Midnight Syndicate is an American musical duo that has been working primarily in the genre of neoclassical

dark ambient Dark ambient (referred to as ambient industrial especially in the 1980s) is a genre of post-industrial musicReed, Alexander: ''Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music'', Oxford University Press, 2013, , p. 190 that features an ominous, ...

music since

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and is based in Chardon,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, a suburb of

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. The band refers to their CDs as "soundtracks for the imagination" or "soundtracks to imaginary films". Their songs are characterized by a blend of instrumental music and

sound effect A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. In m ...

s and are commonly used to provide atmosphere during the

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

season, in haunted attractions, theme parks, and in the

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

industry.

History

Formation and early years (1996–1998)

Composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

Edward Douglas formed Midnight Syndicate in 1996 shortly after releasing a micro-budget,

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

horror film called ''The Dead Matter (1996)'' which he directed and scored and would later remake. Midnight Syndicate's self-titled debut album was released the following year. 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 Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

... 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 Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

,Interview with Gavin Goszka
Federico Marongiu, "Midnight Syndicate", ''Music Extreme'' (Argentina), 2001. rock-a-billy,

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

, rap, new-age,

comedy music Comedy music or musical comedy is a genre of music that is comical, comedic or humorous in nature. Its history can be traced back to the first century in ancient Greece and Rome, moving forward in time to the Middle Ages, Medieval Period, Class ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, and

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

. Movie-style

sound effects A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. In m ...

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.

Breakout (1998–2000)

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, "the result of Joseph Vargo's desire to produce an album that people could play in the background of their Halloween parties." Vargo developed the storyline and concept of a musical journey through a haunted castle, with the music reflecting his gothic artwork, "in addition to being integral to many of the creative decisions on the album." Announcement posted by Midnight Syndicate in August 1998.Radio Interview with Joseph Vargo, Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka
Station WERE 1300, (Cleveland, OH.), October 1998.
, '' Paragon Magazine'', October 2003.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 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 Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

and

creative director A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...

of the project, as well as writing and performing the vocals and narrations, and designing the cover art and packaging. 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, establishing Midnight Syndicate's trademark sound. 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 Busch Gardens is the name of two amusement parks in the United States, owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts. The original park is in Tampa, Florida, and the second park is in Williamsburg, Virginia. There were also previously Busch G ...

Cedar Point Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States, owned and operated by Six Flags. It opened in 1870 and is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the US behind Lake Compounc ...

, Kennywood Park, and Thorpe Park's ''Fright Nights'' event.Jeff Niesel, "Soundbites",
Scene Magazine
'' (Cleveland, OH), October 14, 1999. The heavy metal band

King Diamond Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...

also featured tracks from '' Born of the Night'' as opening music for their 2000 US tour. Afterwards, Vargo and Midnight Syndicate chose to work separately of one another on future projects.Interview with Midnight Syndicate
Peter Iorillo, "Something Wicked This Way Comes", ''Dark Realms Magazine'' (Cleveland, OH.), Issue 1, January 2001, Pg. 20-23.

Rise (2001–2006)

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 Midnight Syndicate is an American musical duo that has been working primarily in the genre of Neoclassicism (music), neoclassical dark ambient music since 1997 in music, 1997 and is based in Chardon, Ohio, Chardon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, Oh ...

'' CD, Mark Rakocy (graphic design) and Christopher Robichaud (vocals). Set in a Victorian haunted

mental institution A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe mental disorders. These institutions cater to patients with ...

called Haverghast Asylum, '' Gates of Delirium'' was the first Midnight Syndicate disc to feature the fictitious Haverghast family, a theme the band would revisit on future discs such as '' The 13th Hour'' and '' Bloodlines''. Gavin Goszka has since called '' Gates of Delirium'' "a personal favorite" from the Midnight Syndicate library. During the 2001 Halloween weekend, six of the band's mp3 singles were in the Top 20 for all of MP3.com (#1, No. 2, No. 7, No. 10, No. 12, and No. 19) registering over 100,000 listens in three days. The title track from '' Born of the Night'' remained at No. 1 for over a week with two tracks from '' Gates of Delirium'' maintaining their positions in the Top 40 as well. In August 2002, the band released their fifth studio album '' Vampyre''. The

