MA.
Darklore Manor, is an occult-themed
concept CD inspired by the mysterious deaths, disappearances
and ghostly sightings involved in the museum's controversial
history. (An insert includes a mini-testimony by Damon Darklore
on why the tortured souls of his bloodline must meander in the
cursed place forever.) Vargo and William Piotrowski's musical
creations fuse eerie soundscapes with vocals in the form of ominous
incantations. The haunting melodies combine classical instruments
with modern synthesized orchestrations, and Vargo's cover art
is a real Victorian treat.
Vargo's creations have been in
the genre spotlight since 1993, with his renowned series of "Born
of the Night" art collections, his Tales From The Dark Tower illustrated anthology and his Gothic Tarot cards
of the Major and Minor Arcana. All of the his work has a sophisticated
flair and homages classic horror.
Alexandra Nakelski, Fangoria
I have recently added this spectacular CD to my music collection.
In my opinion, Darklore Manor must be Joseph Vargo's most
remarkable musical endeavor to date. You all know him from Midnight
Syndicate's Born of the Night and Realm of Shadows—here
he takes his atmospheric story-telling to new heights. You do
not simply "hear" the music, you feel it and live it.
Listen for yourself, and once you do, I am positive you will
have to own it. I hope you are as excited and blown away as I
was. Nox Arcana is about to make its mark!
Jeff Hartz, Buzz-Works.com
Nox Arcana is a new American duo set up by Joseph Vargo. You
maybe remember this guy from his involvement in Midnight Syndicate,
where he also walked on soundtrack fields. Darklore Manor doesn't sound different, but is definitely more 'conceptual'
to me. The music is all about the story of a haunted manor. The
picture on the front perfectly illustrates the ideas about the
music. You see an impressive manor surrounded by a deep fog and
a kind of vampire character in front of an open iron fence, who
invite us to enter and visit the hidden secrets of the house
of horror. The music remains mainly instrumental and is full
of organ sounds, dark strings, orchestral arrangements and a
few baroque influences like harpsichord. The tracks create a
compact entity, which is pure soundtrack like. This is the ultimate
gothic expression, which will undoubtedly please to the most
traditional freaks of the genre.
Sideline Magazine
Here is something a little off the beaten path. Let me introduce
you to the dark duo known as Nox Arcana. The band is made up
of internationally acclaimed gothic fantasy artist Joseph Vargo
(ex-Midnight Syndicate), and William Piotrowski. The music is
sort of hard to classify, or to stick into a precise genre. Surely
those who dig it will mostly be from the Gothic crowd, but horror
movie fans that don't regularly purchase straight-up goth CDs
will also find this to their liking. On their two releases so
far, the band creates what one might call a dark soundtrack or
musical score based on a theme. I have taken to calling such
works "Horrorscapes." These works are mostly instrumental,
with just a few spoken word portions, or the odd low-key chant
thrown in for effect.
The first CD, Darklore
Manor, is based on the tales of a legendary haunted house
in Gloucester, Massachusetts, near the infamous town of Salem.
The music is sort of mellow and eerie, it ebbs and flows the
same way your heart rate would, as you explore the dark corridors
of a long abandoned Victorian mansion. The actual mansion has
a long history of death, with stories of ghosts, murder, a curse,
seances, and mysterious disappearances. Even though the house
mysteriously burned to the ground on Halloween night in 1971,
people still see things in the area that can't be explained.
The second chapter in the
Nox Arcana story is a sonic interpretation of the Cthulhu Mythos
and the Necronomicon (aka The Book Of The Dead / The Book
Of Dead Names), H.P. Lovecraft's forbidden tome of unspeakable
horror. This disk is more bombastic in nature, as instead of
creeping around a run down mansion, we are now dealing with the
Elder Gods and the Old Ones, and their struggle for supremacy
over this world. The band calls it a "dark symphony,"
and that's a pretty good description. One could also almost call
it a dark slice of Prog-Rock.
