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Midnight Syndicate
A logo used by the band.
A logo used by the band.
Background information
Origin Chardon, Ohio USA
Genre(s) Dark Ambient
Dark Wave
Years active 1997 - present
Label(s) Entity Productions (1997 - present), Monolith Graphics (1998)
Website http://www.MidnightSyndicate.com
Members
Gavin Goszka and Edward Douglas
Former members
Scott Angus, Mark Rakocy, Dennis Carleton, Jamie Barbour, Ray Portler, Christopher Robichaud (1997). Chardon is a city in Geauga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5156 at the 2000 census. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Dark ambient is a subgenre of Ambient music that features foreboding ominous or discordant overtones Dark Wave, also written as Darkwave, is an Umbrella term which refers to a movement that began in the late 1970s coinciding with the popularity of New Wave In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Joseph Vargo (1998-2000).

Midnight Syndicate is an American musical group that has been working mainly in the genre of gothic music since 1998. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998 A 1997 self-titled release covered multiple mainstream genres. The band is based out of Chardon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Chardon is a city in Geauga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5156 at the 2000 census. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Their music is commonly used to provide atmosphere during the Halloween season, in haunted attractions and in the role-playing game industry. Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is a Holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. A haunted attraction or dark attraction is a venue which simulates the experience of visiting a structure or outside space that is inhabited by what appear to be A role-playing game ( RPG; often roleplaying game) is a Game in which the participants assume the roles of Fictional characters.

Contents

Formation

Composer/filmmaker Edward Douglas founded Midnight Syndicate in 1996. A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a Film. 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, and Christopher Robichaud. Douglas coined the term "cine-fusion" to describe the album. Cine-fusion is described in the album's liner notes as

"a blending of movie soundtrack music and pop music. A film score is a broad term referring to the music in a film which is generally categorically separated from songs used within a film Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure . . 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. "

Musically, the album contained an eclectic blend of styles including everything from dark instrumental music (of which three tracks appeared on future releases), rock[1], rock-a-billy, techno, rap, new age, humor-pop, jazz, and space. Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of Rock and roll music and emerged in the early 1950s Techno is a form of Electronic dance music (EDM that emerged in Detroit, Michigan, USA during the mid to late 1980s Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a Music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with New Age music is peaceful Music of various styles which is intended to create inspiration relaxation and positive feelings often used by listeners for Yoga, Black comedy, also known as black humor or dark comedy, is a sub-genre of Comedy and Satire where topics and events that are usually regarded Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Space music, also spelled spacemusic, is an umbrella term used to describe music that evokes a feeling of contemplative spaciousness Movie-style sound effects were employed in some tracks. In March 1998, a multimedia show was produced by Douglas and his company, Entity Productions, to support the album. The show included a blending of original short films, live music, animation and stage performers.

In 1998, Douglas teamed up with gothic fantasy artist Joseph Vargo, and the two decided to create an exclusively dark-themed instrumental Midnight Syndicate album. Vargo developed the storyline and concept of a musical journey through a haunted castle, with the music reflecting his gothic artwork. [2][3][4] Composer Gavin Goszka, formerly a solo-artist in a project called Lore, also joined Douglas and Vargo in the new Midnight Syndicate line-up. Together, they created Born of the Night, a groundbreaking album that appealed to fans of gothic music, the horror genre, and haunted attractions. Douglas and Goszka wrote and performed the music on the album while Vargo served as executive producer and creative director of the project, as well as writing and performing the vocals and narrations, and designing the cover art and packaging. Motion Pictures An executive producer of a Motion picture is typically a producer who is sometimes involved in creative or technical aspects of production A creative director is a position usually found within the Advertising, media or entertainment industries but may be useful in other creative organizations The album and songs were also titled after several of Vargo's most popular paintings. Born of the Night was independently released in September 1998 through Vargo's Monolith Graphics and Douglas' Entity Productions, hitting the horror market just in time for the Halloween season. It was Midnight Syndicate's first critically acclaimed gothic-horror soundtrack and proved to be an instant success,[5] establishing Midnight Syndicate's trademark sound. [6]

