I've always had a very eclectic taste in music. On any given day you might find me listening to anything from classical to heavy metal, folk to classic rock. Now imagine a group combining elements from all of those genres - along with a central focus on Mongolian throat-singing - and you get The Hu.
"Wolf Totem" - This was the group's debut single. I'm not sure what made me finally click the link when appeared on my Youtube suggestions, but I'm definitely glad I did! The video grabs your attention from the start with the haunting call of a bird of prey as a traditional Mongolian warrior rides a horse through a barren field. It's foreboding imagery, but then things get weird... A gang of motorcyclists joins the horseman? And yet, this is a perfect encapsulation of the group's sound. They combine traditional Mongolian music with a modern, undeniably metal influence. And the throat-singing? Memorizing! I'm not sure how many times I watched this video... I was hooked!
Take moment to appreciate the incredible craftsmanship behind the group's instruments.
"Yuve Yuve Yu"- Then along came this little ditty... It's still The Hu, but this time around I get the classic rock vibe. This song - to me - could easily be a Mongolian cover of a ZZ-Top number. It's catchy as can be! Thankfully this video was accompanied with subtitles. The lyrics are about forgotten heritage and disrespecting the wisdom of those who have come before. The producers of this music video took a very literal path with its intro, the video is a straightforward representation of the song's meaning. We start off in the lazy modern age before being swept away into the epic, picturesque Mongolian landscape. I adore the cinematography for this video, by the way... the sweeping drone shots and slick editing are a visual treat.
"Sugaan Essena" - As if I couldn't love this band anymore... Imagine my surprise as I'm playing the opening minutes of the latest Star Wars game, only to discover the main character enjoying their music as he works dismantling a starship! Yes, The Hu managed to find their way into the Star Wars universe by recording an all-new track for Jedi: Fallen Order! If you're as ignorant of world languages as I am, you could be forgiven for thinking they're singing in Mongolian as they usually do. Interestingly enough, however, the band created an alien language especially for this song! With this one, they've definitely crossed over into full-on metal, the closing minutes of the track are pure riffage and I love it!
The Hu's debut album - "The Gereg" was released last year. Check it out! It's a good listen!
If only every day could begin with the release of a new Mastodon song!
I love the new artwork and the song sounds like a great blend of Mastodon's earlier work with their newer sound. The album, "Emperor of Sand" is set to be released on March 31st!
Yes, there is now Star Wars themed metal band. I shouldn't have to explain why this is awesome... But I will anyway!
Not much is known about the group calling themselves Galactic Empire besides their allegiance to the Dark Side and affinity for heavy music. The band specializes in covering John Williams' various themes from the Star Wars films which work surprisingly well as metal compositions. The group is comprised of lead guitarist Dark Vader, Boba Sett on drums, Bass Commander on bass, and Shadow Ranger and Red Guard on guitar. The group play their shows in-character while fully costumed.
Galactic Empire's self-titled first album is scheduled to be released on February 3rd. You can pre-order the album here.
With another year coming to a close, most of our minds turn to the passing of time.
To some, "time" is an abstract concept that may or may not be fluid. However, based on my experience - and the collective experience of humanity throughout the ages - time only goes one direction: Forward... And we can't escape its erosive power leading toward ultimate entropy.
I realize it's an overtly negative outlook, but I'm not a physicist so what do I know?
But the perception (and possible manipulation) of time is something that is definitely intriguing!
This seems to be an idea that director Christopher Nolan loves to explore in his films, and this is probably most evident in my favorite Nolan production, 2010's Inception. The movie takes place in a world in which dreams can be created and infiltrated through a mindspace-sharing technology. If that isn't complicated enough, as the film progresses multiple people employ the technique while in a dream state, causing time in the dreamworlds to slow within each subsequent instance. Single moments are expanded to become lifetimes... And beyond into an eternal state it's implied. Yes, Inception is one of those movies that messes with your mind and requires multiple viewings to fully appreciate.
A favorite collaborator of Nolan is composer Hans Zimmer. For Inception, Zimmer created an appropriately moody, dream-like score accentuated with his trademark emphasis on percussion and blaring brass crescendos. Many have argued - and lamented - that the score for Inception (especially the trailer) forever changed the musical landscape of tentpole theatrical events. The fog horn sounding blast now appears in almost every trailer for a blockbuster film aspiring for an "epic" feel.
Criticisms aside, the score for Inception is a great listen, and this is most evident in the standout track, "Time".