Both CDs, while very different
from each other, do a great job at creating, and sustaining an
uneasy atmosphere of dread and uncertainty. Much like the atmospheric
work of Frank Petruccelli of Petruccelli Productions or David
Bagsby. Darklore Manor will slowly build tension and creep
under your skin in an almost inconspicuous way. Necronomicon on the other hand is more "in your face," and would
make a great soundtrack to the original Lovecraft-inspired computer
game Quake, or the newer creep-fest known as Doom III. Both however
are well worth your time.
Urotsukidoji's
Pad
Every town has a house of legend, a place where inhabitants fear
to tread, and children speak of in whispers. Usually it's a great
Victorian mansion, abandoned for decades, and left to rot at
the end of some long lonely road. And if you're anything like
me you want, nay need, to roam it's dusty corridors and see for
yourself if the rumors are true. Well fiends, Nox Arcana maestros
William Piotrowski and Joseph Vargo have created just such place
with the release of their album Darklore Manor.
You begin by entering this old
isolated home, unaware of its legacy, by way of the "Threshold
Of The Dead." Throughout the album's twenty-one tracks,
you meander through all of the rooms, such as "The Grande
Hall," slowly uncovering the grim past and strange goings-on
that have occurred with these walls. You find clues to the history,
"Music Box" and "Nursery Rhyme" (featuring
eerie vocals by Christine Filipak), and even attend a "Séance."
All the while you are surrounded by entities trapped here, some
good some bad, as you try, in vain it seems, to escape Darklore
Manor.
This album is the perfect way to
capture that elusive haunted house from your childhood, and relive
it anytime you wish. All you need to do is close your eyes, and
you are there. That is the wonderful thing about Nox Arcana's
musical creations, everyone's mind's-eye plays a different version
of the same theme, allowing each individual his or her own separate
nightmare.
Enter the doors of Darklore
Manor, and prepare yourself for a journey to the very heart
of your deepest fears. Just remember that this invitation may
be your last!
Josh Haney, Hacker's
Source
5 stars ***** Joseph Vargo and his partner William Piotrowski for Nox Arcana
bring back the sounds that made Midnight Syndicate famous. Fans
of Midnight Syndicate may remember albums like Born of the
Night and Realm of Shadows, both of which feature
Joseph Vargo. Nox Arcana's debut is no less enthusiastic and
resurrects these dark orchestral sounds. Darklore Manor continues Vargo's legacy initially begun, while Midnight Syndicate
has not carried on, to venture into other territory such as a Dungeons & Dragons soundtrack. Nox Arcana, on the
other hand, give fans of Midnight Syndicate what they've been
craving most. Enter Darklore Manor, where creatures of the night
lurk in shadows and ghostly sounds echo through unhallowed halls.
Haunted organs, ghostly voices, and much much more fill this
release while maintaining strong musical compositions instead
of becoming overdone with sound-effects like most seasonal releases.
I say seasonal because as many of you know Midnight Syndicate
has become very popular in the Haunted Attraction industry at
Halloween and Nox Arcana should reside along with them by the
other releases Vargo helped create.
Joseph Vargo is not only a talented
and creative musician with a taste for dark music but also a
well established artist who has created quite a stir with his
own company. Monolith Graphics has been in business several years
producing postcards, posters, stickers, t-shirts, journals, calendars,
tarot decks, and their own magazine. Dark Realms has also run several issues featuring reviews of all things dark
and wonderful in entertainment including books, games, movies,
music, and much more. Dark Realms is THE premiere magazine
for darkling entertainment. Also check out Monolith's Tales
from the Dark Tower, an original collection of 13 sinister
stories, lavishly illustrated by Joseph Vargo. Based upon characters
depicted in Vargo's classic gothic paintings, each story in this
unique anthology is woven together to create a new and compelling
saga of vampire lore.
Darklore Manor is a healthy
addition to the Monolith family of releases and an exciting one
this year for Halloween fans worldwide. Abandon hope all ye who
enter here... Look for the follow-up called Necronomicon,
a dark symphony based upon H.P. Lovecraft's forbidden tome of
unspeakable horrors.
