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| Shadow of the Raven | 
 enlarge | Artist: Nox Arcana
Label: Monolith Graphics
Category: Music
List Price: $13.99
Buy New: $10.99
You Save: $3.00 (21%)
New (9) from $10.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 36416
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 634479597138
EAN: 0634479597138
ASIN: B000UWUVRU
Release Date: August 20, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new! Still sealed! Ships within 24hrs. 100% satisfaction guaranteed!
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| Customer Reviews:
A tribute to a Master of The Macabre... September 5, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
A superb unleashing by the minstrels of the macabre, dedicated to master of the macabre, Edgar Allen Poe. His most prominent tales are musickally portrayed herein, gloriously gloomy symphonies combined with accentuating sound effects, ghostly arias, phantom chanting, as well as narrations to spin on the victrola in one's darkened chamber, complimenting the haunted environment herein quite well.
You can hear the wind as it howls outside the chamber door, accompanied by the ghastly squawks of the devilish raven; the swing of the pendulum's blade slowly descending upon its victim, the deep pounding of that tell-tale heart, the terrible apparition of the red death, the banshee-like wailing of the spectral black cat, and the eerily melancholy, bitter-sweet echoes of love-lorn memories resurrected...
One can picture the dimensions of Poe's mind which open from dusty leather jackets; at the bidding of the ornate portrait, these wonderfully strange orchestrations float through the room across cobwebbed library shelves, opening musty yellowed pages like misty fingers aglow in the darkness, turning the pages from one horror-laden mystery to another...
The elegantly decorated booklet displays Vargo's sublime Gothic artistry, visually enhancing the morbid legacy of Poe's tenebrous imagination. A sublime listen and contemplation overall.
Great Tribute To Poe September 21, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Once again, Nox Arcana delves into the macabre with this musical tribute to the works of E.A.Poe. The tracks are hauntingly rendered and I especially liked the Black Cat short. And for those who like a good mystery, there is a riddle to unravel. Highly recommended.
 Quoth the raven... October 14, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I personally think this is Nox Arcana's best work, topping CARNIVAL OF LOST SOULS. They take you inside the tortured mind of Edgar Allen Poe and not only musically represent his personal demons but nearly a dozen of his most famous works including "The Pit And The Pendulum, "Murders In The Rue Morgue" and "Fall Of The House Of Usher." In fact, several tracks deal with the latter story. I kind of wish Nox Arcana had musically adapted one or two more of Poe's stories and done less with representing Poe's mindset. Don't get me wrong; all the tracks here are very moody and some rather pretty, but the tracks in the middle ("Legacy Of Sorrow", "Mysteries Of The Night", "Morbid Reminiscence" and "A Dream Within A Dream") all kind of ran together for me and made the CD drag just a bit. Anyway, I found the tracks focusing on Poe's stories to be the strongest on the CD. "The Black Cat" will creep you out. "The Tell-Tale Heart" will have your heart pounding. "The Cask Of Amontillado" builds just like a vengeful man laying brick to seal you in your doom. "Murders In the Rue Morgue" has a great sense of dread and use of tympani...although I'm not sure it makes me think of a gorilla with a razor blade...but it's quite good. There are also 2 hidden tracks after the final track "Nevermore". One is a partial recitation of "The Raven" which I personally entitled "Quoth The Raven" and put it bewteen "Masque Of The Red Death" and Nevermore". The other track is "The Premature Burial" which I end the CD with. A CD should always go out with a bang...or in this case a man buried alive and banging on the inside of his casket to be let out. All in all this is a very creepy and well produced CD.
Dark, Macabre, Brilliant. October 19, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In a word, Brilliant. The work of Nox Arcana keeps getting better. As a professional Magician, I not only enjoy this music at my leisure, it serves as inspiration in my work. I am especially moved with Annabel Lee, Lenore and of course, the Raven. When this album was released, I did not hesitate to purchase it because I have enjoyed their past works. Carnival of Lost Souls and Darklore Manor to name two. Edgar Allan Poe himself would seem proud, in his own melancholy way, to have a soundtrack to accompany his immortal works.
Quothe the Raven "Nox Arcana!" November 29, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
You know you're holding something spectacular when you get chills just reading the track listing. Such was my response upon holding the latest gem from Nox Arcana, Shadow of the Raven, in my hands. A tribute to one of the greatest Gothic writers of all time, Edgar Allan Poe, this cd is a masterpiece of art; flawlessly capturing in musical notes what Poe set down in ink.
Based upon some of his greatest stories and most famous poems, this disc is their finest work to date.
Starting with the vocal track "Darkest Hour" you enter the despair and sorrow that was Poe's life. This feeling never really leaves you as you move onto the other songs. Some of the best are "Descent Into Madness" which will leave you with the feeling of growing dread, "Madeline's Lament" holds a gentle touch of sadness and "Haunted Memories" lives up to its' name with a haunting quality lying within each note. "Annabel Lee" is soft and poignant. "Mysteries of the Night" is simply beautiful while "The Raven" is heartbreakingly so. "A Dream Within A Dream" has an almost ethereal quality to it while "The Tell-Tale Heart" will have your own pounding with terror. "Murders in the Rue Morgue" is pure suspense and "The Pit and the Pendulum" is absolutely disturbing.
This album is definitely a must have for fans of both Poe and Nox Arcana. To be without this album? Well....quothe the Raven "Nevermore!".
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