Since the release of Inception, "Time" has become Zimmer's signature composition. It conveys so much emotion and, to me, communicates a feeling of both uplifting victory and sorrow for indescribable loss. It's certainly a good fit within the context of the film, but fans across the Internet have since paired the piece with a variety of other cinematic moments to awesome effect.
The best example of this is its mix into Charlie Chaplin's rousing speech from The Great Dictator which I definitely encourage you to watch... After the year we've had, we could use some hope!
Back in November Metallica released their latest (double!) album, Hardwired... To Self-Destruct.
As with all Metallica albums since ...And Justice for All - or the self-titled "Black Album" depending who you ask - long-time fans will inevitably make comparisons usually focusing on the negative. Some of these complaints might actually be valid, but for the most part the criticisms seem to be retreads of tired arguments that the new material "isn't heavy enough" or laments over the fact that Metallica hasn't chosen to make the same album throughout their career.
Personally, I really enjoyed Hardwired. Of course, this may not be the most reliable critique since I have a lot of nostalgic affection for the band and I've appreciated the majority of Metallica's output (obviously not counting the almost universally abhorred St. Anger and Lulu).
In some ways Metallica's most recent effort seems combines elements from the sounds that defined two very different eras of their evolution; the bluesy licks of Load and Re-Load appear in some of the mid-tempo tracks, while on other songs the group revisits their thrash roots. Surprisingly, the band manages to create a cohesive flow throughout the album despite the integration of these seemingly incompatible approaches!
In a most awesome means of promoting Hardwired, Metallica released a video for every song on the album! Most of the time when a band does this, the videos are very haphazard in quality: The concepts and quality for one or two of the videos are excellent while the remainder come off as filler. With just a few exceptions, the band seems to have avoided this pitfall and put out some really great videos that seem to have a decent budget and creative directors behind them!
For now let's focus on just a few - which happen to feature my favorite tracks from the album!
Earlier in the post I shared the amazing video for "Now That We're Dead". Despite the grim title, this just might be the most positive song of all time based on the lyrics. The steady groove on this track is infectious, I can't help but tap my feet and sing a long! The video itself seems at first to be a straightforward recording of a jam session until the lights go dark and the band is illuminated in red. Finally, a projector casts manipulated, psychedelic images of the band members onto the live group as they play. The effect is simple, but unsettling and effective, the same technique seems to be used on the cover for the album.
The lyrics of "Confusion" hearken back to the anti-war sentiments on full display in Metallica's "Disposable Heroes" from Master of Puppets and the classic "One" from ...And Justice for All. The song deals with the struggle of soldiers to reintegrate into society after being steeped in bloody conflict. The video depicts a female soldier apparently stricken with PTSD flashing back and forth between her service on the battlefield and her new occupation in a civilian setting. The dramatic ending is heart-wrenching.
"Here Comes Revenge" sounds like it could have come from the Load era. The song is a straight-forward analysis of revenge, personified in the lyrics. Appropriately, the video centers on a disturbing angle on the "Big Bad Wolf" trope featuring anthropomorphized animals. The stylized animated visuals on this one are eerie and almost endearing at the same time!
The lyrical content of "Dream No More" references the work of H.P. Lovecraft. This isn't a first for the band who previously released songs such as "Call of Ktulu" and "The Thing That Should Not Be" on Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets, respectively. It's awesome to hear Metallica draw inspiration from Lovecraft once again, I got a big kick out of the fact that James Hetfield actually croons, "Cthulhu, awaken!" in the chorus! The song is a very heavy offering, sounding at times like Sad But True with its crunchy tone and dramatic pauses. The video is very difficult to explain, as random images are superimposed onto a silhouetted figure going about various mundane routines. Perhaps this is what madness looks like... How appropriate for a track influenced by Lovecraft!
The consensus among many Metallica fans - even the aforementioned critics - is that "Spit Out the Bone" might just be the most thrashy Metallica song since Kill 'em All. The track is certainly pummeling, fast, and unapologetic in its aggressive delivery, punching you in the face from the beginning and never letting up. The droning breakdown, multiple tempo changes, and Kirk Hammet's hypnotically frenetic solos are wonderful highlights. The lyrics describe the overtaking of humanity by technology and how it's useless to resist. The video for is a very on-the-nose adaptation of the lyrical content, depicting an apocalyptic future in which mankind is conquered and assimilated by robotic abominations. Featuring over-the-top performances and cheesy special effects, this video might be my favorite!