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

-themed disc was the first Midnight Syndicate disc to feature a cover designed by fantasy artist

Keith Parkinson Keith A. Parkinson (October 22, 1958 – October 26, 2005) was an American fantasy artist and illustrator known for book covers and artwork for games such as ''EverQuest'', '' Guardians'', '' Magic: The Gathering'', and '' Vanguard: Saga of Hero ...

. By this time, the band's popularity with

rs who used their discs as background for their sessions had grown to where they were exhibiting at

gaming conventions A gaming convention is a gathering centered on role-playing games, collectible card games, miniatures wargames, board games, video games, or other types of games. These conventions are typically two or three business days long, and often held at ...

. It was at one of these conventions that the band was approached by designers from

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (WotC or Wizards) is an American game Publishing, publisher, most of which are based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science-fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail game stores. In 1999, toy ...

. The result was 2003's '' Dungeons & Dragons: Official Role-playing Soundtrack'', the first officially licensed soundtrack to the classic roleplaying game of the same name. The album (whose fantasy themes were a departure from previous releases) was generally well received by music critics and the gaming community and helped the band build their following in Europe. Some of the tracks were later used in computer games ''Baldur's Gate - Dark Alliance II'' and ''

Shadowbane ''Shadowbane'' was a free-to-play fantasy role-playing video game (MMORPG) created by Wolfpack Studios and published on March 25, 2003 by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X platforms. Originally commercial and subscription-driven, ''Shado ...

'' expansions ''Rise of Chaos'' and ''Throne of Oblivion''. In August 2005, the band returned to darker themes with their seventh CD entitled '' The 13th Hour.'' Featuring vocal effects by Lily Lane of the horror-rock band Lazy Lane and cover art by

the disc is set in a haunted Victorian mansion and features tracks like: ''Fallen Grandeur'', ''Grisly Reminder'', and ''Family Secrets''. The album would become one of their most popular titles, winning awards in the gaming industry, and inspiring a prequel-themed release, 2021's '' Bloodlines''. '' Out of the Darkness (Retrospective: 1994–1999)'' was released in 2006 and featured re-recorded versions of tracks from ''

'', '' Born of the Night'', and '' Realm of Shadows'', along with some of Edward Douglas’ early horror film scores including ''The Dead Matter (1995)''. Fantasy artist Rob Alexander designed the cover. The track ''Into The Abyss'' was featured as the outtro on the

Misfits MiSFiTS was the acronym for the ''Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy''. This organization has now changed its name to GPS, an acronym for Geek Partnership Society. It was founded in 1999 and was the parent non-profit org ...

2013 live album, ''DEA.D ALIVE!''Midnight Syndicate Blog
January 15, 2013 In 2015, the album was included in Rue Morgue Magazine's ''50 Essential Horror Albums - Discs That Created, Evolved, or Defined Genre Music Through the Decades''."50 Essential Horror Albums, ''Rue Morgue Magazine'', October 2015 Issue 160, Pg. 28-36

''The Rage'' and ''The Dead Matter'' (2007–2010)

In early 2007, the band temporarily shifted from creating "soundtracks to imaginary films" to composing music for actual projects when they completed the score to

Robert Kurtzman Robert Kurtzman (born November 25, 1964) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and special effects makeup artist. During his time at KNB EFX Group, which he co-founded, it would win a 2001 Emmy Award. He would then start his o ...

's, ''The Rage'' and wrote music for Universal Orlando's '' Halloween Horror Nights 17's Carnival of Carnage.'' '' The Rage: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' was released in February 2008. In September 2007, Douglas returned to filmmaking as

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, co-producer, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

of an updated remake of his 1995 horror film, '' The Dead Matter''. The remake stars Andrew Divoff,

Tom Savini Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including ''Martin ( ...

