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 A Splendid Tale Indeed, both dark, enchanting, grim and beautiful May 7, 2008
John Rossi (Somers Point, NJ United States)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Through many places dark and eerie have Nox Arcana been our guide. From odes to Lovecraft, Poe, and Stoker, to tales of Darklore's abode, and the Knight of Ebonshire. Frpm diabolical carnivals, to tales of fallen angels, and epic tales of legengary quests in times of yore where dragons ruled the skies in the time of the ancient gods. Within the dark and the macabre there always rests a touch of beauty, and the wondrous melodies of Nox Arcana are never silent for long. Now, they bring us their ninth gem in just four short years. Aye, in truth a wonderous new musical story is crafted, and in the spirit of the works of the Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm, Nox Arcana gifts us with:
GRIMM TALES
1- Fable - A gentle and lovely music box melody sets us on our journey's path. It bespeaks wonder and beautiful innocence. All too soon, however, it is joined by ominous deep male soaring female choir to grant an airof brooding menace and fear. Overlaid soon after is the voice of co-composer and storyteller extraordinaire Joseph Vargo himself, suitably sounding like a wise old crone bidding welcome to a captive and wonder-filled audidence with the following:
Welcome children, gather round
To heed grim tales of whispered lore
As twilight falls, dark shadows rise
To haunt the night for evermore
For ghastly things lurk in the dim
Beneath the shadows of your bed
Waiting till you drift asleep
To fill your dreams wuth mortal dread
The piece is closed out with a couple touches of moaning winds mixed with a raven's cry, a sinister laugh, and more music box melodies and choirs. In my mind I can easily see a wizened old hag sitting at the bedside of a child in a homey cottage by candlelight, reading a scary story from an old leatherboud volume.
2- Twilight - Here, the starting players are a pretty but somewhat sad and brooding piano melody that manages to give a sense of the coming of night, and of exploring an unknown realm. Xylophones and beautifully soaring melancholy strings join in with touches of choir to convey the coming of evening, painting in the mind a picture of a moonlit but starless sky, as darkness settles over meadows bereft of greenery.
3- Once Upon A Nightmare- The 'swirling' nature of the opening xylophone melody that begins this does seem to hint at 'spinning' helplessly into troubled sleep. This is aided by beatiful strings turning into an urgent march, painting a picture of a terrified heartbeat, blending with tolling bells, deep timpani drums and ominous choral work and chanting. I can see 'inside the mind' of someone falling asleep, images of a mist-shrouded glade with gnarled tress, and a distant castle upon a cliff, guarded by churning stormy waters.
4- Shadow Forest - Again, I see an arboreal realm, more grey and deep ebony than green. Shroudeded in thick gloom and mist. It is conveyed beautifully by low-voiced choral 'chanting' and delicate harp mated with tolling bells, darkly tense strings and pretty children's choirs. Again, a music box does appear nicely, and the pipe organ provides a tensse undercurrent. Moaning winds and more music box tonees close out the piece.
5- Eyes In The Dark - The sense of being watched by something you might or might not see is more than ably conveyed here. The honors are done by somber strings, tolling bells and pipe organ. Percussion and moaning winds also chime in. The pace is steady, almost heartbeat-like but more brooding than urgent. I can eyes in my mind here, almost like looking through lightning flashes for repeated but brief glimpses of creatures just waiting for there time to strike.
6- The Hollow- This piece is a very tense ambient mood setter evocative of a dark and hidden glade. The hollow rush of a chill wind is mated with sounds of owls, birdcalls, sinister laughter, animal growls and a baby's cry. I thought I picked up wolven howls as well. Despite being a non musical peice, the tension is undeniable here.
7- Sylvan Spirits- Dancing xylophones mate with tolling bells as well as beautiful choir and strings. The 'swirling' nature of the melody more than ably suggests the elegant and graceful nature of the forest fae as they flit to and frow through a glowing but misty emerald locale. The piece isn't all about beauty though. There's a sense of something not quite right in it, as if the sylvan spirits have power that could be deadly to any visitors to their realm.
8- Wicked Heart- Here, the stars are brooding strings, drums, tolling bells and both chanting and soaring choirs. The tempo is distinctively march-like but does also depict the heart that is the title's namesake. Getting closer and closer to the heart of the Witch Queen's realm, aren't we? Do be brave children, if you can. :)
9 - Conjuration- One of the scariest pieces Nox Arcana has done to date. Moaning winds and raven's calls blend with owl hoots, deep low choir and eerie bubbling sounds. The vocal performance of Joseph Vargo in this piece is first rate indeed, as he, portraying once again a wicked old crone, intones:
Cauldron blazing in the fire
Lapping flames grow ever higher
Tongue of toad, and wing of bat
Mixed within this bubbling vat
Raven's claw and serpent's scale
Dragon's blood, and scorpion's tail
A plague of nightmare's I invoke
To rise up from the ash and smoke
Spider's web and eye of newt
Viper's venom and mandrake root
Hearken ye to my commands
Come forth to haunt these withered lands
Unleashed from depths of blackest night
Slither crawl and take to flight
And in the darkest midnight hour
All gather round the witch's tower
To be able to see aforementioned old hag working a spell here is, for me, very easy. It is as if someone else is doing the bidding of the dark Witch Queen, that she herself thought was beneath her dignity even to do.