Of course, there are other notable tracks on the album, including catchy "Atlas, Rise", the anthemic "Halo on Fire", and the punishing "Murder One" which serves as a heavy-hitting tribute to Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister.
My final thoughts on Hardwired... To Self Destruct as a whole: If you can overlook the fact that Metallica isn't content to recycle their sound from previous albums and are willing to give it a chance, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the fresh energy and passion the "Four Horsemen" have put into this album!
One of my favorite metal groups of the last 10 years has been the heavy-hitting August Burns Red. A while back, it became a tradition that the band releases a Christmas-themed song.
This year they have covered one of my personal favorites, "What Child is This? (Greensleeves)".
Every so often a song just gets burned into my subconscious and I just can't get it out of my head... Gojira's "Stranded" is such a song.
I had heard of Gojira before, but I'm sorry to say that I never gave them much of a chance. That changed yesterday when a friend texted me the name of this song. Holy cow!
From the start, that chugging, lurching riff with the horror-movie sounding screech is hair-raising and hypnotic. The vocals on this are simultaneously angry and urgent, demanding your attention. As the song progresses, the riffing becomes a march backing up the agonizingly desperate sounding chorus. I dunno, to me it's just everything you could want in a metal performance.
Side note: It didn't escape my attention that this group's name is based on a certain radioactive Japanese monster... A heavy metal band named after a beloved kaiju? This warrants further research...
John Zacherle, also known as Zacherley, the "Cool Ghoul" has passed away.
Zacherle was one of the pioneering horror hosts who was most famous for his work on "Shock Theater" in the late 50's and early 60's. Taking on the stage name Roland and later Zacherley, he not only introduced (and sometimes interrupted) the monster movies, but created a memorable crazed ghoul character, performing macabre skits infused with campy dark humor and gore. He famously took advantage of the program being filmed in black-and-white, using Hershey's syrup as a cheap, but very effective stand-in for blood.
The monster/horror craze was at a fever pitch when Zacherle hosted "Shock Theater" and the actor amassed a cult following. He was so popular at the time that he actually had a stint on the record charts (Top Ten Novelty Rock) for his song, "Dinner with Drac" in 1958.
Beyond his role as horror host, Zacherle worked on a variety of other television programs, radio, and voice work in movies. But his work as Zacherley was to be his most famous role, and he apparently relished it. Zacherle attended conventions and even got back into character time and again for various programs and events well into his 90's!
Beloved by Monster Kids everywhere, Zacherley will be greatly missed and certainly not forgotten.
Midnight Syndicate is back! With their amazing holiday album - "Christmas: A Ghostly Gathering" - being released late last year, I wasn't expecting another album so soon. However, with the group's reputation of churning out quality horror-themed works on a regular basis, it really shouldn't have been so surprising.
The new album is actually a soundtrack for the "Zombies!!!" board game produced by Twilight Creations. The game apparently has quite a following, being first introduced back in 2001 it has went on to have 13 expansions released since then. While I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I've never sat down and played the game, I have came across it countless times at comic stores and conventions. I have always appreciated the artwork that accompanies the game and almost purchased it on several occasions based on the artwork alone!
Therefore when I heard that this series was going to basis of the latest Midnight Syndicate project, I was very excited! However I will admit that I also had some reservations... Since I became familiar with the group, I have associated Midnight Syndicate with the Gothic pieces they have produced. The albums I'm most familiar with seemed to have a classical vibe in keeping with the classic, archetypal subject matter of haunted houses, vampires, and Victorian era ghosts. Their music feels in many ways like it's from another time, while "Zombies!!!" series seems to have more of a modern vibe, paying homage to Romero's "Living Dead" films. I worried, I just wasn't sure that Midnight Syndicate's music would be a good fit.
I should have known better.
While the music has a distinctly different texture, the fingerprints of Midnight Syndicate are all over the album. In keeping with "Zombies!!!" general aesthetic, the music wouldn't be out of place in a B-movie zombie film. That sounds like an insult, but that's actually a great compliment. As is often the case with Midnight Syndicate, they find a way to bring something fresh to the table and manage to reinvigorate even the most tired of horror tropes.
Some of the pieces are generally creepy. Through the combination of sound effects and sparse atmospheric cues, I had to look over my shoulder more than a few times to make sure I wasn't actually being stalked by the undead. For eample, check out "They're Coming for You..."