, and Jason Carter, and was co-produced by

Kurtzman Kurtzman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alex Kurtzman (born 1973), American film and television screenwriter and producer * David Kurtzman (1904–1977), American university Chancellor * Harvey Kurtzman (1924–1993), Ame ...

. During this time, Gavin Goszka started a solo project called Parlormuse which featured

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

songs re-recorded in a modern folk rock style.Carl E. Feather, "Syndicate Ready for Halloween", ''Star Beacon'' (Ashtabula, OH), October 8, 2008, Sec. B, Pg. B1. In August 2008, the band released '' The Dead Matter: Cemetery Gates'', a CD of music inspired by the themes from ''The Dead Matter'' movie. Midnight Syndicate's first two music videos were made for the songs ''Dark Legacy'' and ''Lost'' from the disc. In the finale of the music video for ''Dark Legacy'', Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka are shown playing on stage at the historic

Phantasy Theater The Phantasy Entertainment Complex was a staple in the Cleveland music scene since the early 1980s. The Phantasy helped launch nationally recognized bands Anne E. DeChant, Devo, Exotic Birds, Filter (band), Filter, Lucky Pierre (band), Lucky Pier ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. It marked the first time they had played together live. On July 30, 2010 ''The Dead Matter'' movie was released in DVD along with a Midnight Syndicate "greatest hits-style" compilation CD called '' Halloween Music Collection'' and an EP entitled '' The Dark Masquerade'' featuring gothic artist Destini Beard performing operatic vocals and lyrics to various Midnight Syndicate recordings. '' The Dead Matter: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' was also released in July 30. The CD featured the score by Edward Douglas, other music that appeared in the film, and several remixes of Midnight Syndicate tracks by other artists.The Dead Matter, Hot Topic stores strike lively distribution deal
Julie Washington,

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...

, July 17, 2010

The 2010s and ''Midnight Syndicate Live!'' (2010–2019)

In August 2011, the band released its fourteenth studio album, entitled '' Carnival Arcane''. The theme of the CD surrounds a fictional turn of the century traveling circus called The Lancaster Rigby Carnival. The CD was inspired by research into carnivals of that time period and Ray Bradbury's ''Something Wicked This Way Comes''. In 2012, the album won the Best CD category in the 2012 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. In August 2012 Destini Beard released the followup to her 2010 EP, '' The Dark Masquerade''. The full-length CD once again featured Destini's original vocals and lyrics blended with previously recorded Midnight Syndicate tracks. The disc featured a remix by Pat Berdysz of the

Electro-industrial Electro-industrial is a music genre that emerged from industrial music in the early 1980s. While EBM (electronic body music) has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial tends to have a grittier, complex and layered sound ...

band Encoder and an original song written and performed entirely by Destini entitled, ''My Last Goodbye''. The CD is set in a haunted Victorian hotel and features cover art by Destini's father, fantasy artist, Ed Beard, Jr. In February 2013, the band's song ''Into The Abyss'' from their '' Out of the Darkness'' CD was featured as an outtro on the

live album, ''DEA.D Alive''. In 2013, the band scored the horror

creature feature A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally large ones. The film may also fall unde ...

film, ''Axe Giant: The Revenge of Paul Bunyan''. The film is a dark contemporary take on the legend of

Paul Bunyan Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His tall tales revolve around his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, his pet and working animal. The character originate ...

and premiered on the Syfy Channel in June 2013. In July 2013 the band released a new studio album entitled ''Monsters of Legend''. Featuring images from ''

Bride of Frankenstein ''Bride of Frankenstein'' is a 1935 American Gothic science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film ''Frankenstein''. As with the first film, ''Bride of Frankenstein'' was directed by James Whale starring ...

