![]() I pictured an outdoor mysterious masquerade during "First Snow," and I could just see the night sky lit up by the blue-hued snow. ![]() ![]() The serene silence of winter is illustrated in "Crystal Forest." This track sounded like crystal and images of falling snow suspended in time. If the music on Winters Knight had visual color, it would definitely be the frost blue of an enigmatic winter in Eastern Europe. I love how this album especially, matches Vargo's famous blue hued illustrations. The different sounds and emotions are threaded together with a gothic motif. I love the sound of the harpsichord, and Nox Arcana did not skimp on the medieval instruments, or the length, with over 60 minutes of music. My favorite track is "Ebonshire." This minstrel piece is a perfect accompaniment of medieval mystique for a journey into the unknown. It was gently raining in the Pacific Northwest and as prehistoric landscapes rolled by, I felt I too was like a knight on a quest of lonely tranquility. I decided to first listen to this CD on a cross-country train ride, I thought it would be fitting. Winter's Knight will take you down that bizarrely distinct trail for the holidays, but Nox Arcana will make the journey well worth your while. On the other hand, if you have heard five billion renditions of "Deck the Halls" in your neighborhood mall, and you long for something a bit more daring, Nox Arcana's Winter's Knight may well be your cup of tea, so to speak.Īs for me, great music attracts me, and I have considerable admiration for talented musicians who are willing to walk a different path. Nox Arcana throws dark shadows across the brightest time of year, and unless you have a solid sense of humor or, at the very least, an open mind and/or a fondness for all things goth, this album will puzzle and perhaps even offend. Most definitely, Winter's Knight is not for everybody. Although these holiday chestnuts once were harbingers of hope and grace, Nox Arcana reworks them to cast the eeriest glow across the haunted landscape, all the while retaining the coolest sort of inner beauty. Most pieces are inspired originals, but more intriguing are the ghostly and ghastly renditions of well-loved carols. The orchestration is elegantly creepy and musically astute these gentlemen know their stuff. This ample album (over an hour of music!) travels through 21 holiday numbers that are unlike anything you have ever heard. Although most pieces are instrumental, there are several sinister vocals to chill the soul. Their intensely creative Winter's Knight takes listeners on a gothic fantasy to the blackest parts of midnight. Nox Arcana is Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski, musical masters of darkness. No, this is not Tim Burton's ghoulish tale about the Pumpkin King-this is royalty of an entirely different sort.
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