I am so looking forward to Midnight Syndicate's new album! I'm a huge fan of their music and would be excited for any upcoming project from them, but this one has an especially cool theme. The new album, "Monsters of Legend" is based around the classic Universal Horror and Hammer Films! You all know I love Hammer movies (if you don't know, read Hammer Time) and like pretty much everyone else on the planet, I love Universal Horror movies.
When I found out about this upcoming album, it was like finding out there was coffee flavored ice cream. A favorite music group + some of my favorite movies! It has to be good. I think what I'm most looking forward to is hearing the interpretation of these movies through sound and music. I have my own sound associations with these movies and it should be interesting to hear how my impressions compare with Midnight Syndicate's.
For anyone who isn't familiar with Midnight Syndicate, you can hear samples of their music on their YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MidSyndicate
I especially recommend listening to songs from their "Carnival Arcane" album. That one really paints a picture in your mind. It could be the soundtrack to "Something Wicked This Way Comes".
You may have heard some of their music without realizing it. I heard some Midnight Syndicate songs playing in Halloween stores last year and I know some of their music is played in theme parks. You can read more about Midnight Syndicate and connect with them on these sites:
http://www.midnightsyndicate.com/
I was sent a press release for "Monsters of Legend" and like a good reporter I'm going to share it with you! I'm in reporter mode, because I'm going to be reviewing this album when it comes out! I can't tell you how cool that is for me as a fan.
The Monsters of Legend Press Release
June 20, 2013 (Cleveland, OH) - On July 19, Midnight Syndicate
will release it's sixteenth studio album, "Monsters of Legend." This
"tribute to the golden age of horror" will feature sweeping symphonic
horror instrumental music and sound effects in the signature style the
band pioneered. "We want to make you feel like you are a character in
one of those classic horror films - that you've entered a world where
any one of the iconic characters from the Universal Horror and Hammer
Films could be right around the corner," said composer Edward Douglas.
The CD artwork features original images from classic Universal Studios horror movies including Frankenstein, Werewolf of London, and Dracula. "Listeners will hear the influence of the Universal Monster, Hammer, and Euro Horror films from the 30s through the 70s, not only in the music but in the images the songs conjure," added Gavin Goszka. Although the band promises the new disc will deliver the dark atmosphere haunted attractions, roleplaying gamers, and Halloween enthusiasts expect from them, they feel they've crafted a disc that transcends their favorite time of the year." As we did on Carnival Arcane, we're always trying to take things up a notch both musically and with the sound design. There is a lot going on in this one. Plenty to pull you in, spark your imagination, and keep hold of you anytime you're looking to visit that mysterious place in your mind's eye."
The CD will be available for pre-order the first week in July. In addition
to other new merchandise, Entity Productions Halloween Music will be
releasing a special edition 12" vinyl version of the Monsters of Legend
album, hand-numbered and limited to 250 copies.
Sounds like our kind of thing, right? I'm probably most looking forward to the 1970s inspired songs. Maybe we'll even hear a Stoneground influenced song? Just kidding, but you get a few points if you understood that.
P.S. ~ You can catch a great interview with Edward Douglas & Gavin Goszka of Midnight Syndicate on the HaunTopic Radio podcast:
http://scaryvisions.com/midnight-syndicate/
A heads up: This episode of Scaryvisions is from last July, so don't try for the contest that's mentioned!
Living in New England, I take it for granted that everyone else knows about coffee ice cream :) When I lived in NC for a short time, I'd have gallons of Autocrat coffee syrup sent down because we couldn't find it there.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great album, can't wait to check it out!
Dex ~ Is coffee flavored ice cream a New England thing? Or do you mean general ice cream knowledge because of the Ben & Jerry's location? I'm pretty sure most people know about it by now. I can't remember when I first had coffee ice cream, but it was a long time ago! Still, it was the only thing I could think of where I was excited to see two things I loved so much combined.