'' and ''

Werewolf of London ''Werewolf of London'' is a 1935 horror film directed by Stuart Walker (director), Stuart Walker and starring Henry Hull as the titular werewolf. The supporting cast includes Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson, Lester Matthews, and Spring Byington. ...

'' on the cover, the album was influenced by classic

Universal Monsters The Universal Monsters (also known as Universal Classic Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters) is a media franchise comprising various horror film series distributed by Universal Pictures. It consists of different horror creature characters o ...

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

Amicus Productions Amicus Productions was a Cinema of the United Kingdom, British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England, active between 1962 and 1977. It was founded by American producers and screenwriters Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg. ...

, and Euro Horror films from the 60's and 70's as well as composers like James Bernard,

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in film scoring. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarde ...

, and

Max Steiner Maximilian Raoul Steiner (10 May 1888 – 28 December 1971) was an Austrian composer and conductor who emigrated to America and became one of cinema of the United States, Hollywood's greatest musical composers. Steiner was a child prodi ...

. The album won the Best CD category in the 2014 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. In March 2014, the band announced plans for a series of live multimedia concerts entitled ''Midnight Syndicate Live! Legacy of Shadows'' that would run at the amusement park

's HalloWeekends event beginning in September 2014. They also announced that they would be teaming up with special effects artist,

who worked on ''The Dead Matter'' as well as director Gary Jones and '' Face Off'' contestants, Beki Ingram and David Greathouse. The show opened on September 12 to very positive reviews. The

Akron Beacon Journal The ''Akron Beacon Journal'' is a morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States. Owned by Gannett, it is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper's coverage focuses on local news. The Beacon Jo ...

described it as "Part concert, part movie, part theater, part just plain creepy," going on to call it "top-notch and ambitious." In September 2015, the band released, a "

Yule Yule is a winter festival historically observed by the Germanic peoples that was incorporated into Christmas during the Christianisation of the Germanic peoples. In present times adherents of some new religious movements (such as Modern ...

tide-inspired" album entitled, ''Christmas: A Ghostly Gathering''. Billed as "the band’s unique twist on classic

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

s blended with new and original material," the album was seen as an effort to take the band's

-associated sound and apply it to a Christmas theme. In a November 2016 interview, Edward Douglas called it "one of my favorite albums Midnight Syndicate has ever done." In April 2016, the band announced that it was teaming up with

tabletop game Tabletop games or tabletops are games that are normally played on a Table (furniture), table or other flat surface, such as board games, card games, dice games, miniature wargames, Tabletop role-playing game, tabletop role-playing games, or ti ...

designers, Twilight Creations, to create a soundtrack for that company's award-winning

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...

apocalypse-themed

board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...

'' Zombies!!!''. The ''Zombies!!! Official Board Game Soundtrack'' was released in September of that year. The album was praised for its effectiveness for use with the game as well as its appropriateness for use as background music during the Halloween season. In September 2017, the band returned to

with a new production of their ''Midnight Syndicate Live!'' show. Staged inside the Jack Aldrich Theater, the show once again ran as a part of the amusement park's HalloWeekends event. They followed it up in 2018 with a new show entitled ''Midnight Syndicate: Conspiracy of Shadows'' which WBLZ Media's Daniel James called the band's "most ambitious project to date" and "one of the best stage shows in the country." In the band's blog, Gavin Goszka mentioned that the 2018 show marked the conclusion of a loose trilogy that consisted of the band's first three productions at Cedar Point. In March 2019, the band announced that they would be returning to Cedar Point for a third consecutive year. Gavin stated that the new show would be "taking things in a new direction," with Edward Douglas adding that he felt it was something that would appeal to fans of '' Twilight Zone.''

Recent projects (2020–present)

In 2020, plans for a fourth consecutive ''Midnight Syndicate Live!'' show at Cedar Point were canceled due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In August, a limited-edition album, entitled ''Music of Halloween Horror Nights'' was made available at the

Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, that opened on June 7, 1990. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal, it features numerous rides, attractions, and live shows that are primarily themed to movies, television, and ...