Like on "Monsters of Legend", Midnight Syndicate continues the tradition reworking some of their older pieces into new albums. For example, "I Don't Think They're Dead" is another version of "The Witching Hour" and "Veiled Hunter" - possibly the most catchy track - was originally released on 2005's "The 13th Hour", but it works great within the context of "Zombies!!!"
One of the things that I have always felt that sets Midnight Syndicate apart from other artists within the genre is their ability to incorporate actual hum-able melody into their pieces. While most would opt for percussion-heavy music with haphazardly piercing violin shrieks or something of that sort, Midnight Syndicate recognizes that melody matters, and even on "Zombies!!!" this comes to the fore and defines many songs.
With this being an album meant to serve as a soundtrack to the "Zombies!!!" board game I think that this collection is a success. I may have to finally get around to purchasing the game! However, even for anyone with little interest in the board game, I can honestly say that like all Midnight Syndicate's work this is a great album for getting into a spooky mood and with Halloween approaching this would be a great accompaniment to your home-haunting activities.
Overall, I recommend "Zombies!!!" as highly as I do the other Midnight Syndicate albums I have reviewed up to this point. The quality of their output is consistently amazing and I can't wait to hear what to hear what they conjure up next!
Shin Gojira or Godzilla: Resurgence is coming to American theaters this upcoming week and I'm counting down the days with great anticipation.
In addition to being a longtime Godzilla fan, I also enjoy a good soundtrack. Based on what little I've heard so far, it seems like the music for Shin Godzilla will be another classic theme for the series.
The track starts out with sound effects from the original film which is a great nod to Godzilla's roots. From what I've read this is just one of many homages to earlier Godzilla films that are to be found in the new movie. It's great to know this as a fan, that the filmmakers apparently have a deep respect for the character and its history.
The music itself is incredibly haunting and moody. Shiro Sagisu conveys a great sense of tragedy, but also a feeling of hope. This fits well considering that much of the promotional materials released up to this point have played up the "Godzilla versus Japan" angle. The monster is going to wreak a lot of destruction, killing numerous in its wake, but Japan is going to fight back. I'm so glad to see the series going back to its roots, featuring a Godzilla that is an unstoppable force of nature.
I realize that there's a lot of supposition based on just one piece of music, but I have very high hopes for this movie. I'll post my thoughts on the Shin Gojira sometime next week after I've seen it.
The answer for many might be a fairly simple - and resounding - "YES!"
However, blogger Andrew Powell-Morse decided to take a more scientific approach in his search for an answer.
Powell-Morse recently shared a study he conducted which analyzed the intelligence of the lyrical content of the most popular music from the last decade. To determine the lyrical sophistication of the music in question needed for such a comparison he used an existing writing analysis formula to decide each songs' Readability Score.
Stay with me here: The formula Powell-Morse utilized is typically used to analyze the readability of novels. It factors in a piece of writing's word count, the number of syllables per word, and several other text attributes. The formula ultimately expresses a writing's score as a grade level based on the U.S.'s education system: Grades 1-12, with grades 10-12 being the reading level of most high school graduates.
In total, Powell-Morse inputted some 225 songs which had spent time on the #1 spot on the Billboard charts within the last 10 years. The songs he analyzed represented a variety of genres including Pop, Rock, Country, and Hip-Hop. The results for each genre were finally averaged together based upon the year of release.
Ultimately, Powell-Morse efforts revealed a number of depressing - though maybe not surprising - findings. His study found that over the past decade the lyric intelligence of hit music has dropped overall.
Perhaps what should be most disturbing is the fact that the drop wasn't all that dramatic: The lyrical intelligence of the music from all of the analyzed genres hovered around the 2nd-4th grade reading level.
These results beg the question: Are artists "dumbing-down" their lyrics to appeal to wider audiences?
After all, it's fairly often that studies such as this present similar results, painting a bleak picture of the intelligence of musicians, their audience, and perhaps society as a whole.
If you're still reading: Please indulge me a bit further, as I finally get to the point of this post...
I've noticed that the Metal genre is unfortunately overlooked in studies such as this. It is, of course, understandable considering that popular music is typically being examined due to its reaching the widest audience, while Metal has always been on the counter-cultural fringe.
It is undeniably true that there are countless Metal acts which would fall into the overtly knuckle-dragging metal-head stereotype. However, we should also take the time to acknowledge that there are also a number of sophisticated lyricists - and insanely talented musicians in general - to be found in the Metal genre if one is willing to give a listen.