ReplyDeleteOh, I didn't know you ever lived in NC. I'm sure that's a switch from MA! Wow, sounds like you really like your coffee flavoring! I had never heard of Autocrat syrup until now, so I just visited their site. I saw all kinds of great coffee flavored recipes there:
http://www.autocrat.com/Recipes
Hmm... That might be something I have to order. All those recipes sound really good!
Yeah, I'm looking forward to listening to the new album. Do you have any of their other CDs?
I think awhile ago (NC was in 88/89) coffee ice cream was mostly a northeast thing. With the explosion of coffee shops in the last decade or so (and Ben & Jerry's), it's more readily available everywhere.
DeleteIt's funny, I like coffee flavoring but not coffee itself. I usually mix some Autocrat with chocolate Ovaltine in milk :)
I have a couple of random CDs of theirs I've picked up over the years. Couldn't tell you much about them as I generally only listen to them in October mixed with other instrumental albums.
Really? Oh, that's funny. I like coffee everything, including the real deal. Not that I drink it black. Chocolate Ovaltine, eh? I can't ever hear about that without thinking of "A Christmas Story" :) I imagine that the chocolate and coffee would make a nice combination. I feel the same about chocolate as I do ice cream - it's good with anything.
ReplyDeleteDo you remember which CDs you have? Carnival Arcane is my favorite of what I've heard.
I love the 'Monsters of Legend' artwork! I've never heard of Midnight Syndicate, but I'll definitely check out the 'Carnival Arcane' album, especially if it makes you think of 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, it would be fun to have an album with 'Alligator Man' on it. ;)
Little Gothic Horrors ~ Me too! I think the cover really captures the spirit of the theme. I wonder if Midnight Syndicate is mostly known in America? As far as I know, you guys wouldn't be hearing their music in Halloween stores or Halloween theme parks. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to access their music. Here's all of Carnival Arcane:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EassB5Tclpg&list=PLADBB108F82D8EDB2
I think you'll really like this music after reading "Something Wicked This Way Comes". You'll be able to visualize what's going on with each song.
I'm sure there are some albums with "Alligator Man" out there! Stoneground was after all a real touring band with albums, which is kind of weird to think about. I'd assumed they were a fake band that was made up for the movie until looking them up. There might even be a soundtrack to Dracula A.D. 1972 out there somewhere... Oh my Gosh - here it is:
http://buysoundtrax.stores.yahoo.net/dra19orsobym.html
I'm listening to 'Carnival Arcane' right now! I can totally see what you mean... I got goosebumps at the beginning when I heard the sound of the train. Makes me want to reread SWTWCs! Thanks for the link!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that there's a 'Dracula A.D. 1972' soundtrack! Haha. Brilliant find!
Little Gothic Horrors ~ Yeah, the beginning of that album is perfect. The sound effects, like the train whistling and the mumbling of the circus folk really sets the mood for the rest of the album. It's like story telling through music.
ReplyDeleteThere's probably a soundtrack to every movie, no matter how goofy or obscure it is! I imagine anything on there aside from The Stoneground is just spooky sound effects.
I love that picture of Boris Karloff as Frankenstein - it's especially neat when colorized! I listened to some of the music, it reminds me of Black Metal bands Emperor and Cradle of Filth - I like that! I love spooky organ music - it's used in the movie Ghost of Frankenstein w/ Lon Chaney. For some reason the spooky organ thing disappears from horror in the 50's, as far as I can tell.
ReplyDeleteMatt ~ I like the green glow of that cover too. I also like the layers in the background and the font choices. I don't know about those Metal bands, but since you think they're similar to Midnight Syndicate, I'll have to check them out!
ReplyDeleteI think I've seen "The Ghost of Frankenstein", although a lot of Frankenstein movies are blurred together in my mind. I just looked it up. Oh yeah, I've seen that one, and somewhat recently! It has Bela Lugosi as Ygor. He seems to be showing up in nearly everything I watch lately.
Yeah, the spooky organ stuff does seem to disappear after the 1950s. Then you get into more of that theramin sound, which seems to fit the style of those later movies. The more serious Horror movies from the 1940s, which seem to have had a bit more effort put into them, often have more classical or organ soundtracks.