Halloween Horror Nights Tribute Store. The album featured songs created by Midnight Syndicate specifically for Halloween Horror Nights in addition to other tracks that had been used at the event and on the event's websites since 1999. 500 hand-numbered copies were made available on red vinyl. ''Music of Halloween Horror Nights'' sold out in less than three hours.Midnight Syndicate unleashes haunting music for Halloween Horror Nights with plans for possible return to Cedar Point's HalloWeekends in 2021

WKYC WKYC (channel 3) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. Its studios are located on Tom Beres Way (a section of Lakeside Avenue in Downtown Cleveland named after the station's lo ...

, Ryan Haidet, August 26, 2020 Midnight Syndicate released its first live album in June 2021. Entitled '' Live Shadows'', the album consisted of new material and newly arranged live versions of music from throughout the band's career. Recorded at ''Midnight Syndicate Live!'' shows from 2014 through 2019, the album was released along with music videos that showcased the productions the group had performed at Cedar Point's HalloWeekends to date.Midnight Syndicate Releases First-Ever Live Album

Cleveland Scene The ''Cleveland Scene'' is an alternative weekly newspaper based in Cleveland, Ohio. The newspaper includes highlights of Cleveland-area arts, music, dining, and films, as well as classified advertising. The first edition of the newspaper was pu ...

, Jeff Niesel, June 14, 2021 In August 2021, Midnight Syndicate released its fourteenth studio album, '' Bloodlines'', which debuted at #12 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Classical Crossover Crossover is a term applied to Musical composition, musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience, audiences. This can be seen, for example, when a song appears on two or more of the record chart, record charts, which tr ...

charts. Created as a prequel to 2005's '' The 13th Hour'', the album's last track, ''Sands of Time'', is meant to segue directly into the first track of ''The 13th Hour.'' ''Bloodlines'' expanded upon the backstory of the Haverghast family that was established on both the '' Gates of Delirium'' and '' The 13th Hour'' albums. In September 2021,

reissued 2020's ''Music of Halloween Horror Nights'' album on limited-edition orange vinyl featuring new artwork and four additional tracks on the digital download version. Once again, the album sold out within days of its release. A third limited-edition

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

pressing of ''Music of Halloween Horror Nights'' was released on October 5. This

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...

version featured the iconic Halloween Horror Nights character, Jack the Clown, on the cover and included a slightly different lineup of songs. Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka commemorated this particular reissue with a signing at

which also included the albums' cover artists, Jose Pardo and Luis Orazi. That September also marked the return of the band to

's HalloWeekends event where they staged a remount of their 2018 ''Midnight Syndicate: Conspiracy of Shadows'' multimedia performances.So Much Going On It's Scary
News Herald, Mark Meszoros, September 19, 2021, Pg. D6-D7 To celebrate their 25th Anniversary in 2022, the band relaunched its Legions of the Night fan community featuring a fan-generated "best of" compilation entitled ''Legions of the Night Volume 1''. In August,

Universal Orlando Universal Orlando Resort, often shortened to Universal Orlando, is a theme park and entertainment resort complex located in Orlando, Florida. It is the flagship of the Universal Destinations & Experiences theme park chain. Following the succe ...

and Midnight Syndicate teamed up again to release another limited-edition vinyl album. The new album, entitled ''Legendary Truth: The Collective'', featured packaging that referenced elements from the event's past including: previous icons, Legions of Horror, and the in-park experience, ''Legendary Truth: The Collective''. Additionally, in 2022, the band commemorated its 25-year association with

's HalloWeekends by producing and performing a new show entitled, ''Midnight Hour: 25 Years of HalloWeekends and Midnight Syndicate''. A compilation album entitled, ''HalloWeekends: 25 Years of Terror Together'' was released and sold in the park. The new album featured songs that had been heavily used at the park over the previous 25 years as well as new music from the ''Midnight Hour'' show. Midnight Syndicate performing at Cedar Point in 2023