To illustrate my point, I have selected some of my favorite songs by a few of my preferred Metal acts and entered their lyrics into a similar online program which analyzes the sophistication of the inputted material and presents an average grade level based on 5 different readability formulas.
Admittedly, my method is a far cry from the analytical and meticulously scientific approach used by Powell-Morse - and severely lacking in colorful graph department. I have most definitely cherry-picked the music being analyzed, choosing to focus on favorite songs by favorite artists from the genre with no specific time-frame or adherence to Billboard popularity.
You can check out the results below. If nothing else, it's a heckuva playlist!
There comes Fenris' twin His jaws are open wide The serpent rises from the waves Jormungandr twists and turns Mighty in his wrath The eyes are full of primal hate Thor! Odin's son Protector of mankind Ride to meet your fate Your destiny awaits Thor! Hlödyn's son Protector of mankind Ride to meet your fate Ragnarök awaits
Sample Lyrics: Messenger of fear in sight Dark deception kills the light Hybrid children watch the sea Pray for father, roaming free Fearless wretch Insanity He watches Lurking beneath the sea Great Old One Forbidden site He searches Hunter of the Shadows is rising Immortal
Sample Lyrics: If you view life as a mission For truth and purity in vision You can become as the anointed And fade away from the disjointed In observation, I analyze All the aspects of humanity that I despise I am the voyager I have tasted pleasures of the flesh And drunk the pleasures of the mind To reach the point I've attained Clear focused and defined Those who don't create dictate The structure of our world and preach hate Drifting out of languid boredom To destroy the structure of our kingdom
Sample Lyrics: The end. The songwriter's dead. The blade fell upon him Taking him to the white lands of empathica, of innocence Empathica Innocence
The dreamer and the wine Poet without a rhyme A widow writer torn apart by chains of Hell One last perfect verse It's still the same old song Oh Christ, how I hate what I have become
Take me home Get away, run away, fly away Lead me astray to dreamer's hideaway I cannot cry 'cause the shoulder cries more I cannot die, I, a whore for this cold world Forgive me, I have but two faces One for the world, One for God, Save me! I cannot cry 'cause the shoulder cries more
Sample Lyrics: A crack forms in the foundation Fault line through your defenses Illuminating the essence Once clouded by a myth Store bought conformity, Force-fed duality, I warp reality! The comfort that you will find, As you remain hidden. The light betrays, casting your true self away,
Sample Lyrics: Where's the notion That I would be left out I wish you'd take me away with you I know I cursed you I know I had no doubt That all of you were the thorns of life Misanthropic tendencies I was the one who could never believe You broke my trust, all was lost You're all the same to me I made peace with solitude A farcical interlude The wrath made me a lonely soul The misanthrope lives on Through the burning sun A champion for the ages The hatred lives on The world goes numb A provocateur of life You won't affect me, I'm in control
When I take the role of the misanthrope -------------------------------------------------------
Notice that even the lowest scoring song - August Burns Red's Meddler - managed to nearly reach the 6th grade reading level, placing it well above the average score for the songs featured in the original study. Meanwhile, the rest of the songs were comfortably within the 6th-10th grade range.
Another point of interest that I didn't realize until after I had already compiled my list of songs to be analyzed is that three of the selected songs had literary roots with their lyrics being derived from works of literature or folklore: Demons & Wizards' Beneath These Waves You Sleep is based on Melville's Moby Dick while Metallica's The Thing That Should Not Be pays homage to the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Additionally, Amon Amarth's Twighlight of the Thunder God obviously owes its inspiration to Norse Mythology.
I'm not going to be so bold to suggest that Metal artists are more intelligent than artists in any other genre. Certainly there are numerous other Metal songs that would score lower, even songs by the very same artists represented here! However, I do think that this serves to demonstrate a certain level of sophistication within a genre that is often looked down upon due to unfair stereotypes.
Before anyone takes this whole thing too seriously, please keep in mind that we are trying to attribute a numerical score for what is meant to be a purely subjective form of expression and entertainment. I hope you found this exercise as interesting as I did and I welcome your thoughts and opinions on the matter.
As December 25th draws nearer, too many of us find ourselves already out of the spirit of the season due to the onslaught of sugar-coated, nerve-grating music that is all but inescapable this time of year. Thankfully, Midnight Syndicate's latest release presents a wonderfully welcome alternative... A Gothic-inspired Christmas album that provides a slightly darker - but far more enjoyable - approach to holiday music.
