Chardon
For over 25 years, composers Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka have been known as Midnight Syndicate and have been creating dark symphonic soundtracks to imaginary films that transport the listener to worlds of their own creation. To many, they are horror music pioneers crafting fifteen studio albums with their signature blend of orchestral gothic music and movie-style sound effects. To others, they will always be the first “haunted house band” that forever changed the Halloween music genre and became a staple in homes, amusement parks, and haunted attractions worldwide during the Halloween season. Still others know them as the duo that created the first official soundtrack to the legendary Dungeons & Dragons game trailblazing a new era for the use of music in the role-playing game industry. Reminiscent of sweeping, complex masterpieces by artists such as James Horner, Danny Elfman, Black Sabbath, and King Diamond, their critically-acclaimed music has also been featured as a part of films, television shows, video games, and theatrical productions worldwide.
Midnight Syndicate’s music has become integral to setting a powerful mood at top-rated haunted attractions and amusement parks as well as at costume shops, gaming and Halloween parties and Halloween-themed cruises worldwide. In 2005, industry expert Leonard Pickel estimated that 75-90% of the attractions in the haunted house industry owned at least one Midnight Syndicate CD. In September, 2009, AOL released the Top 10 Best Halloween Music CDs of all time according to AOL/CBS Radio listeners, and three of the ten listed were Midnight Syndicate discs, which ranked lower only than Danny Elfman’s Nightmare Before Christmas and John Carpenter’s Halloween soundtracks. More recently, the band was included in Rue Morgue Magazine’s 50 Essential Horror Albums – Discs that Created, Evolved, or Defined Genre Music Over the Decades. The duo has released 18 studio albums since 1997, and their work has appeared at Hugh Hefner’s Halloween parties, on episodes of The Barbara Walters Special and Monday Night Football, in the drive-in film The Rage, at Universal Studio’s Horror Nights XVIII, as well as music by artists Insane Clown Posse, Three Six Mafia, Twiztid and Misfits. In 2010, Midnight Syndicate released a full-length horror film called The Dead Matter, directed, scored and co-produced by Douglas alongside Robert Kurtzman (From Dusk Till Dawn, co-founder, KNB FX) and Gary Jones (Xena, Boogeyman 3).
In 2013, the band scored the SyFy Channel grindhouse thriller Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan and also released Monsters of Legend, a tribute to the classic Universal Studios films that gave birth to horror cinema. Featuring cover art showcasing original Universal Monster images with an epic sound to match, the disc has become one of the band's most critically-acclaimed albums to date winning the band it’s second Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards for Best Horror Album. The first award being for their 2011 Carnival Arcane album.
In 2014, Midnight Syndicate launched their first live performances. Midnight Syndicate Live! Legacy of Shadows, a multimedia horror-themed concert blending live music, theatre, and film debuted at the legendary amusement park Cedar Point’s HalloWeekends event on September 12, 2014. The show was an instant hit, garnering rave reviews and becoming a staple at HalloWeekends since. In 2015, the Halloween Music Maestros have turned their attention to the “other” holiday season with their Yuletide-inspired Christmas: A Ghostly Gathering. The album was an instant success quickly becoming one of the duos most popular albums of their career. In 2016, the band returned to the gaming industry to produce the Zombies!!! Official Board Game Soundtrack.
In 2021, they released their first live album, "Live Shadows" along with the studio album "Bloodlines," and a collaboration album with Universal Orlando called "Music of Halloween Horror Nights."
In May of 2022 Midnight Syndicate celebrated its 25th anniversary with a relaunch of its Legions of the Night Fan Community. They also announced that, going forward, Legions of the Night would be the primary outlet for exclusive merch, giveaways, behind-the-scenes material, and potential livestreams. An exclusive fan-created “best of” album, entitled Legions of the Night Vol. 1 is one of the special items offered to fans who join.
August of 2022 marked the release of the follow-up to the successful "Music of Halloween Horror Nights" album. "Halloween Horror Night‘s LegendaryTruth" was released on limited-edition vinyl and sold at the Universal Orlando theme park while supplies lasted. In September, Midnight Syndicate teamed up with Cedar Point’s HalloWeekends to celebrate both entity’s 25th anniversaries. A special "Midnight Hour: 25 Years of HalloWeekends with Midnight Syndicate" was produced along with a commemorative album, "HalloWeekends: 25 Years of Terror Together" which showcased music featured at the event since the late-90s and new material written specifically for the Midnight Hour show.
On August 18, 2023, the band released it’s 15th studio album, The Brimstone Club. The new album takes listeners on a journey through a mysterious theatre where the exotic entertainment and libations are matched only by its peculiar clientele. "The Brimstone Club" immediately resonated with fans around the world debuting at #2 on Billboard Magazine’s Classical Crossover Charts. In support of the album, a live show entitled "Echoes of the Brimstone Club" debuted at Cedar Point’s HalloWeekends that September.
What will they do next? Those who would like to be the first to receive updates on new music and other upcoming projects are encouraged to join the Legions of the Night community.
Midnight Syndicate’s tracks
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