Interview with Nox Arcana by Gary Hill - February 2005
◄ Back to IndexWhat other material that you have done would you consider Lovecraft related?
Though I'm known mainly for my gothic artwork, I've also painted an assortment of dark, Lovecraftian images. These paintings are among my most surrealistic works. I've also had several short stories published, two of which, "The Coroner" and "Darkness Immortal" involve Lovecraftian themes. Our first CD, DARKLORE MANOR also utilized Lovecraftian elements to take listeners on a musical journey through an abandoned Victorian manor on the New England coast that harbors an ancient darkness. As the story goes, the mansion was once inhabited by a family with a cursed bloodline who practiced forbidden rites of black magic. Ever since they vanished from their home years ago, the house has been rumored to be haunted by dark, otherworldly forces that manifest themselves in the form of sinister shadows.
On the songs that you have done with Lovecraft influences, how did you attempt to create a Lovecraftian mode?
Whereas many bands have written a song or two that were inspired by Lovecraft's writing, we wrote NECRONOMICON as a full concept album that pays tribute to the Cthulhu Mythos. All of the tracks and titles were based specifically on Lovecraft's work and we used different musical styles to convey the various themes. For example, "Alhazred's Vision" has an Arabian feel to it, while "Temple of the Black Pharaoh" has an exotic Egyptian flavor. For "The Haunter of the Dark" we utilized eerie pipe organ music to convey the feeling of a dark, gothic cathedral. A thunder strike was added at the climax of this song because Lovecraft's story culminates with a lightning storm. We also used sound effects to simulate the sound of swarming insects, since, according to Lovecraft, the Necronomicon, or Kitab Al Azif as it was originally called, was named after the insect-like sounds of demons in the Arabian desert. Other howls and shrieks were used to convey the sounds of the monstrous Great Old Ones. The CD has several creepy narrations that tell of The Great Old Ones, describing them individually, and the CD booklet contains a story about the discovery of the Necronomicon and an overview of The Cthulhu Mythos. The entire package is also full of sinister artwork depicting the ancient lords of darkness. We really wanted to create something that would do justice to Lovecraft's work and would also motivate people who were unfamiliar with his stories to seek them out and read them.
What would you say his writing has to offer as an influence on music?
Although he intentionally left much to the readers imagination, Lovecraft was a very descriptive writer and often made mention of certain sounds like mad, piping music and shrieks and wails. His stories also built an ominous sense of dread, and I think we were able to capture an overall feeling of creepiness and foreboding horror on NECRONOMICON. Lovecraft's tales of sorcery and ancient gods inspired us to utilize primal percussive sounds and compose melodies that were both hauntingly hypnotic and dramatically powerful.
What drew you to Lovecraft, and what has kept you a fan?
After viewing my dark fantasy artwork, several people had asked if I had ever read Lovecraft. After numerous recommendations, I picked up one of his collections of short stories. At first I didn't think that some of the individual stories were that special, but as I read more, I began to see how many of his works were linked together to form a larger mythology. He was a true innovator who took themes from folklore, ancient history and science fiction and bound them together in a way unlike anyone before. His stories interwove witchcraft, inter-dimensional travel, subterranean underworlds and monstrous alien entities in a way that no one had ever conceived. After I read more of his work, I started to recognize his true genius and fully realized why he is considered to be the father of the modern horror story. Some of his original concepts for stories like "From Beyond" and "Within the Walls of Eryx" were brilliant cutting-edge works of science fiction at a time when the genre was beginning, and many of his ideas are still used in books and movies today.
What are your favorite Lovecraft stories?
Mainly his classic tales like "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward," "The Haunter of the Dark," "Shadow Over Innsmouth," and "The Dunwich Horror." Of his lesser known works, my favorites are "The Hound" and "The Horror at Red Hook." It would be great to see someone do an accurate movie adaptation of one of these stories. And if anyone does, we'd love to provide the soundtrack for the film.
Anything else you'd like to add?
When we released NECRONOMICON, we began getting criticism from some narrow-minded people who were ignorant of the true facts about the book. They thought that the CD contained actual ancient, black magic spells that could be used to summon demons. We sent out press releases that stated that our CD was based on the fictional writings of H.P.Lovecraft, who had invented the concept of the book and its title, but it's incredible how many people think that the Necronomicon is real. It really is a true testament to Lovecraft's genius. Unfortunately, there are numerous misconceptions about the Necronomicon as well, and most of the people who think that the book actually exists believe it to be some sort of satanic bible. This can probably be attributed to the paperback version of the Necronomicon that was written and released 40 years after Lovecraft's death, which contains fictitious magical spells. Our CD was based solely on Lovecraft's concepts of the Necronomicon and his Cthulhu mythos. We didn't want to utilize any of the embellishments of later writers, or the paperback version of the book that was written in an attempt to capitalize on Lovecraft's success.