It seems to me that the majority of Christmas albums typically tend to be either saturated with overtly put-on cheerfulness or completely devoid of any substantial musical value. The very notion of a Christmas album is usually associated with the ho-hum of yet another cash-grab for flavor-of-the-month pop performers who are happy to phone-in unimaginative, haphazard covers of songs we've heard already lazily covered a million times over.
But just as Midnight Syndicate isn't your typical group of musicians, Christmas: A Ghostly Gathering isn't your typical Christmas album...
For this offering, the group alternates between original compositions and reworkings of classic Christmas songs. As long-time fans would expect, the majority of the original pieces are unmistakably the work of Midnight Syndicate. On these tracks the group does what they do best: generate adventurously dark instrumentals thick with mood and a Gothic atmosphere. "Winter Storm" is a particularly epic symphonic track that could easily have been a part of the group's previous release, Monsters of Legend. Other notable original pieces include the gleefully devious "Little Helpers", the truly haunting "Into the Stillness", and the surprisingly heart-warming "Christmas at Midnight". "Night of the Krampus", an homage to the legendary Christmas devil of eastern European folklore, is of course one of my personal favorites.
However, the re-imaginings of the classic carols deserve attention as well! One could easily imagine a self-described "Gothic Christmas Album" merely consisting of organs simply playing covers of well-known songs at a slower tempo to fit the label, but it is abundantly apparent that Midnight Syndicate was not going to be content with churning out a creatively lazy effort. Instead, each of these reworkings offer something different and refreshing and are true re-imaginings of the Christmas songs you've heard so many times before.
Older, more traditional songs that have been around for over a century (or longer) such as "Coventry Carol", "Greensleeves", and "Carol of the Bells" almost naturally lend themselves to a dark reworking. But Midnight Syndicate also take on cheerier tunes such as "Up on the Housetop" and twist them into something you might expect to hear on the soundtrack for a horror film.
While the group does indeed take a darker approach, that isn't to say that the album isn't to say that the album is a completely grim in tone or lacking of any kind cheer associated with the Christmas season. Quite the contrary, there are more than a few moments of what I can only be describe as genuine Christmas joy and wonder! "Sing We Now of Christmas" is simply majestic sounding (I imagine climbing some moonlit snow-covered peak while listening to this piece). The group's rendition of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" caught me totally off guard... For a moment I forgot that I was listening to a Midnight Syndicate record and got swept up in the majestic awe captured on the track.
The final verdict: Midnight Syndicate's Christmas: A Ghostly Gathering is a Christmas album that defies the conventions of holiday music flooding the airwaves this time of year. Bursting with creativity and imagination, this collection of original pieces and dark re-imaginings of classic carols are a perfect alternative for anyone looking for a truly unique listening experience this holiday season. Who would have guessed that a group known for creating Halloween music would be so successful in breathing new life into Christmas songs?
You can find out more about Midnight Syndicate and purchase albums such as Christmas: A Ghostly Gathering on their website.
As I was looking for some monster-themed surf rock music for this year's Halloween display (and, honestly, year-round enjoyment) I stumbled on this surprisingly catchy tune by a guy called Screaming Lord Sutch!
It turns out Sutch had an interesting life story, including rock n' roll, dressing up as Jack the Ripper, and *shudder* politics.
Screaming Lord Sutch!
I'm not sure if the song is inspired by the Universal film, "Dracula's Daughter" or not, but I couldn't resist sharing some brilliant poster artwork for that movie as a header. "Dracula's Daughter" is an interesting film for a number of reasons, but I'll save that story for another post I think...
In the meantime, enjoy the song... It'll be stuck in your head for days!
In describing their music, Midnight Syndicate have characterized their dark, moody work as "soundtracks for the imagination". Monsters of Legend, one of the groups' most recent releases, certainly lives up to this lofty aspiration, while refining their craft and managing to break new ground!
I was actually introduced to the music of these amazing artists a long time ago, but I didn't even realize it at the time. It wasn't until I began honing my monster-making skills to create my own Halloween display and was looking for something to set the mood that I stumbled upon their work and "rediscovered" their music.
The group's albums have been a mainstay in Halloween attractions for years with most major professional haunts around the world using their albums in their shows. In fact, according to Midnight Syndicate's website, it is estimated by an industry expert that "75-90% of the attractions in the haunted house industry owned at least one Midnight Syndicate CD". I guess that would explain why I felt a such great sense of déjà vu when I listened to their music!