In March 2000, Realm of Shadows followed suit with the same flavor of dark instrumental music and another gothic setting. Douglas and Goszka wrote all of the music for this album while Vargo wrote and performed the opening narration and theme story. Again, the songs were titled after Vargo's artworks. Both albums were featured as official soundtracks for Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights, and used in several other major theme parks during Halloween, such as Busch Gardens, Cedar Point and Thorpe Park's Fright Nights event. Halloween Horror Nights could refer to The Halloween Horror Nights event that takes place at the Universal Orlando Resort Busch Gardens is the name of two Amusement parks in the United States, and a planned amusement park in Dubai, owned and operated by Busch Entertainment Cedar Point is a 364 acre (15 km² Amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, U Thorpe Park is a theme park located in Surrey, United Kingdom. [7] The heavy metal band King Diamond also featured tracks from Born of the Night as opening music for their 2000 US tour. King Diamond is the heavy metal band that King Diamond formed after the split up of his First Wave of Black metal band Mercyful Fate. Afterwards, Vargo and Midnight Syndicate chose to work separately of one another on future projects. [8]

Midnight Syndicate's third gothic horror soundtrack,Gates of Delirium, was released in 2001. This time Douglas and Goszka teamed up with two members who worked on the first Midnight Syndicate CD, Mark Rakocy (graphic design) and Christopher Robichaud (vocals).

During the 2001 Halloween weekend, six of the band's mp3 singles were in the Top 20 for all of MP3. com (#1, #2, #7, #10, #12, and #19) registering over 100,000 listens in three days. The title track from Born of the Night remained at #1 for over a week with two tracks from Gates of Delirium maintaining their positions in the Top 40 as well. [9]

Midnight Syndicate called on artist Keith Parkinson to design the packaging for their fourth gothic soundtrack, Vampyre, released in 2002. Keith Parkinson ( October 22 1958 - October 26 2005) was an American Fantasy Artist and Illustrator The following year, the band released an album named Dungeons & Dragons, which was the first officially-licensed soundtrack to the classic roleplaying game of the same name. Dungeons & Dragons is a Studio album by Midnight Syndicate, released August 12 2003 by Entity Productions Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a Fantasy Role-playing game (RPG originally designed by Some of the tracks were later used in computer games Baldur's Gate - Dark Alliance II and Shadowbane expansions Rise of Chaos and Throne of Oblivion. Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance is a series of Action role-playing games developed exclusively for Game consoles. Shadowbane is a free Fantasy Computer role-playing game ( MMORPG) created by Wolfpack Studios and published on March 25

In 2005, they released their seventh CD, The 13th Hour. It featured vocal effects by Lily Lane of the horror-rock band, Lazy Lane, and another cover by Keith Parkinson. Keith Parkinson ( October 22 1958 - October 26 2005) was an American Fantasy Artist and Illustrator

Out of the Darkness - Retrospective: 1994-1999 was released in 2006 and featured re-recorded versions of tracks from Midnight Syndicate, Born of the Night, and Realm of Shadows, along with some of Edward Douglas’ early horror film scores. Fantasy artist Rob Alexander designed the cover for this release, as well as a new cover for Gates of Delirium.

Over time Midnight Syndicate has become the standard with the Halloween and haunted attraction industries. [4] In addition to haunted attractions and amusement parks worldwide that license their music during the Halloween season, Midnight Syndicate's music has appeared in mainstream television programs like Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2002, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Monday Night Football. Barbara Jill Walters (born September 25 1929) is an American Journalist, writer and media The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, also called Ellen The Ellen DeGeneres Show, is an Emmy Award winning Monday Night Football ( MNF) is a Live television broadcast of the National Football League. Parks like Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights use Midnight Syndicate's music prominently on their websites and in their events. Halloween Horror Nights could refer to The Halloween Horror Nights event that takes place at the Universal Orlando Resort [10] When looking for a main title theme and additional music for their horror films, several production companies have turned to the Midnight Syndicate catalog. Films that have used Midnight Syndicate’s music include Demons at the Door, Dead & Rotting, Witchouse 3: Demon Fire and Song of the Vampire (AKA Vampire Resurrection). [11]

