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Midnight Syndicate

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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 is credited for writing most of the music. Joining in the collaboration are members Scott Angus, Jeff Kuasunic, Mark Rakocy, Toni Demci, Dennis Carleton, 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 easy listening, techno, rap, new age, swing, humor-pop, and space, along with three dark instrumentals that appeared again (with some re-arrangment) on the band's following release.

In 1998, Edward Douglas teamed up composer Gavin Goszka and gothic fantasy artist and publisher, Joseph Vargo, who also filled the roles of executive producer and creative director for the new line up. He conceptualized the Halloween-themed cd, focusing Midnight Syndicate on one musical style: dark, horror instrumentals, defining the sound that Midnight Syndicate would become known for. 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. Vargo left the group afterwards to pursue other projects, but the initial success of these two albums made Midnight Syndicate the standard for the Halloween and haunted attraction industries, and along with later exposure on television shows like "Barbara Walters 10 Most Fascinating People of 2002" and Monday Night Football, their notoriety rose. Eventually, they caught the notice of Wizards of the Coast who approached the band to compose the first official soundtrack to the classic roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons. Another fantasy artist, Keith Parkinson, supplied the artwork for the band's Vampire and The 13th Hour cds respectively.

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

  • Julie E. Washington, "Haunting Tunes Are Goth Band's Specialty", The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), October 30, 2000, Sec. arts, Pg. 1E.
  • Peter Iorillo, "Something Wicked This Way Comes", Dark Realms Magazine (Cleveland, OH), January 2001, Pg. 20-23.
  • Jason Bracelin, "Scream Kings", Scene Magazine (Cleveland, OH), May 25, 2005, Sec. Features, Pg. 10-13.


External links

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