Customer Reviews

Out of the Darkness (Retrospective: 1994-1999)

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OUT OF THE DARKNESS is a collection of tracks from three early Midnight Syndicate albums of mid to late 1990s. For those unfamiliar with the band, it is composed of Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka. Their music is a horror lover's dream; its eeriness and atmospherically creepy notes will please even the most demanding Halloween music or Gothic symphony aficionados.

Back to OUT OF THE DARKNESS. The songs (they're really instrumentals, save for one) have been re-mastered and re-recorded for this release, making them sound even better than they must have sounded originally now that they've grown musically. Some of the standout tracks include "Born of the Night" (my personal favorite), "Eye of the Storm" (the piano in these songs is haunting), "Legions of the Night", "Eclipse", and "Darkfolk".

All in all, this album has a total of 24 songs and also includes some previously unreleased tracks as well as two songs from Edward's short horror film, The Dead Matter (which will become a feature-length horror film in 2008).

This one's a winner. Everything these guys put out is simply awesome. I'm a horror writer and I always seek out good atmospheric music, such as horror film scores, when I write; Midnight Syndicate have become regulars in my player. If you don't have any of their albums yet, this is a good place to start. Then get THE 13TH HOUR, their masterpiece, in my opinion. Highly recommended!

This CD was perfect for the themeing at my house for Halloween mood, as well as for RPG sessions in horror games.

A must buy for setting horror moods!

On Dungeons & Dragons night we always accompany game play with music. Midnight Syndicate has several albums that set the mood perfectly. This is one of them. When we come up against a big bad and the music turns especially ominous, it adds fun (Uh oh...sounds like we're all about to die...) to the experience. It is also good to have a few different Midnight Syndicate albums set on random to change it up a bit.

For those of you reading this who have not gotten a chance to purchase any of the older works of The Midnight Syndicate, I completely recomend this album. I know that some of their older work can be difficult to aquire, this album will solve that problem and very importantly it is affordable.

These guys have the Midas touch with their music, everything they compose is like gold. I have written a review for Realm of Shadow (which is on this album in part), so feel free to look into that for more specifics about that album. These guys create perfect music music for the Haunted Attraction industry, horror enthusiasts, and any occasion really. I actually have a lot of friends who play their music while they are tattooing at their shops, oddly enough the midnight syndicate's music relaxes enough first time tattoo shop customers into a sense of comfort, but elements of their music keeps them scared enough to come back for more. So, if youare a haunter, a tattoo artist, a role playing gamer, or just someone who wants to listen to som really good music, the midnight syndicate is your new favorite band.

as for the collection presented in this album, it really is a great collect that spans the career of this fabulous entity of the horror music genre that is the Midnight Syndicate.

i dare you to buy this album and sleep with it on, read books with it on, shower with it playing; make this album as if it were your personal soundtrack to life. you will find their music to be life changing. please check them out.

I grew up with Halloween albums filled with screeching cats, laughing witches, rattling chains and howling wind. Those were great, but if you're hosting a haunted house or are looking to set a darker mood, this is the best Halloween music out there.

Sophisticated, varied and truly dark, Midnight Syndicate has the corner on the market as far as I'm concerned. I've had people ask me what music was playing and how where they could find it. If you're a Halloween afficianado or are simply looking for a gothic sound, I can't recommend Midnight Syndicate highly enough.

Out Of The Darkness is a finely crafted album by Midnight Syndicate. This album consists of re-recordings of some of the best tracks from their self-titled debut album (1997), Born Of The Night (1998), and Realm Of Shadows (2000). The songs sound a little crisper and clearer than the original recordings, with some minor changes made to the arrangements in some of the songs. If you own and like the original Born Of The Night and Realm Of Shadows albums as I do, then you'll like the material on Out Of The Darkness. It is worth it to purchase this album because there are some new and previously unreleased tracks as well.

The songs have a little more depth, sophistication, energy, and clarity to them compared to the original recordings, especially the songs Eclipse, Forbidden Crypts, Sanctuary, and Born Of The Night. For example, the choral voices on Eclipse are more upbeat compared to the original recording, the bells are louder, and the song overall sounds clearer. Forbidden Crypts is more energized, powerful, and clearer -- a huge improvement over the original. Sanctuary features slightly more upbeat choral voices, a slightly better sounding pipe organ, some added percussion, and louder bells. Born Of The Night is much better than the original because the piano is so much clearer and there is no narration in the beginning of the song. Other noticeable improvements are on the songs Masque Of Sorrow and Into The Abyss. They are livelier. The track Scenes From "The Dead Matter" is outstanding and really has a movie soundtrack sound to it. The previously unreleased track Prisoner Of Time is one of my favorite songs on the album. I kind of get the feeling that this song was originally meant for the Gates Of Delirium album. It sounds like it would fit right in on that album, plus the name of the song has the word PRISONER in it, like an inmate of Haverghast Asylum, which is the setting for the Gates Of Delirium album. Another one of my favorite tracks on the album is Theme to "Journey Into Dementia." It has good organ and a good melody. Another outstanding track that has a movie feel to it. The final track, Druids, is excellent and upbeat and above all, different. It features drums and a lot of thunder and lightning sound effects throughout. I kind of get the feeling that it's a song that has to do with the origins of Halloween thousands of years ago in Ireland. Either that or it's a fantasy song. Neat. It originally appeared on Midnight Syndicate's self-titled debut album (1997).