Midnight Syndicate has also had an impact in the hobby gaming industry. In 2006, The 13th Hour won the Origins Award for Best Gaming Accessory presented by the Academy of Adventure Game Art & Design, marking the first time a role-playing soundtrack or music CD has won the award. [12]

Midnight Syndicate's CDs are self-distributed to thousands of retailers worldwide by Entity Productions, Inc. and its partners, making them one of the largest distributors of Halloween-themed music in 2006. [13]

Future projects

Midnight Syndicate has recently completed the score to Robert Kurtzman's film, The Rage. Robert Kurtzman (born November 25, 1964) is an American Film director, producer, Screenwriter, and Special effects creator The Rage will be released on February 26, 2008. The score will also be released in February. Additionally, Edward Douglas is in post-production on the horror suspense film The Dead Matter, which he directed in August of 2007. The Dead Matter is a remake of a 1996 movie by the same name that was filmed on a very small budget and was co-written (with Tony Demci), directed, and scored by Edward Douglas. Demci and Douglas also wrote the script for the remake. It stars Andrew Divoff, Jason Carter, and Tom Savini. Andrew Daniel Divoff (born July 2, 1955) is a Venezuelan born film and television Actor, best known for playing the evil Djinn in the two first Jason Brian Carter (born September 23, 1960) is a British Actor, best known for his role as Ranger Marcus Cole on the Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American Actor, stunt man, director and award-winning Special Midnight Syndicate will release a The Dead Matter soundtrack, which will include the score to the movie as well as music inspired by the film, later this year.

Discography

Remixes

See also

References

  1. ^ Interview with Gavin Goszka, Federico Marongiu, "Midnight Syndicate", Music Extreme (Argentina), 2001. Realm of Shadows is a Studio album by Midnight Syndicate, released March 6th, 2000 by Entity Productions. Vampyre Symphonies from the Crypt is a Studio album by Midnight Syndicate, released August 13th, 2002 by Entity Productions Dungeons & Dragons is a Studio album by Midnight Syndicate, released August 12 2003 by Entity Productions The 13th Hour is a Studio album by Midnight Syndicate, released June 7th, 2005 by Entity Productions. Nox Arcana is an American Gothic horror musical group formed in 2003 by Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski The Rage is a 2007 Horror film about a mad scientist who injects people with a rage Virus in his laboratory in the woods
  2. ^ Radio Interview with Joseph Vargo, Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka Station WERE 1300, (Cleveland, OH. ), October 1998.
  3. ^ Interview with Edward Douglas, Paragon Magazine, October 2003.
  4. ^ a b Cover story on Midnight Syndicate Leonard Pickel, "Midnight Syndicate: Setting the Mood for an Industry", Haunted Attraction Magazine (Charlotte, NC), June 2006, Pg. 24-28, 38-41
  5. ^ John Soeder, "Gothic Horror Rock Featured This Weekend", The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH. The Plain Dealer is the major daily Newspaper of Cleveland Ohio. ), March 2, 2000.
  6. ^ Interview with Edward Douglas at Krepuskulum
  7. ^ Jeff Niesel, "Soundbites", Scene Magazine (Cleveland, OH), October 14, 1999.
  8. ^ Interview with Midnight Syndicate Peter Iorillo, "Something Wicked This Way Comes", Dark Realms Magazine (Cleveland, OH. ), Issue 1, January 2001, Pg. 20-23. ]
  9. ^ Midnight Syndicate News
  10. ^ Halloween Horror Nights website using Midnight Syndicate music
  11. ^ IMDB.com listing for Midnight Syndicate
  12. ^ The Origins Awards
  13. ^ Carl E. Feather, "A little night music", Star Beacon (Ashtabula, OH), October 30, 2006, Sec. B, Pg. B1.

External links

Interviews/other references

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