Necronomicon (album)
Encyclopedia
Necronomicon is an album by gothic horror musical group Nox Arcana
published by Monolith Graphics in 2004
. The music is inspired by the stories of horror
writer H. P. Lovecraft
and is a tribute to the Cthulhu Mythos
.
The "language of the Old Ones" developed by Lovecraft as a literary plot element but considered by many to be unpronouncable, is effectively spoken aloud by Joseph Vargo on several of the tracks. Vargo, who is a huge fan of Lovecraft's work, also illustrated the CD packaging to appear as he imagined the famed fictional book to be from Lovecraft's descriptions.
A hidden track on the CD also contains a backward masking
of the phrase "Klaatu barada nikto
," a well-known quote from the film The Day the Earth Stood Still and Army of Darkness
, which in turn borrowed thematic elements from Lovecraft.
Some of the songs titles are also titles of Lovecraft stories, such as "The Nameless City
" and "The Haunter of the Dark
", while others song titles such as Azathoth
, Dagon
, Nyarlathotep
, Cthulhu
and the Great Old Ones are the names of gods, demons or other supernatural entities from Lovecraft's fiction. A chapter in the book, The Strange Sound of Cthulhu: Music Inspired by the Writings of H. P. Lovecraft was devoted to this album.
for copying their music on his album Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück
. The album, which contains three musical works by Nox Arcana (two songs from Darklore Manor
and the song "Cthulhu Rising"), ranked Platinum on the German charts. Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück was pulled from major retailers like iTunes and Amazon worldwide.
Nox Arcana
Nox Arcana is an American dark ambient musical group, formed in 2003 by Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski. Nox Arcana specializes in concept albums based on gothic fiction and classic horror literature. Such literary references include: H. P. Lovecraft, The Brothers Grimm, Ray Bradbury, and Edgar...
published by Monolith Graphics in 2004
2004 in music
See also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol....
. The music is inspired by the stories of horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
writer H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
and is a tribute to the Cthulhu Mythos
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
.
Background Infos
Orchestra strings, drums, pipes, guitars and choirs are accented by ominous chanting, strange sound effects and brief narratives that combine to tell the story of an alchemist who dares to raise an ancient race of otherworldly beings.The "language of the Old Ones" developed by Lovecraft as a literary plot element but considered by many to be unpronouncable, is effectively spoken aloud by Joseph Vargo on several of the tracks. Vargo, who is a huge fan of Lovecraft's work, also illustrated the CD packaging to appear as he imagined the famed fictional book to be from Lovecraft's descriptions.
A hidden track on the CD also contains a backward masking
Backward masking
Backward masking has several meanings:*The original meaning of the term, in psychoacoustics, refers to temporal masking of quiet sounds that occur moments before a louder sound....
of the phrase "Klaatu barada nikto
Klaatu barada nikto
"Klaatu barada nikto" is a phrase originating from the 1951 science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still. "Klaatu" is the name of the humanoid alien protagonist in the film. Klaatu commanded Helen Benson that, were anything to happen to him, she must utter the phrase to the robot Gort...
," a well-known quote from the film The Day the Earth Stood Still and Army of Darkness
Army of Darkness
Army of Darkness, also known as Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness or simply Evil Dead III, is a 1992 horror comedy fantasy action film directed by Sam Raimi. It is the third and final installment in The Evil Dead trilogy. The film was written by Raimi and his brother Ivan, produced by Robert Tapert,...
, which in turn borrowed thematic elements from Lovecraft.
Some of the songs titles are also titles of Lovecraft stories, such as "The Nameless City
The Nameless City
"The Nameless City" is a horror story written by H. P. Lovecraft in January 1921 and first published in the November 1921 issue of the amateur press journal The Wolverine...
" and "The Haunter of the Dark
The Haunter of the Dark
"The Haunter of the Dark" is a horror story in the Cthulhu Mythos genre. It was written by H. P. Lovecraft in November 1935, and published in the December 1936 edition of Weird Tales...
", while others song titles such as Azathoth
Azathoth
Azathoth is a deity in the Cthulhu Mythos and Dream Cycle stories of H. P. Lovecraft and other authors. Its epithets include Nuclear Chaos, the Daemon Sultan and the Blind Idiot God.-Inspiration:...
, Dagon
Dagon
Dagon was originally an Assyro-Babylonian fertility god who evolved into a major northwest Semitic god, reportedly of grain and fish and/or fishing...
, Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep, also known as the Crawling Chaos, is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos fictional universe created by H. P. Lovecraft. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem of the same name, he was later mentioned in other works by Lovecraft and by other writers and in the tabletop...
, Cthulhu
Cthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional character that first appeared in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. The character was created by writer H. P...
and the Great Old Ones are the names of gods, demons or other supernatural entities from Lovecraft's fiction. A chapter in the book, The Strange Sound of Cthulhu: Music Inspired by the Writings of H. P. Lovecraft was devoted to this album.
Controversy
In 2008, Nox Arcana announced they had filed suit against German rapper BushidoBushido (rapper)
Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi, , better known as Bushido, is a German rapper. The word Bushido is Japanese and means "Way of the Warrior". He also uses the pseudonym Sonny Black, based on Dominic Napolitano. As of 2009, he sold more than 1,5 million albums in Germany alone...
for copying their music on his album Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück
Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück
Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück is the fourth solo album by Bushido.The title alludes to his first solo album Vom Bordstein bis zur Skyline.- Information :...
. The album, which contains three musical works by Nox Arcana (two songs from Darklore Manor
Darklore Manor
Darklore Manor is an album released by gothic horror musical group Nox Arcana on Monolith Graphics in 2003. It features a style of music that bears a similarity to Joseph Vargo's earlier work on the album Born of the Night with Midnight Syndicate, a group that he helped to establish in 1998 prior...
and the song "Cthulhu Rising"), ranked Platinum on the German charts. Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück was pulled from major retailers like iTunes and Amazon worldwide.
Track listing
- "Mythos" — 1:58
- "The Nameless City" — 3:38
- "Alhazred’s Vision" — 2:55
- "Necronomicon" — 2:03
- "Ancient Shadows" — 2:28
- "Azathoth" — :28
- "The Black Throne" — 2:01
- "Nyarlathotep" — :40
- "Temple of The Black Pharaoh 3:50
- "Eldritch Rites" — 1:33
- "The Haunter of The Dark" — 2:38
- "The Awakening" — 2:59
- "Yog-sothoth" — 1:00
- "Guardian of The Gate" — 3:26
- "Lords of Darkness" — 2:08
- "Dagon" — :35
- "The Stars Align" — 1:57
- "Cthulhu" — :55
- "Ritual Of Summoning" — 1:21
- "Cthulhu Rising" — 2:38
- "The Great Old Ones" — 4:06 *hidden track