Carnival of Lost Souls
| Carnival of Lost Souls | ||||
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| Studio album by Nox Arcana | ||||
| Released | June 6, 2006 | |||
| Genre | Gothic, Dark cabaret, Dark ambient, Dark wave | |||
| Label | Monolith Graphics | |||
| Nox Arcana chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Arising Realm |  |
| Fangoria Magazine |  |
| Metal Sound Magazine | |
| Morbid Outlook | |
Carnival of Lost Souls is the fifth album by Dark ambient musical duo Nox Arcana, loosely based on the story Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. On this album, Nox Arcana performs a style of music that is indicative of late 19th-early 20th century circus or Vaudeville act, albeit with a darker, more sinister tone and effect.
In 2017, Carnival Of Lost Souls was ranked by Pretty Famous on MSN at #101 for Best Album of All Time. Nox Arcana made the list with other influential musical artists including The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and The Ramones.
Their "Calliope" song, for example, is a pipe organ melody that is performed more like a dirge than something festive, and the song "Madame Endora" is a narrative piece featuring the gravely voice of a fortune-teller who warns the listener that "a storm is coming" and to "beware." Other tracks are accented with sound effects of things that one might hear in the encampment of a traveling circus: the tormented, bitter screams of the freaks in the sideshow, the sound of the ringmaster or carnival barker, the cracking of a whip, the distant roaring of animals and rattling of chains. The track "Snake Charmer" combines an exotic drumbeat with wind pipes and finger cymbals, along with the sound of a rattlesnake.
The song "Spellbound" is the only song on the album that features full lyrics and male vocals. It was recorded twice on the CD; once as a scratchy-crackly-sounding record, like something played on an old Victrola machine, then as a goth/metal version on a hidden track at the end of the CD.
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