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| '''Midnight Syndicate''' is a Cleveland-based musical group that has been working mainly in the genre of ] music since 1998. (A 1997 self-titled release covered multiple mainstream genres.) Their music is commonly used to provide atmosphere in ] ]. | '''Midnight Syndicate''' is a Cleveland-based musical group that has been working mainly in the genre of ] music since 1998. (A 1997 self-titled release covered multiple mainstream genres.) Their music is commonly used to provide atmosphere in ] ]. | ||
| == |
==Overview== | ||
| ] Edward Douglas created Midnight Syndicate in 1996. Members at the time included Scott Angus, Edward Douglas, Jeff Kasunic, Mark Rakocy, Toni Demci, Dennis Carleton, and Christopher Robichaud. This group of college students created a self-titled debut album of experminetal and ecclectic sounds, incuding rap, country, humor-pop, and new age or neo-classical, which was released in support of a student film by Edward Douglas. The album was referred to as "cine-fusion," described as "a blend of movie soundtrack music and pop-music, a compilation of sounds to movies that do not exist." After 1997, all of the band members except Edward Douglas seem to have gone their separate ways, as there is no further mention of them in relation to writing music for this group. | |||
| In 1998, Gavin Goszka joined the group, and along with Edward Douglas they teamed up with gothic fantasy artist and publisher, Joseph Vargo, who stepped in as the ] and ] for the band and released the critically acclaimed gothic horror soundtracks ''Born of the Night'' and ''Realm of Shadows''. This made Midnight Syndicate the standard for the Halloween and Haunted Attraction industries. Midnight Syndicate's music is heard throughout the Halloween season - everywhere from Universal Studios Orlando and Paramount and Six Flags theme parks to many haunted attractions and homes across America. In addition to being featured in X-Box games and television shows as diverse as Barbara Walters’ specials and Monday Night Football, the band recently developed a soundtrack for the classic roleplaying game ''Dungeons & Dragons''. In 2005, they released their seventh CD entitled ''The 13th Hour.'' | |||
| ==Formation== | |||
| 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 ("Druids", drums), Mark Rakocy ("Zoe-5", artwork), Dennis Carleton (guitar), Jamie Barbour ("Let Me Be"), Ray Portler (lyrics), the rap act "Dark Side" (lyrics, vocals), Alan Perry (engineer), and Christopher Robichaud (lyrics, vocals). 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. After the release and a multimedia show, Douglas decided to focus the next Midnight Syndicate CD on one theme and style: dark, horror instrumental music. This decision defined the sound that Midnight Syndicate would become known for. | |||
| In 1998, composer Gavin Goszka joined the group. Together they would write the music for every Midnight Syndicate disc to come (save Tim Blue's "Beyond the Gates" on "Realm of Shadows" and Egan/White's "Hand in Hand Again" on "The 13th Hour"). They teamed up with gothic fantasy artist and publisher, Joseph Vargo (Executive Producer, vocals, lyrics, artwork), Tim Blue (engineer), and Dan Owens (sound designer) to release the critically acclaimed gothic horror soundtrack ''Born of the Night''. In 2000, Midnight Syndicate released ''Realm of Shadows''. Once again featuring Joseph Vargo (artwork, narration) and Tim Blue ("Beyond the Gates," engineer). In 2001, they released a third gothic horror soundtrack entitled "Gates of Delirium." This time they teamed up with two members who worked on the first Midnight Syndicate CD, Mark Rakocy (artwork) and Christopher Robichaud (voices), as well as actors Ted Neroda (voices) Trishalana Kopaitich (voices), and Dana Armstrong (voices). Artist Keith Parkinson (artwork) designed the packaging for Midnight Syndicate's fourth gothic soundtrack CD, "Vampyre," released in 2002. The success of these four CDs made Midnight Syndicate the standard for the Halloween and Haunted Attraction industries. The music was featured everywhere from Universal Studios Orlando, Paramount, and Six Flags theme parks to Hugh Hefner's Halloween parties, heavy metal artist King Diamond's 2001 tour, and television shows 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 the games "Shadowbane" (for PC) and "Baldurs Gate 2" (for X-Box). In 2005, Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka released their seventh CD entitled ''The 13th Hour.'' It features vocal effects by Lily Lane (voices) of the horror-rock band "Lazy Lane" and Mary Kate Douglas (voices) along with packaging designed by Keith Parkinson (artwork). | |||
| ==Continuing== | ==Continuing== | ||
Revision as of 05:54, 22 February 2006
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.
Overview
Formation
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 ("Druids", drums), Mark Rakocy ("Zoe-5", artwork), Dennis Carleton (guitar), Jamie Barbour ("Let Me Be"), Ray Portler (lyrics), the rap act "Dark Side" (lyrics, vocals), Alan Perry (engineer), and Christopher Robichaud (lyrics, vocals). 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. After the release and a multimedia show, Douglas decided to focus the next Midnight Syndicate CD on one theme and style: dark, horror instrumental music. This decision defined the sound that Midnight Syndicate would become known for.
In 1998, composer Gavin Goszka joined the group. Together they would write the music for every Midnight Syndicate disc to come (save Tim Blue's "Beyond the Gates" on "Realm of Shadows" and Egan/White's "Hand in Hand Again" on "The 13th Hour"). They teamed up with gothic fantasy artist and publisher, Joseph Vargo (Executive Producer, vocals, lyrics, artwork), Tim Blue (engineer), and Dan Owens (sound designer) to release the critically acclaimed gothic horror soundtrack Born of the Night. In 2000, Midnight Syndicate released Realm of Shadows. Once again featuring Joseph Vargo (artwork, narration) and Tim Blue ("Beyond the Gates," engineer). In 2001, they released a third gothic horror soundtrack entitled "Gates of Delirium." This time they teamed up with two members who worked on the first Midnight Syndicate CD, Mark Rakocy (artwork) and Christopher Robichaud (voices), as well as actors Ted Neroda (voices) Trishalana Kopaitich (voices), and Dana Armstrong (voices). Artist Keith Parkinson (artwork) designed the packaging for Midnight Syndicate's fourth gothic soundtrack CD, "Vampyre," released in 2002. The success of these four CDs made Midnight Syndicate the standard for the Halloween and Haunted Attraction industries. The music was featured everywhere from Universal Studios Orlando, Paramount, and Six Flags theme parks to Hugh Hefner's Halloween parties, heavy metal artist King Diamond's 2001 tour, and television shows 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 the games "Shadowbane" (for PC) and "Baldurs Gate 2" (for X-Box). In 2005, Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka released their seventh CD entitled The 13th Hour. It features vocal effects by Lily Lane (voices) of the horror-rock band "Lazy Lane" and Mary Kate Douglas (voices) along with packaging designed by Keith Parkinson (artwork).
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
- 1999: Realm of Shadows
- 2001: Gates of Delirium
- 2002: Vampyre
- 2003: Dungeons & Dragons
- 2005: The 13th Hour
References
- Julie E. Washington, "Haunting Tunes Are Goth Band's Specialty", The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), October 30, 2000, Sec. arts, Pg. 1E.
- Jason Bracelin, "Scream Kings", Scene Magazine (Cleveland, OH), May 25, 2005, Sec. Features, Pg. 10-13.
- Sin-Jin Smyth film website
- The Rage film website