Midnight Syndicate performing at Cedar Point in 2023

In August 2023, the band released it's fifteenth studio album, '' The Brimstone Club''. The album's "shadowy theatre" theme was inspired by the Parisian

Cabaret de L'Enfer ''Cabaret de l'Enfer'' (The Cabaret of Hell) was a famous cabaret in Montmartre, founded in November 1892 by Antonin Alexander and demolished in 1950 to allow for the expansion of a Monoprix supermarket. The ''Cabaret de L'Enfer'' was the counte ...

, a 19th-century hell-themed cabaret that band member Edward Douglas described as the first themed restaurant and forerunner to the modern day haunted attraction.Midnight Syndicate reveals haunting plans for new live show at Cedar Point's HalloWeekends amid release of new ‘Brimstone Club’ album

, Ryan Haidet, August 18, 2023 The album debuted at #2 on ''

charts on September 2, 2023. In support of the album, the band produced an outdoor live show with

's HalloWeekends entitled ''Echoes from the Brimstone Club'' which incorporated music from the album,

cirque A (; from the Latin word ) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by Glacier#Erosion, glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from , meaning a pot or cauldron) and ; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform a ...

-type specialty acts, and pyrotechnics.

Musicianship

Influences

Douglas cites film composers

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...

James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American film composer. He worked on more than 160 film and television productions between 1978 and 2015. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements alongside tr ...

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, five Grammy Awards, and has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards and a Tony ...

, heavy metal acts

and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

radio dramas Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

, and

horror film score A horror film score is music used and often specially written for films in the horror genre. History Early sound film scores included little music. Universal Studios was among several studios that had a policy of no music under their dialogue, wh ...

s as primary musical influences for Midnight Syndicate. He has cited

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classi ...

, the art of Joseph Vargo, Alchemy Gothic, and

, the books of

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

, ''Tales From the Crypt'' comics, and

Role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

s as sources of inspiration. He has said that Joseph Vargo's input was critical on the ''Born of the Night'' CD. In a 2010 interview, Goszka cited similar musical influences (Elfman, Carpenter, King Diamond, and Sabbath) as well as

Dead Can Dance Dead Can Dance are a British-Australian band founded in Melbourne in 1981 by Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard, before relocating to London the following year. The Australian music historian Ian McFarlane described Dead Can Dance's style as "const ...

Legacy

Impact on Halloween music and haunted attraction industry

The group's music is commonly used as atmosphere for

-themed events, stores, and parties (including

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the ''Playboy ...

's), as well as home decorating for

trick-or-treating Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". Th ...

. Heather Adler credits them as helping to

legitimize Legitimation, legitimization ( US), or legitimisation ( UK) is the act of providing legitimacy. Legitimation in the social sciences refers to the process whereby an act, process, or ideology becomes legitimate by its attachment to norms and val ...

the genre of Halloween music (music for the Halloween holiday), elevating standards in the genre, and inspiring other musicians to create similar projects.Scream Kings
Jason Bracelin, ''Scene Magazine'' (Cleveland, OH), May 25, 2005, Pg. 10-13. On September 11, 2009,

AOL Radio AOL Radio was an online radio streaming service available exclusively in the United States. Originally powered by XM Satellite Radio and later CBS Radio and Slacker, the platform offered users access to more than 200 free digital stations. H ...

released a list of the Top 10 Best Halloween Music CDs as ranked by AOL/CBS Radio listeners. Three of the ten CDs were Midnight Syndicate discs ('' Born of the Night'' No. 8, '' Realm of Shadows'' No. 4, and '' Vampyre'' No. 3), ranking behind Danny Elfman's ''

The Nightmare Before Christmas ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (formerly known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop motion Animation, animated Gothic film, gothic musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick in his f ...