10 - Night Wraiths - A companion piece to track nine to me. Tempestuous strings and percussion blend with rising choirs both chanting and singing wordless melodies, and dancing pipe organ passages. The urgency of the piece draws me in and the thundering timpani are a beautiful touch. Now the sky is black as ever it could be as denizens of the night blot out the blood red sky and moon, as they make haste to do the bidding of their cruel matriarch
11- Deep In The Woods - I love the mournful piano and occasional string hits in this, mating with tenser flowing and vibrating strings in places. The sound effects of birds and a baby's cry are a great touch, but what really conveys the sense of being lost for me is the sad and almost crying children's choir work
12 - The Forgotten Path- Here we get a sense of exotcism, mysticism, beaty and dread all together. Great guitar work and strings mix with beautiful flute , tolling bells and tamborines and choral work to take us through a forested realm both teeming with ethereal beauty and seething with the tension of the unknown.
13 - Fairy Tale- Here, a musicbox like tune comes back to the forefront. Lovely soaring children's choir does a beautiful dance with it. This seems in a way a gentler respite for us, filled to the brim with loveliness and wonder, but I picked up a bit of sadness too. It's like your hearing a great story, that you want to turn out okay, but aren't sure it will.
14 - Crone's Caverns - Brooding strings, mournful piano and pipe organ are back. Flowing chorals and moaning winds mate with them, along with tense and dreadful string vibrato. Percussion depicts a heartbeat to me once again here. Subterranean realms filled with mist and mystery are easily painted within my mind's eye.
15 - Rise To Destiny - This piece to me is almost bellicose. Again, we get a theme that is marchlike and almost militaristic. The honors are done with steady pulsing strings, drums and blended male and female choirs. Somehow I see armies converging on a distant regal domicile backlit by a crimson sky and dim silver moonlight.Are they the armies of the Witch Queen? Yes, but maybe they amass to stop those who would dare get too close to her, or those who would be a threat to her reign.
16- Labyrynth of Dreams- The namesake of this title, a beautiful maze, is in my mind expertlty depicted by the lovely xylophone and childrens' choral work. The stunner for me though is the mournful and tense string passages that weave as if they are crying through the piece. It is as if whatever might be sought in this maze, whatever ray of hope exists, it might remain for ever out of reach. Perhaps the realm of Fable itself is weeping, for it remains under the rule of a wicked matriarch.
17- Castle of Nightmares- Tense violin and cello blend with deep timpani, moaning winds and soaring blended chorals. Pipe organ and thundering drums soon join, blending with choral chanting and vibrating string runs. Easily painted is the grand but bleak domicile of the Witch Queen which we must not approach. Ancient and powerful, standing in arrogant pride, ebon stone with jagged spired, backlit by crimson blood and dimmest gold. To reach the light, the shadow must be faced, and ever closer to that shadow we are coming. There is power and regality in this piece that stirs the heart, but there is tension that cannot be ignored or mistaken.
18, Hall of the Witch Queen- An awesome thunderclap and rainfall open this piece. Soon we are accosted by the Witch Queen herself (voiced very nicely by Christine Filipak) as she demands to know "Who dares to intrude upon my dark domain?"
Drums, choirs, and strings soon fill our ears. They dance beautifully together with male female choir in what sounds to me almost like a macabre promeande. In a strange but elegant and fitting way, they paint for us a picture of the royalty and beauty of the Queen, a beauty that is present despite her darkened heart.
19. Ave Sinistra- This is my favorite peice on the disk. The beginning is tense and powerful, comprised of a steady- tripartite beat performed by timpani and strings, and ended with a solid piano "hit". Overlaid upon that, is a gracefully flowing three note violin melody that expands to alternate between seven, five and four.
My favorite part is when the four-note strings are joined by the steady timpani and choral undercurrent, going slightly faster as another current of faster and more urgent strings swirls along underneath it all. The dance of strings drums, horns, blended choirs and chanting near the climax has great power. The piece is closed out nicely with male choir and piano, painting the image of countless denizens paying homage to the Queen whose dark beauty and power are told by the piece's character.
20 - Black Spires - The first word that comes to mind here is either desperate or urgent. Strings and drums blend with choir to depict what seems to me a struggle to accomplish a heroic deed before it it is too late to take the chance. It is as if someone is running helter-skelter through the castle of the Witch Queen looking for the way to do what they must, or maybe just frantically seeking the way out, if there is one to be found at all.