Midnight Syndicate has been creating Gothic music since 1997. The award-winning group consists of composers Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka. Through the years, Midnight Syndicate has developed 18 albums, including soundtracks for three films and an album meant to accompany the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons.
The majority of these collections, however, exemplify what Midnight Syndicate is best known for: Mood-establishing music that tells a story. Described as "scores for imaginary films", each album has a different foreboding theme and locale with albums set in a haunted mansion, abandoned asylum, and supernatural circus.
With Monsters of Legend, Midnight Syndicate sought to pay homage to the classic horror films of Universal Studios and Hammer Films. As always, Midnight Syndicate's subtle melodies establish an eerie mood from the outset. This time around, however, their sound is punctuated by symphonic embellishments and a deeper resonance, giving each piece an appropriately cinematic tone. The understated melodies provide some great goose bump-inducing moments while the epic orchestral flourishes make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. As they have in previous albums, the group utilizes sound effects throughout their pieces, method that could easily derail a piece in less-talented hands, but the group somehow manages to use these effects at the most effective moments, further enhancing their story-telling by generating imagery in the listener's mind.
Midnight Syndicate prove once again that they definitely know what they are doing. Through the music, one can easily envision classic scene's from classic horror films... Carriage rides to ancient castles where vampires reside, victims evading bloodthirsty werewolves in foggy moonlit forests, mad scientists working feverishly to give life to monsters cobbled together from corpses. Indeed, the music creates a great atmosphere for concocting monsters of one's own... I'll admit, I find myself listening to this album on repeat as I work on Cryptic Corridor posts, regardless of the time of year!
It should be noted that Monsters of Legend was met with much well-deserved accolades and critical acclaim upon its release. The album was named one of FEARnet's Top 10 Horror CD's of 2013 and earned the group a second Rondo Classic Horror Award for Best CD.
After rediscovering Midnight Syndicate through this amazing album, I have had the pleasure of meeting Edward Douglas on several occasions at various Horror conventions such as Scare-Fest and Mask-Fest. Each time, Douglas was cordial and overflowing with enthusiasm, eager to talk about the group's music and upcoming projects.
One such project was Kickstarter campaign Midnight Syndicate created around the time Monster of Legend was released. The goal of the fundraiser was for the group to go on tour and share their music with live audiences. I was disappointed to find that that particular project fell through, but was later delighted to find out that the group was invited to create a live show for Cedar Point amusement park, called Midnight Syndicate Live: Legacy of Shadows. The show features a live music concert with elements of horror theatre. I hope to one day be able to attend this show!
Another exciting project is the follow-up to Monsters of Legend, a Christmas/Winter Solstice-themed album - Christmas: A Ghostly Gathering - released earlier last month (which I'll make a special post on as we near the holiday season). I'll admit to this: I'm not a big fan of Christmas music, especially not in season, but I've had to force myself to stop listening to it while I work on my Halloween projects to save it for the winter months!
You can find out more about Midnight Syndicate and purchase music on their website.
There is so much awesome going on in this album cover...
I've often wondered about the connection between surf rock and monsters. To me it just seems inexplicable that these two things would go together at all... And yet it seems so right! Over the years, I've thought about it probably way too much... And looked over the glaringly obvious.
I eventually arrived at the conclusion that monster movies and rock music both represent a sort of subversive counter-culture in their respective mediums. Thinking about it this way, it seems almost inevitable that a mash-up would be a natural result. This is what I do: Overthink stupid stuff and be oblivious to the obvious...
Well, regardless of the how and/or why this pairing all got started, I'm glad it happened... Because in some sad alternate universe out there where surf rockers and monsters never collaborated they don't have "It's Monster Surfing Time" by the Deadly Ones!
(Although within this same alternate universe the trade-off is that they can probably shoot laser beams out of their eyes or secrete chocolate taco sauce instead of sweat... Even so, those guys missing out!)
Yes folks, this one's got it all!
Bad Boris Karloff impressions? Check.
Twangy hooks and cheesy sound effects? Check.
Genuinely awesome surf rock? CHECK!!!
Jokes aside, this is actually an enjoyable album with some fun, memorable tracks. As with most monster-surf-rock bonanzas, the band isn't taking itself too seriously and it's very apparent that they're just goofing around. The album is full of original instrumentals, but there are a few covers of surf-rock staples, including "Raunchy" and "Rebel Rouser".
