Gothic

Nox Arcana fans should listen to this album without their small children; pure terror reigns supreme. As has often been mentioned: The deeper you delve into Grimstone Manor, the more gruesome and nerve-wracking it becomes. A musical masterpiece that has met its match. The outro sums it up perfectly: "The House beyond the Graveyard is no place to stay." Horror cinema in musical form—never heard anything like it, brilliantly done, terrifying, and truly intense! I bow down to this work and thank the creators of this scenario. Enjoy; you'll need nerves of steel!

And who better to bring an audio representation of that than Nox Arcana. The first track invites you to spend the night in Grimstone Manor, to see if you can survive the night there. But you won’t be alone since there are many strange and mysterious things that wander the halls therein. And then starts the amazing organ piece in "Grimstone Manor". Such an amazing and beautiful piece of music which immediately brings to mind an huge old house, an old gothic mansion that has been closed up for years, now opening for your arrival. That is the thing about this release from Nox Arcana, each track gives you another look into an old estate where the dead might not rest. From haunting piano melodies echoing in the night, to the sounds of a music box from a child’s toy, to the howling winds, to the more thunderous pieces of music that are sure to get your attention. In fact, "The Portrait Gallery" starts off with thunder in the distances, before we get an incredible duet with a harpsichord and violin, with a haunting voice bringing them together. This is one of my favorite releases from Nox Arcana in quite some time. Maybe it is just the time of the year that this kind of music is perfect for, or it is just that good. Take a journey to Grimstone Manor and take that chance on your own. I think you’ll be glad to you did.

I own every album of Nox Arcana. This one is somewhat quieter than the others, but still doesn't cross the line to the realm of background music (that's a huge concern with slow music, at least for me). It stands out and makes you LISTEN to it, no matter what you're doing. Quiet, haunting, mesmerizing. I love it. My favorite track is The Portrait Gallery, a slow piece with a creepy violin solo.

I have several Nox Arcana albums and none of them disappoint but this new one has something more hauntingly touching. Not sure exactly what it is as I have only listened to it for a couple days now, but I feel that this is definitely my favorite so far. This will be perfect to play on my loud system to set the for the neighborhood on Halloween night. Sample the tracks and especially "The House Beyond The Graveyard" to get the tone of the album.

This is the seminal Gothic atmosphere album. Nox Arcana delivers an amazing collection of songs. Remarkable!

Nox Arcana blends horror score with story so well.

What a fabulously haunting journey into the creative mind of Nox Arcana. Great way to set the mood on a dark, stormy night!

Love this CD. Gives the room a cool Gothic ambiance. Great for Halloween or just everyday use for low background music.

Nox Arcana never fails to impress with the wide range of sounds and motifs to pull from. They create a definite vibe with the theme. Gothic is haunting, mesmerizing and u thoroughly enjoy it!

Hello to you all... I bid you welcome to the site of Nox Arcana where your worst nightmares begin. Where you can now enjoy the melodies past and present along with the haunting sounds of ghosts that cannot rest. Melodies that will please you and chill you even in your sleep they will hide in the darkest corners of your soul. Music that will scare even those who love Halloween. Five Gold Stars is my reward for this Album. Now is the time to go seek out other Nox Arcana albums.

The ghostly story above that accompanies this album is all you need to know about Joseph Vargo's new masterpiece "Gothic." I would never throw out such overused words as "masterpiece" without giving careful consideration as to what that implies. But I humbly sit here with nothing less to call the new album from Nox Arcana as it's so fitting. I've always found it hard to choose which of the twenty plus Nox Arcana albums could possibly be called my favorite, until now. Gothic is my favorite album from their catalog.

If you are looking for something to set the Halloween mood and get the atmosphere just right in your home on those dark and chilly nights... take a trip with Nox Arcana to the Gothic mansion known as Grimstone Manor... and spend the evening there. This is the perfect score for Halloween this year.

I received this THE day before Halloween. What an awesome treat for me!
      Production is stellar as it always is. The artwork is outstanding as usual. This cd continues that trend of songwriting maturity. I really can't compare this piece to any previous releases as it is very different in overall tone. "Gothic"... dark beauty, melancholy, sadness etc… this cd really delivers on these fronts.
      All in all it's another strong refinement of their core sound but with some new twists thrown in. My favorite song? "The Portrait Gallery" is one of the best songs the group has crafted to date and really sums up the album as a whole. Let your imagination wander over to the dark side for a while. You'll enjoy it.

One of this year's sublime treats arrives shortly before Halloween—like opening One's Trick-or-Treat bag at the Gates of Hell contained within a Gothic Mansion, with the beauty on the cover as your guide to the lambent hallways within. A most welcoming environment.
      This offering seems a compendium of haunted attractions contained into one opus—a blissfully phantasmagorical scarescape where each shadowy chamber yields another familiar beautiful nightmare, in both instrumentation and theme; a morbid combination of horrors.
      GOTHIC is ideal for spookhouse presentations as well as personal atmospheric enhancement.

I'm always excited for every album this musical genius produces, it's dark and soothing to listen too and it gets one's imagination going. So astutley done and eloquent; foremost, it's really amazing what theme's are behind each album. I adore their uniqeness and what they bring. The exuctuion behind these theme's are magnificent. Keep up the amazing work!

The haunted mansion is a classic horror staple and like their debut album, Nox Arcana delivers. Dark and melancholy, Gothic really captures the mood of a haunted mansion. I was particularly happy with the strings and pipe organs, which I thought were really well done on this album. Add this to your collection, a great Halloween treat.