21 - Darkly Everafter- Three words for this one? Omionous, tense and beautiful. Xylophones, strings, percussion, and moaning wind effects blend with piano and tolling bells to do the honors. My favorite parts are the vibrating string hits that float behind the music box tones before the timpani hits come in. The melodies woven by all are most engaging, gripping, and powerful Can the Witch Queen be stopped, or does she indeed reign "darkly everater" as the title seems to suggest?
There's one thing I must say to advise you. Do not hit stop when the music at first goes quiet. The bonus track is very well done and fitting. Featuring great vocal interplay between Christine Filipak and Joseph Vargo, coupled with a lovely melody and ended in a way that seems to suggest a sinister "wink" to the listening audience, it is not to be missed. It definitely made me smile to hear it.
All in all, I must call this yet another brilliant piece of work by Nox Arcana. Taking a bold and grand step, they have composed a wondrous and engaging dark fairytale for the modern age that perfectly captures the spirit and tradtion of the best of the Grimm brothers' written works. It is, in its own way, very much a captivating tale that just might have you shivering under your blankets at night, and yet wondering, maybe wanting to go to the realm of Fable yourself. Beware though, for Queen Sinistra would doubtless be waiting, perhaps, to see you.... Pleasant dreams.
Enchanting and Breathtaking! May 5, 2008
Joseph V. Iorillo
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Nox Arcana's Grimm Tales is an unforgettably mesmerizing symphony that feels like an elegant, eerie soundtrack to the more sinister fables and legends that fill the pages of childhood storybooks. Although many charming, beautiful melodies create a seductive impression of innocence, an overall aura of menace and danger is woven through these intricate songs, effectively capturing the mood of the famous fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. One of the CD's standout tracks is "Once Upon A Nightmare," which begins with a pretty music box theme that is quickly underscored by stirring strings and thunderous timpani. "Twilight," an evocative, moody piano-dominated piece, has a brilliant melody that you will not soon forget. There are many other remarkable pieces, including "Fairy Tale," in which the beguiling melody of a child's music box is counterpointed with a chilling but lovely choir. But perhaps the CD's most breathtaking piece is "Rise to Destiny" - reminiscent of the turbulence of Mozart's early symphonic works, this track amply demonstrates why Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski have no equals in this genre, a genre which they singlehandedly created.
Your adventure is about to begin... enter at your own risk! May 7, 2008
Draconis Blackthorne (The Haunted Noctuary)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The mysterious figure sits upon the throne-like chair, decorated in ghoulish fane... the dusty leathery storybook framed in silver cracks open, letting forth a swirling vortex to enrapture the reader into its multi-dimensional fetters of the imagination, traveling forth into shadowy worlds of a Dark Witch's spell... the fireplace glows strangely this night, transmutating forms in the hell fires, warming the flesh with delightfully chilling sound-scapes and enchanted tales...
Based upon the eerie stories of The Brothers Grimm and released in the Walpurgisnacht season, Nox Arcana wonderfully manifests the sinsations to compliment one's own experience when submerged herein.
Along with the "Gregorian Shadow Choir", Christine Filipak participates as the voice of Sinistra the Witch, who from her castle, sternly warns the wayfarer who veers too close to her domain, and the hag crone mixing up her bubbling brew. From The Hollow, An enchanted orchestral garden comes alive with the blackest Magic, weaving its nightmarish influence, compelling towards the labyrinth of dreams.
Joseph Vargo's splendid artwork graces the diabolically ornate booklet, accompanied by poetic descriptions of the fearsome adventures within, creating a truly gratifying multi-sensory saturation.
From antique portals of timelessness generated with the infernal sonic machine herein, Grimm Tales cascade along the daemonic mind to enhance One's haunted atmosphere, invoking the muses to dance in the darkness of the flickering chamber.
Two Words: Absolutely Incredible May 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Wow! Wow! Wow! Did I say "wow"? I'm not Loren Gomez; I am his 13 1/2 year old daughter and I am so impressed by this album. It was just as good, if not better, than their last effort. I love the topic of the album. I love how Joseph Vargo made his voice sound like and old crone. I almost couldn't recognize his voice! The sound effects in this CD were perfectly done. I liked how Christine Filipak portrayed the Witch Queen so perfectly.I could almost see the Witch Queeen speaking. My favorite pieces were Twilight, Shadow Forest, Eyes in the Dark, Sylvan Spirits, Wicked Heart, Conjuration, Night Wraiths, Deep in the Woods, The Forgotten Path, Fairy Tale, Crone's Cavern, Labyrinth of Dreams, Hall of the Witch Queen, and the hidden track. Well done, Gentlemen. Well done.
BRILLIANT! Dark, Mysterious, Stirring. May 15, 2008
George Anderson (Huntington Beach, California United States)
BRILLIANT! Dark, Mysterious, Stirring.
I am a professional magician and Nox Arcana's Music has never failed to inspire and invoke the imagination. It greatly enhances my performances; you can tell by the expressions on the audiences faces. Grimm Tales is a fantastic collection or gothic and haunting melodies. If you are stimulated by this genre of music, you cannot miss with this acquisition.
- George Anderson, Magician & Illusionist
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