Midnight Syndicate

Midnight Syndicate is a Cleveland-based musical group that has been working mainly in the genre of gothic horror music since 1998. (A 1997 self-titled release covered multiple mainstream genres.) Their music is commonly used to provide atmosphere in both Halloween haunted houses and the gaming industry.

Formation

Composer/filmmaker Edward Douglas founded Midnight Syndicate in 1996. In 1997, their self-titled debut was released. A majority of music on the album was written, arranged, and performed by Edward Douglas. Contributors included Scott Angus, Mark Rakocy, Dennis Carleton, Jamie Barbour, Ray Portler, the rap act Dark Side, Toni Demci, and Christopher Robichaud. The album was referred to as "a new progressive type of music called 'cine-fusion,'" which is described in the album liner notes as

"a blending of movie soundtrack music and pop music... a compilation of soundtracks to movies that do not exist. The goal of the music is to stimulate the imaginations of listeners so that they are able to transport themselves to worlds or movies of their own creation."

The album contained an eclectic blend of musical styles which included everything from dark instrumental music similar to their later releases, to industrial, horrorbilly, rap, new age, swing, humor-pop, and space. Movie-style sound effects were featured in most of the tracks. A multimedia show was produced to support the album.

In 1998, composer Gavin Goszka joined the group. Together he and Edward Douglas would write most of the music on the Midnight Syndicate discs to come. They also teamed up with gothic fantasy artist and publisher Joseph Vargo, who also filled the roles of executive producer, creative director, lyricist, vocalist, and cover art designer for the new line up. Together they released the band's first critically acclaimed gothic horror soundtrack Born of the Night, followed in 2000 by Realm of Shadows. Both albums were featured as the "official soundtracks" for Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights as well as being played in several other major theme parks during Halloween, such as Thorpe Park's Fright Nights event. The heavy metal band King Diamond featured tracks from Born of the Night as opening music for their 2000 US tour.

In 2001, they released a third gothic horror soundtrack entitled Gates of Delirium. This time Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka teamed up with two members who worked on the first Midnight Syndicate CD, Mark Rakocy and Christopher Robichaud. This particular album was a huge success on MP3.com, where it held six spots in their Top 20 positions during Halloween that year. Artist Keith Parkinson designed the packaging for Midnight Syndicate's fourth gothic soundtrack CD, Vampyre, released in 2002.

Over the course of time the success of these CDs made Midnight Syndicate the standard for the Halloween and haunted attraction industries. The music started appearing in mainstream television programs like Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2002 and Monday Night Football. Sometime after the release of Vampyre, the band was approached by Wizards of the Coast to design the first official soundtrack to the classic roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons. Some of the tracks were later featured in computer games Shadowbane and Baldur's Gate II. In 2005, Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka released their seventh CD, The 13th Hour. It featured vocal effects by Lily Lane of the horror-rock band Lazy Lane. Out of the Darkness - Retrospective: 1994-1999 was released in 2006.

Discography

Midnight Syndicate Discography:

• 1997: Midnight Syndicate
• 1998: Born of the Night
• 2000: Realm of Shadows
• 2001: Gates of Delirium
• 2002: Vampyre: Symphonies from the Crypt
• 2003: Dungeons & Dragons
• 2005: The 13th Hour
• 2006: Out of the Darkness

Film scores by Midnight Syndicate

• The Dead Matter (1996)
• Sin-Jin Smyth (filming)
• The Rage (post-production)
• The Dead Matter (pre-production)

Print References

• CD and DVD packaging and liner notes.
• Leonard Pickel, "Midnight Syndicate - Setting the Mood for an Industry", Haunted Attraction (Charlotte, NC), June 2006, Pg. 24-28, 38-41
• Heather Adler, "Haunted Memories", Rue Morgue (Toronto, ON), October 2005, Pg. 131
• Jason Bracelin, "Scream Kings", Scene (Cleveland, OH), May 25, 2005, Sec. Features, Pg. 10-13.
• Devon King, "Darklore Manor: America's Most Haunted House", Dark Realms (Cleveland, OH), issue 13, January 2004, Pg. 14-18.
• Peter Iorillo, "Something Wicked This Way Comes", Dark Realms (Cleveland, OH), Issue 1, January 2001, Pg. 20-23.
• Julie E. Washington, "Haunting Tunes Are Goth Band's Specialty", The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), October 30, 2000, Sec. arts, Pg. 1E.

External Links and Online References

• Midnight Syndciate website
• Midnight Syndicate Cover Story in Haunted Attraction Magazine
• Interview on Horror Channel
• Interview at Flames Rising
• Scene Magazine Interview