'' and John Carpenter's ''

'' soundtrack. In 2015, Rue Morgue Magazine cited Midnight Syndicate's continued influence in the haunted attraction industry as well their "entrenchment" in the celebration of the

season among their reasons for including '' Out of the Darkness (Retrospective: 1994–1999)'' among their ''50 Essential Horror Albums - Discs That Created, Evolved, or Defined Genre Music Through the Decades''. Midnight Syndicate was the first company to produce soundtracks of quality specifically for the haunted attraction industry.John Horton, "Scary Music Writers Accomplish Their Ghouls", ''The Plain Dealer'' (Cleveland, OH), October 17, 2006, Sec. A, Pg. A1. In 2005, Leonard Pickel, editor of ''Haunted Attraction Magazine'' estimated that "75-90% of the attractions in the industry had at least one Midnight Syndicate CD." Their music is also used by amusement parks such as

Kings Island Kings Island is a amusement park northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972. It was part of a larger effort to move and expand Coney Islan ...

Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It was formed on July 2, 2024, following a merger between longtime rivals Cedar Fair and the former Six Flags ...

, and Kennywood Park hold Halloween-themed events such as Thorpe Park Fright Nights, Halloween Horror Nights, HalloWeekends, Howl-O-Scream, and

Fright Fest Fright Fest or FrightFest may refer to: *Six Flags Fright Fest, a Halloween event at Six Flags parks. * FrightFest (film festival), a British film festival, also known as Film4 Fright Fest. *"FrightFest", a Halloween event at the Elitch Gardens Th ...

. In the liner notes to 2020's, ''Music of Halloween Horror Nights'' album, Vice President of Entertainment, Art and Design at Universal Orlando, T.J. Mannarino said, "It is difficult to overemphasize how much the music of Midnight Syndicate played in the historic success of Halloween Horror Nights." In 2020, Midnight Syndicate received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the haunted attraction website, City Blood.

Impact on role-playing game industry

Midnight Syndicate has a significant following in the

community. Their '' Dungeons & Dragons CD'' broke previous sales records for gaming soundtracks in its first month. Their ''The 13th Hour'' CD won the

Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the gaming industry. They are presented by the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for games released in the preceding year. For example, t ...

for Best Gaming Accessory presented by the Academy of Adventure Game Art & Design, marking the first time a role-playing soundtrack or music CD had won the award. ''The 13th Hour'' also became the first music CD to win an award at the

ENnies The ENNIE Awards (previously stylized as ENnie Awards) are awards for role-playing game (RPG) products (including game-related accessories, publications, and art) and their creators. The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN Worl ...

, a fan-based annual award show for

publishers and products. In 2007, Midnight Syndicate teamed up with

Goodman Games Goodman Games is an American game publisher best known for the ''Dungeon Crawl Classics'' series of adventure modules and role-playing game, its science fiction offshoot ''Mutant Crawl Classics'', and ''Original Adventures Reincarnated'', a lin ...

to produce ''Cages of Delirium'' a Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure based on '' Gates of Delirium'' which came packaged with the CD. The ''Cages of Delirium'' module was nominated for an ENnie Award as well as the band's '' Carnival Arcane'' album in 2012, their '' Monsters of Legend'' album in 2014, and their '' Zombies!!! Official Board Game Soundtrack'' in 2016.

Distribution

When record

labels A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affixed to ...

and

distributors A distributor is an electric and mechanical device used in the ignition system of older spark-ignition engines. The distributor's main function is to route electricity from the ignition coil to each spark plug at the correct time. Design A ...

rejected the band's first two CDs, Douglas began building his own distribution network by selling CDs out of his van with Goszka and cold-calling hundreds of stores. Today Midnight Syndicate's CDs are self-distributed to thousands of retailers worldwide through Entity Productions, Inc. and its partners, making them one of the largest distributors of Halloween-themed music. In addition to

Dee Snider Daniel "Dee" SniderTayler, LettaTwisted Sister's Dee Snider remembers his challenging Long Island upbringing "Newsday", March 15, 2016Archived here/ref> (born March 15, 1955) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and songwriter o ...