If you're new to Midnight Syndicate's music, this is a good album to start with, being that it showcases material from several albums and it is not focused on one specific theme. Instead, you get a wide variety of haunting music with a wide variety of subject matter and themes. I highly recommend this album. Play it at Halloween parties, for the trick-or-treaters, or listen to it alone in the dark any time of the year. If you listen to this album or any other album by Midnight Syndicate only during the Halloween season, you're shortchanging yourself.

I really enjoy this CD. I have been a fan of Midnight Syndicate for several years, and I look forward to each release. When I heard this CD was going to be a retrospective, I must admit I was a little disappointed as I was hoping for new material. I bought the CD anyway and it has exceeded my expectations.

First of all, there is new material! There are four tracks that were previously unreleased, so that satisfied my need for something I hadn't heard before. Also, there are tracks from Midnight Syndicate's first release, which was self-titled and which I hadn't heard before - so that was new to me, too!

Second, I very much enjoy listening to how the tracks have changed from when they were first released on "Born of the Night" and "Realm of Shadows". They seem to have a bit more depth - to be more finely tuned than they were before, but not changed so much that they're too different to enjoy if you liked them the first time around.

I am a big Midnight Syndicate fan. That being said, I really enjoyed this disc.

It is what it is. It says right on the cover "Retrospective 1994-1999," so if you own "Born of the Night" or "Realm of Shadows" you don't really need this disc. However if you are a fan, in my opinion, there is enough here to merit the purchase. If you do not own both "Born of the Night" and "Realm of Shadows" then you are in for a real treat and I cannot recommend this disc enough.

As someone who owns all their discs, I was happy with the new versions of the songs. There's no reason not to like them. They haven't changed the songs, they just sound more full, more clear, and generally better. Comparing the versions you can hear the development as musicians in my opinion. Certain songs like "Nightstalker," "Vampire's Kiss," "Solemn Reflections," "Masque of Sorrow," and "Into the Abyss," sound significantly better. For some of these it was like hearing them for the first time. "Masque of Sorrow" is one in particular. Wow.

As far as new material, there are five tracks. "Prisoner of Time" is excellent and sounds very much like where the band is at today, "Scenes from 'The Dead Matter'" and "Return of the Apparition" are good atmospheric pieces. "Journey Into Dementia" is an older track with some vintage sounds. "Druids" is a cool drum-driven track off of the first self-titled CD.

As always, Midnight Syndicate's CDs are great background for gaming. I actually prefer this disc to the originals for gaming purposes because there are no voiceovers. I would recommend "Out of the Darkness" for any darker scenarios or gothic, horror, mystery-themed RPG adventures. It's a very consistent disc for a steady level of dread.

I'm looking forward to the next disc of new material!

Out Of The Darkness by Midnight Syndicate is yet another fine example of the talent that is Midnight Syndicate. I have collected a number of their CDs over the past few years and find literally all of them outstanding in their abilities to create an atmosphere of darkness befitting haunted Gothic mansions, graveyards and walks down roads with Spanish Moss laden trees on a Full Moon night. So it is with this being said that I give Out Of The Darkness: By Midnight Syndicate a ***** rating.

Blessings Light & Dark!

Doctor Possum

Buying an Anthology, Retrospective, or Greatest Hits package is a good way to find out if you are going to like a new artist. This is particularly true for those artists who get little or no exposure on the radio. Such is the case with Midnight Syndicate. I had never heard of them before last Halloween, when one of their songs came on - of all places - a cable Television station. It was one of those that plays commercial-free music 24/7. I was so impressed with what I heard that I wrote down the name of the artist. I discovered that Midnight Syndicate had a number of CDs available, and wondered which one to start with. I found this Retrospective and decided it would be a good place to start. "Out Of The Darkness" contains tracks previously released on several of their other recordings. As you read over the liner notes, you discover that "Midnight Syndicate" is really two artists who are actually film makers with musical talent on the side. These pieces of very moody and dark music are actually meant to be used in the soundtracks for their movies, but don't let that scare you away. These tracks are very well written and recorded. Some are short (just over a minute) and some are long (over 5 minutes), but they all set a mood that will make your blood run cold. Most of these are done with minimal instrumentation - strings (synth, I think) and some percussion. One track (Druids) has some Gregorian-style chanting in the background. If you have eclectic taste in music like I do, or if you are just looking for seasonal music for your next adult Halloween party (and you have worn out "Monster Mash") give Midnight Syndicate a listen. They have several releases available, but this Retrospective will give you a good sampling of what their music is - or at least has been in the past. One final note: This CD has none of those annoying 50s era Sci-Fi movie screeching sound effects, and no ear-splitting screaming. All of the compositions on this CD have a symphonic sound to them. In fact, several of the pieces blend into one another well enough that you might assume they are movements to a larger symphony.