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 Halloween haunted houses.

Formation & Overview

Composer/filmmaker Edward Douglas created Midnight Syndicate in 1996. In 1997, the first Midnight Syndicate self-titled debut was released. The album was produced by Edward Douglas who wrote most of the tracks. Contributors included: Scott Angus, Mark Rakocy, Dennis Carleton, Jamie Barbour, Ray Portler, the rap act "Dark Side", and Christopher Robichaud. The album was referred to as "cine-fusion," and 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.

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 (falsely claimed) to 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 Nights™ as well as being played in several other major theme parks during Halloween. The heavy metal band King Diamond featured tracks from Born of the Night as opening music for their 2000 US tour. Midnight Syndicate's music was also reportedly played at Hugh Hefner's Halloween parties. 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 "Baldurs Gate 2." In 2005, Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka released their seventh CD entitled The 13th Hour. It featured vocal effects by Lily Lane of the horror-rock band "Lazy Lane."

Continuing

Midnight Syndicate has teamed up with Warner Brothers-based Snap Kick Productions to score the upcoming horror film, "Sin-Jin Smyth" (scheduled for release in the Fall of 2006). Additionally they recently signed on to score Robert Kurtzman’s film, "The Rage." In 2006, Edward Douglas will begin pre-production on the horror suspense film he will be directing, "The Dead Matter." The band's next CD, "Out of the Darkness," will be released in summer 2006.

Discography

Midnight Syndicate Discography:

• 1997: Midnight Syndicate (self-titled)
• 1998: Born of the Night
• 2000: Realm of Shadows
• 2001: Gates of Delirium
• 2002: Vampyre
• 2003: Dungeons & Dragons
• 2005: The 13th Hour

References

• Jason Bracelin, "Scream Kings", Scene Magazine (Cleveland, OH), May 25, 2005, Sec. Features, Pg. 10-13.
• Peter Iorillo, "Something Wicked This Way Comes", Dark Realms Magazine (Cleveland, OH), 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.

Going Forward

Sadly, as the Midnight Synidate seems to be reaching for more success, Joseph Vargo, and crew of Nox Arcana, seem to undertake a campaign of slander against the Midnight Syndicate. It seems that virtually every article, review, or interview on the web where the Midnight Syndicate are shown in a positive light, if 'comments' can be made either Vargo or one of his crew makes derogatory comments, slanderous statements and state flat out lies.

Where the Midnight Syndicate are now scoring movies, and are enjoying great success, Vargo and Nox Arcana seem content to rip-off the music and style of the Midnight Syndicate, and slip in to obscurity.

External links

• Official Site
• Interview at Horror Channel
• Scream Kings
• Interview @ Legends
• Dark Realms Interview
• Sin-Jin Smyth film website
• The Rage film website