I searched and searched for more information on this band and this album, but unfortunately it seems that there simply isn't much to be found... Actually, nothing really aside from the fact that the album was released in 1964 by Vee-Jay records (An independent record label that just so happened to release the first Beatles record). The only other tidbit of information I could find was that the band may or may not have been a studio players led by songwriter Joe South. Sadly, this appears to be the only album ever produced by the band.
When I first discovered this album, I thought it would be cool to have a copy of it on vinyl to add to my offbeat record collection. It didn't take long to discover that this record is actually a very hot commodity in high demand by collectors. I found a copy on Ebay with the starting bid set at $100. At another website specializing in rare records, the asking price was $350! So, if you have a copy of this album, hold on to it! Or, you know, you could be a pal and loan it to me for Halloween...
If you don't already own a copy, you can find this album on iTunes or purchase a physical copy from Amazon in the form of a CD.
I decided to watch John Carpenter's "The Fog" again the other night. It's probably my favorite Carpenter film aside from "The Thing". You know me, I'm a sucker for a moody, creepy atmosphere and a good ghost story... And "The Fog" delivers both masterfully. I ended up watching it once more the following night and realized yet again that not only is John Carpenter a brilliant director, but also an amazing composer.
Take a moment to appreciate the main theme for "The Fog"...
The music of the "The Fog" establishes an eerie mood throughout the film perfectly. While the main theme allows Carpenter to flex his melodic muscle, the soundtrack really shines in the more subtle moments in which just a few chords are ominously played over and over. "The Fog Rolls In" is a track that exemplifies this simple, but effective approach to music accompanying and enhancing the images on the screen.
Interestingly enough, Carpenter once admitted that earlier cuts of "The Fog" proved to not be "scary enough". To correct this, the unsatisfied director ultimately ended up re-editing segments and shooting additional scenes to ramp up the tension (These included one of my favorite scenes, the montage of ghostly activity quietly menacing the sleeping town shortly after campfire sequence). Carpenter also felt that the music was all wrong and ended up scrapping the original score for the film and replacing it completely. It's abundantly apparent that he knew best... It's difficult to imagine a better soundtrack for the film!
Not long after watching "The Fog" I found myself looking up more of Carpenter's soundtrack work...
Revisiting the "Prince of Darkness" soundtrack also demonstrates the effectiveness of a stripped-down sound.
While I had never seen the film before, there are some great moments on the "In the Mouth of Madness" soundtrack... The confusing opening, Metallica-esque track aside (and I'm saying that as a fan of the band). It's hard to believe that this was a score by Carpenter as most of the elements we associate with his soundtrack work (like the omnipresent synthesizer) are all but absent. Being a fan of Lovecraftian Horror, "The Old Ones Return" really caught my eye (and then my ear). It seems like I'm going to have to track down and watch this movie!
Of course, the most famous piece of Carpenter's music will always be the theme for "Halloween". As I have discussed before, I'm not a huge fan of slasher films ("Halloween" is widely credited as being the first of this Horror sub-genre,by the way), but the main theme sets a great mood.
Earlier this year, I was excited to find that Carpenter was planning on releasing new music not associated with a particular film. The album is appropriately titled, "Lost Themes" as any of the tracks could easily accompany one of the director's early films.
"Lost Themes" is full of great moments that evoke a sense of nostalgia... despite not being directly associated with any of Carpenter's movies. It's a triumphant return to form as Carpenter's trademark keyboard and synthesizer work (occasionally joined by other instruments as well) once again serve to paint an atmospheric sonic landscape.
It's unfortunate that we likely won't see Carpenter behind the camera again any time soon, but it's a comfort to know the visionary artist is still interested in expressing himself through a familiar medium... Who knows what that might eventually lead to? In the meantime, here's hoping to a follow-up to "Lost Themes"! Keep up the good work Mr. Carpenter!
Bonus Track: It's surprising to find that John Carpenter did not create the score for "The Thing".
The simple, but haunting main theme could easily be mistaken for a bare-bones, synthesizer-enhanced Carpenter creation. Instead, composer Ennio Morricone was employed to compose music for the film. Morricone said that he spent a lot of time listening to and absorbing the scores of John Carpenter's earlier films in order properly to emulate his style. He was very successful! So successful, in fact, that fans often joke that the score for "The Thing" is the best John Carpenter score he never wrote!