TG Mondalf, ChainDLK
As you might be able to tell from the name; this CD tells the
tale of a creepy manor and what goes on therein. The CD sounds
like it is a soundtrack to a movie you've seen; complete with
the occasionally voiced interludes. The most effective being
a disembodied ghostly little girl doing the bed-time prayer 'Now
I lay me down to sleep'. There is enough on this CD to make it
interesting to listen to either with your full attention or as
part of the background while you do other things. What is most
impressive about Nox Arcana is their ability to set an all encompasing
mood via merely audio treatments. Like other releases by this
duo; the quality of this material is first rate. I recommend
it highly to anyone who enjoys a bit of Gothic symphonic music.
Marty
Dodge, BlogCritics
Former Midnight Syndicate mastermind Joseph Vargo is back with
a vengeance, this time with new musical partner, composer William
Piotrowski. Together the two have formed a new band known as
Nox Arcana, and their debut cd is an instant classic. This gothic
soundtrack includes the added bonus of a detailed booklet with
accompanying photos that provide a guided tour through a haunted
Victorian mansion known as Darklore Manor. The booklet also features
some of Mr. Vargo's delightfully creepy artwork, making it worth
the price of admission in itself—as I must say that
everything this man does in the name of art is first rate.
Darklore Manor is a ghost
story, and every good ghost story deals with a tragedy of some
sort, therefore, there are some melancholy pieces such as the
hauntingly beautiful "Remnants," which will leave you
with a feeling of sorrow, at least until you turn the next spine-tingling
bend and face your darkest fear. Other standout cuts include
Christine Filipak's rendition of a ghostly little girl reciting
the sinister "Nursery Rhyme," which is sure to give
goosebumps to even the bravest soul, and "Seance,"
with its spooky whisperings that will surely scare the hell out
of soccer moms and little kiddies everywhere.
One thing quite unique about this
offering is the addition of ominous Latin chanting to some of
the tracks, which lends authenticity and an element of mystery
to the gothic mood of this cd. The bottom line is that Darklore
Manor is solid from start to finish, and a "must-have"
addition to every witch and warlock's collection. This eerie
music is perfect for occasions such as digging up graves in the
dead of night, or conjuring evil spirits, and it really is just
good clean fun for the entire family—if you happen
to be the Addams family. Darklore Manor is destined to
be the soundtrack for spook houses from coast to coast, so move
aside Midnight Syndicate, a new monster has been born. Nox Arcana
is its name, and it has now arisen to claim the dark throne!
Randy Rosko "Goth God," Haunted
Hollow
Where to begin... While already impressed with Joseph Vargo's
visual work, I had no idea what to expect with the audio. The
Nox Arcana CD is truly beautiful, inside and out! The CD design
is a work of art, and both my wife and I are already enjoying
the music. We are really picky when it comes to Goth-influenced
music, and this shows significant sophistication, good production/engineering,
and just plain excellent compositions. I'm blown away by Dark
Realms, The Gothic Tarot cards, and now this?! Everything
Monolith is associated with is truly magical. Congratulations
on another masterpiece!
Jer Olsen, CEO, MusicBootCamp.com
Darklore Manor takes listeners on a journey into the shadows
as it weaves a musical tale of a ghost story set in a haunted
Victorian mansion. Midnight Syndicate producer Joseph Vargo combines
his dark vision and talents with fellow composer/musician William
Piotrowski to create 21 haunting melodies comprised of pipe organs,
violins, cellos, tolling bells, ominous choirs and harpsichords.
These pieces are further accentuated by a gothic chorus of Latin
chanting of forbidden rites. Ghostly choirs add a somber and
eerie accent to lonely piano melodies such as "Belladonna"
and "Veil of Darkness," while pounding rhythms echo
throughout some of the more elaborate orchestrations like "Resurrected"
and "Beyond Midnight." Vocal narratives lend unsettling
interludes between some of the tracks such as the child's poem
that introduces the eerie "Music Box." With its mixture
of haunting, melancholy melodies and ominous, symphonic orchestrations,
Nox Arcana delivers classic goth appeal. Explore the shadows
of Darklore Manor. Highly recommended.
