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Nox Arcana is an American neoclassical, dark ambient musical duo, formed in 2003 by Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski. Their name in Latin translates to "mysteries of the night." All of Nox Arcana's music is released independently on the Monolith Graphics label, a publishing company owned by Joseph Vargo. Nox Arcana specializes in concept albums based on original stories, as well as gothic fiction and classic horror literature Some of their albums also make reference to medieval themes and ancient mythology. With their third album, Nox Arcana became a ''Billboard'' Top Ten charting artist in the holiday genre.〔 In addition to the storytelling aspect of each album, hidden puzzles and interactive quests are incorporated into the album artwork and into the music itself. Their music is often used to provide atmosphere for films, public events, role-playing games and during Halloween at theme parks, several of which have based haunted attractions on Nox Arcana's original theme albums. ==Musical characteristics== Nox Arcana's music is melodic and moody, focusing on a dominant melody line. Instrumentation varies with each album as appropriate to the theme or time period of the album concept, and typically includes piano, bells, violin, pipe organ, harpsichord, timpani drums and other percussion. Some albums also include cymbals, lutes, acoustic guitars, bagpipes and glockenspiel, depending on the theme of a given album. Their music is generally classified as dark wave or dark ambient, "sometimes sandwiched into the gothic music genre" 〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Nox Arcana "The Dark Tower" The Dark Queen's Spirit Still Haunts These Hallowed Halls )〕 and aptly labeled "atmospheric gothic."〔(Spirt of Metal genre listing for Nox Arcana )〕 The moods associated with Nox Arcana music describe it as ominous, romantic, lush, epic, otherworldly, menacing, spooky and eerie, Nox Arcana's music covers a broad range of subgenres within the rock and alternative music categories.〔(All Music Guide )〕 Joseph Vargo explained Nox Arcana's style to a blogger from Gnostics.com: "Our music is mainly classically based instrumental, although we do incorporate chanting choirs and spoken narratives for dramatic effect to achieve a blend of darkly haunting melodies that encompass the complete gothic spectrum the romantic, the mysterious, and the horrific. We utilize a variety of instruments such as piano, pipe organ, violin, acoustic guitar, drums and tolling bells to achieve symphonic orchestrations. Our concept has always been to create moody and melody-driven gothic soundscapes that take the listener on a musical journey through various dark realms of fantasy." ''Carnival of Lost Souls'' though primarily a dark cabaret-style album, also contains a heavy metal song, while the music on the ''Blood of Angels'' album blends industrial dance and tribal rhythms with ethereal-style vocals. Their trilogy of winter-themed albums feature a range of ethereal-style choirs, Gregorian-style chanting, classical music, and Celtic new-age instrumentation.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nox Arcana」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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