's Halloween-themed music act, Van Helsing's Curse, Entity Productions also distributed the 2010 version of ''The Dead Matter'' movie.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1997) * '' Born of the Night'' (1998) * '' Realm of Shadows'' (2000) * '' Gates of Delirium'' (2001) * '' Vampyre'' (2002) * ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

'' (2003) * '' The 13th Hour'' (2005) * '' The Dead Matter: Cemetery Gates'' (2008) * '' Carnival Arcane'' (2011) * '' Monsters of Legend'' (2013) * '' Christmas: A Ghostly Gathering'' (2015) * ''Zombies!!! Official Board Game Soundtrack'' (2016) * '' Bloodlines'' (2021) * '' The Brimstone Club'' (2023)

Soundtrack albums

* '' The Rage: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (2008) * '' The Dead Matter: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (2010) * '' Axe Giant: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (2013)

Reissues

* '' Out of the Darkness (Retrospective: 1994–1999)'' (2006) * '' Halloween Music Collection'' (2010) * ''Music of Halloween Horror Nights'' (2020) * ''Legendary Truth: The Collective'' (2022) * ''HalloWeekends: 25 Years of Terror Together'' (2022)

Collaborative albums

* '' The Dark Masquerade'' with Destini Beard (2010) * '' A Time Forgotten'' with Destini Beard (2012)

Live albums

* '' Live Shadows'' (2021)

Film

* ''The Dead Matter'' (2010)

In popular culture

Midnight Syndicate's composer credits include the scores to the films ''The Rage'', ''The Dead Matter'', and ''Axe Giant''. Additionally, their music has been featured in television programs such as '' Happy!'', ''

Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (September 25, 1929December 30, 2022) was an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, she appeared as a host of numerous television programs, ...

' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2002'', ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...

'', ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

'', ''

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

'', ''

NBA on TNT The ''NBA on TNT'' is an American presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games, produced by TNT Sports (formerly known as Turner Sports and later Warner Bros. Discovery Sports). In the United States, the TNT cable network held ...

'', Syfy's ''The Possessed'', and

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...

's haunted attraction-themed

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

, ''Making Monsters''.IMDB.com
listing for Midnight Syndicate The music has also been used as

theme music Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

in independent horror films like ''Dead & Rotting'', ''Revamped'', ''Witchouse 3: Demon Fire'' and ''Song of the Vampire'' (AKA ''Vampire Resurrection''), and on the

-based

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

, ''

Critical Role ''Critical Role'' is an American web series in which a group of professional voice actors play ''Dungeons & Dragons''. The show started streaming partway through the cast's first campaign in March 2015. Campaign one ended in October 2017 aft ...

''. The music is used in the audio drama, ''The Byron Chronicles''. Newer episodes of the Byron Chronicles are available at the creator's blog. The song ''Grisly Reminder'' from '' The 13th Hour'' was featured in Creepypasta videos between 2012 and 2016. It is considered nostalgic by some because of this.

References

External links

* {{Authority control American dark wave musical groups American gothic rock groups Rock music groups from Ohio American dark ambient music groups Musical groups established in 1997 Neoclassical dark wave musical groups People from Chardon, Ohio Origins Award winners Musical groups from Cleveland

History

Formation and early years (1996–1998)

Breakout (1998–2000)

Rise (2001–2006)

''The Rage'' and ''The Dead Matter'' (2007–2010)

The 2010s and ''Midnight Syndicate Live!'' (2010–2019)

Recent projects (2020–present)

Musicianship

Influences

Legacy

Impact on Halloween music and haunted attraction industry

Impact on role-playing game industry

Distribution

Discography

Studio albums

Soundtrack albums

Reissues

Collaborative albums

Live albums

Film

In popular culture

See also

References

External links