With their new concept album, Nox Aeterna, folk metal duo Forgotten Shrine sets out on a voyage of self-reflection, devastation, and resiliency. Today’s independent release of the album comes with a visualizer stream and the lead single, “Nox Aeterna.”
Sofia Frasz comments on the album’s concept:
“Nox Aeterna is a concept album about two keepers of an ancient shrine to art, creativity, and freedom. Artists, musicians, bards, and storytellers of all kinds throughout the ages have left offerings to the shrine in exchange for inspiration and the courage to pursue their goals. As the shrine has changed hands between generations of keepers over the centuries, the world around the shrine has also changed. The world has grown dull, dark, and full of peril and despair. Wars rage, cities are captured and oppressed, and people no longer believe in dreams, fantasies, or anything greater and more powerful than themselves. They simply endure the drudgery of everyday life with nothing to hope and strive for.
Much of the album is a metaphor for the importance of keeping one’s childlike sense of wonder alive in a world that tries to force everyone to grow up, shut up, and conform to standards that make for a dull, lifeless world. In that sense, it’s a meta-commentary on, and a love letter to, the importance of art and creativity in a functioning society. We all need escapism and something greater than ourselves to strive for. The little things that we look forward to every day, especially when life gets tough, keep us going and help us remember who we are.”
On “Nox Aeterna” Josh Alexander shares,
“‘Nox Aeterna’ is truly the main event on this album, both in terms of the conveying of the lore and in creating a dense and unique instrumental atmosphere. For me, writing this song all started with the acoustic guitar riff you can hear in the background of the verses, and I built up the entire instrumental around that while integrating leitmotifs and references to other tracks on the album. The song begins with a familiar melody, the one from ‘Where Shadows Lie’ only something is unsettlingly off about it. This sets the stage for the rest of the song which utilizes a very macabre and chromatic mode that matches perfectly with the theme of being ushered into the darkness and being tempted to make a metaphorical deal with the devil.”
Frasz adds, “[t]he song is about the desire to just lie down and give up on your creative pursuits (along with everything else that makes you who you are as an individual), because the act of creation is more difficult than remaining complacent and going through the motions of everyday life. But if you get too complacent, you’ll lose yourself and have nothing left to strive for.”
Joshua Dalviken produced, mixed, and mastered Nox Aeterna. Josh Alexander and Joshua Dalviken designed the album’s artwork.
Concerning the Forgotten Shrine:
Josh Alexander (Pennsylvania, USA) and Sofia Frasz (Maryland, USA) created Forgotten Shrine, which combines the strength and gloom of metal with the sounds and textures of folk instruments. Forgotten Shrine explores magical worlds through their genre-bending compositions, producing lively tunes ideal for setting off on an adventure as well as more somber pieces for facing evil powers.
Alexander and Frasz create dynamic and expressive music by fusing their vocal textures, instruments, and creative styles. While maintaining Forgotten Shrine’s fundamental identity, the two will each take the lead on the following full-length.
Forgotten Shrine is:
Josh Alexander – Guitar, Bass, Hurdy Gurdy, Irish Bouzouki, Additional Instruments, Backing Vocals, Composition.
Sofia Frasz – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Lyrics, Composition.
Connect With Forgotten Shrine:
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