Devon King, Dark
Realms Magazine
Don't play this if you're at home by yourself after midnight—or,
depending on your taste for being creeped out, definitely do. Darklore Manor plays like a suspense/horror soundtrack,
taking place in the classic setting of an abandoned mansion haunted
by damned souls. Ghosts awaken with heavy, chilling synths, slithery
whispers, mournful piano, and creaking doors; the scariest tracks
by far are the childlike "Nursery Rhyme" and "Music
Box." Pieces like "The Forgotten" and "Veil
of Darkness" feature quite lovely piano playing, and many
stand alone as fine dark-orchestral fragments... genuinely quite
spooky.
Gothic Beauty Magazine
Former Midnight Syndicate collaborator Joseph Vargo and multi-instrumentalist
William Piotrowski have combined their passions for darkness
and music. In the course of Darklore Manor's 21 tracks,
the duo explores horror-inspired soundscapes and creepy fantasy
coupled with an occasional ominous narrative. The music comes off as accompaniment
to a ghost story, which is detailed in the liner notes and artwork.
The full experience entails both parts. Vargo and Piotrowski
know what they're seeking musically—gothic moodiness
and subtle tension inspired by classic horror-movie scores along
the lines of Carnival of Souls and Halloween. Nox Arcana is to be applauded for its sense of vision.
Scene Magazine
Darklore Manor is a soundtrack inspired by an actual haunted
Victorian mansion, legends of which have circulated throughout
the Gloucester, Massachusetts region for over a century. On the
Nox Arcana website, one can peruse the history and the hellish
background of this place as a means to whet the appetite for
the music that follows.
Nox Arcana band member Joseph Vargo
has been a renowned macabre style artist for well over a decade,
with a wide array of dark works to his credit. In 1998, his inspirational
creation and stunning artwork thrust the band Midnight Syndicate
into notoriety with the release of Born of the Night. After the release of Realm of Shadows in 1999, Midnight
Syndicate and Vargo parted ways so that he could focus his attentions
on other projects such as a book and deck of gothic tarot cards,
while his publishing company, Monolith Graphics, expanded to
include Dark Realms Magazine, as an outlet to help promote
other gothic writers, artists and musicians.
Throughout it all, Vargo has continued
to be haunted by the dark musical muse. Joining forces with William
Piotrowski, this duo known as Nox Arcana musically transports
the listener through the core essence of a hellish experience
within a haunted mansion.
Once inside this decadent place,
we are held captive within the many cavernous halls of this Victorian
domicile. Black masses replete with Latin chanting are re-enacted
under the music to create an almost subliminal fright experience.
We notice this tug on the fear level from the title track, "Darklore
Manor," which serves as a prelude of what is to come as
heard in "Beyond Midnight." "Threshold of the
Dead" might make some think of Dark Shadows, as it
has a similar airy, yet macabre intonation conducive for a midnight
stroll along the water's edge. "Veil of Darkness" utilizes
a piano in a malevolently bombastic way, that one may need to
look over their shoulder from time to time just as a reminder
that this is only music. "Remnants" is one track that
can actually be called darkly poetic and romantic in a somber
way. The harpsichord effect takes one back to a time where there
once was love, just before all hell broke loose. Christine Filipak
makes a wonderful appearance on the track "Nursery Rhyme,"
which although one of the shortest tracks, leaves an indelible
impression of long dead children from another space and time.
All in all, this 21-track CD has
everything one would seek from haunted music. We are privy to
bells tolling malevolently, whispered phantom voices, Latin chanting,
door slams, eerie harpsichords, thunderstorms and the like. Certainly,
this is the type of music to be played at the height of a thunderstorm
or during a Ouija board session with friends if one wanted to
elevate the evenings spook factor. Additionally, this CD contains
fabulous graphics along with a brief history of the mansion.
Nox Arcana tightly controlled the listening experience by crafting
sound with lyrics as an atmospheric setting for this ghost story,
somewhat like a haunted tour guide. If you seek a CD to scare
the neighborhood children as much as yourself, Darklore Manor bids you welcome.
Mike Ventarola, Hidden Sanctuary / Albion
Batcave