Wikipedia

Gates of Delirium

For Yes song, see The Gates of Delirium.

Gates of Delirium is the fourth studio album by Midnight Syndicate, released March 3, 2001, by Entity Productions.[1] The album is set in the fictitious haunted Haverghast Asylum and features the blend of horror-inspired symphonic music and sound design the band had become known for.[2][3][4]

Gates of Delirium
Studio album by
Midnight Syndicate
ReleasedMarch 3, 2001
GenreGothic, dark ambient, neoclassical dark wave, darkwave, ambient
Length56:29
LabelEntity Productions
ProducerEdward Douglas
Gavin Goszka
Midnight Syndicate chronology
Realm of Shadows
(2000) 		Gates of Delirium
(2001) 		Vampyre
(2002)
Alternate cover
Original cover (2001-2006)

Background and release

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Gates of Delirium was written, produced, and mixed by Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka.[1] In a 2001 interview, Gavin Goszka said that musically, the album encompassed their most intense and involving material to date and, production-wise, was by far their most intricate.[5] Edward Douglas said that he felt they were "truly able to realize their cinema of the mind" concept on Gate of Delirium with the mix of sound effects and music.[6] The album artwork and photography was designed by Mark Rakocy, the same artist who handled the design and artwork for the Midnight Syndicate debut.[7]

The album was released through Entity Productions and self-distributed nationally through chains like Spencer Gifts, Hot Topic, Border Books, Best Buy, as well as in amusement parks, costume shops, and Halloween-merchandise retailers.[8][9] To mark the release of the album, the group decorated the Tyr nightclub in Lakewood, Ohio to look like a mental institution and had a cast of actors who pretended to be its mad patients.[4]

Reception and post-release

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During the 2001 Halloween weekend, six of the band's mp3 singles, including two from Gates of Delirium, were in the Top 20 for all of MP3.com.[10] Daniel Hind of Outburn Magazine called the album impressive with a more developed concept although less eerie than previous releases.[3] Rue Morgue Magazine gave it a 5 out of 5, calling it "choice audio theater"[11] and Haunted Attraction Magazine called it a "masterpiece," praising the versatility of its potential uses in the haunted attraction industry.[12] Jeff Niesel of Cleveland Scene Magazine praised the album's effectiveness and production values adding though that it still suffered from the fact that was "best suited as background music."[4]

Gates of Delirium was among the first Midnight Syndicate albums to receive a review from a table top game/role-playing game publication when, in 2001, Games Unplugged Magazine praised Gates and the band's previous two releases as having the "right balance of power and transparency," adding that they could "serve just about any horror adventure very well."[13] In 2007, Midnight Syndicate teamed up with Goodman Games to produce Cage of Delirium, a Dungeon Crawl Classics role-playing game adventure based on Gates of Delirium which came packaged with the CD. Cage of Delirium was nominated for Best Adventure in the 2007 ENnie Awards.[14]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Arrival"Edward Douglas / Gavin Goszka1:51
2."Welcome"Edward Douglas2:25
3."Haverghast Asylum"Edward Douglas3:34
4."Halls of Insurrection"Gavin Goszka2:41
5."Cage of Solitude"Gavin Goszka2:36
6."Residents Past"Gavin Goszka4:07
7."Adelaide"Edward Douglas1:09
8."Phantom Sentinels"Edward Douglas2:35
9."Gates of Delirium"Gavin Goszka3:36
10."Non Compos Mentis"Gavin Goszka0:56
11."Procession of the Damned"Gavin Goszka3:12
12."Infestation"Edward Douglas0:58
13."Room 47"Edward Douglas2:54
14."Dark Discovery"Gavin Goszka3:53
15."Morbid Fascination"Edward Douglas2:36
16."Dead of Night"Edward Douglas1:41
17."Alternative Therapy"Edward Douglas3:04
18."Crimson Door"Edward Douglas / Gavin Goszka1:08
19."Unrest in the East Wing"Edward Douglas2:47
20."Ebony Shroud"Gavin Goszka4:09
21."Sleep Tight" (contains an unlisted track starting at 3:08)Edward Douglas2:22

Personnel

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Production

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  • Producers – Edward Douglas, Gavin Goszka
  • Mixing – Edward Douglas, Gavin Goszka
  • Mastering – Gavin Goszka
  • Artwork, Photography, Design – Mark Rakocy
  • Financial Consultant – Edward P. Douglas

Release history

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  • Entity Productions MS1004-CD (March 6, 2001): First CD issue
  • Entity Productions MS1004-CD (2006): CD reissue with alternate cover art by Rob Alexander[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Midnight Syndicate - Gates of Delirium (2001, CD) on Discogs"
  2. ^ Gregorious Chant, "Midnight Syndicate: The Most Frightening Places are Within You", Rue Morgue Magazine (Toronto, ON), July, 2001, Pg.24
  3. ^ a b Daniel Hinds, "Music Review: Gates of Delirium", Outburn Magazine (Thousand Oaks, CA), Issue 15, Pg.70
  4. ^ a b c Jeff Neisel, "Music Playback: Gates of Delirium", Cleveland Scene (Cleveland, OH), March 8, 2001, Pg.43
  5. ^ Lee Powell, "Interview with Gavin Goszka of Midnight Syndicate", Judas Kiss (Gloucester, UK), Issue 7, Pg.20-22
  6. ^ Adrian Bromley, "Midnight Syndicate: Welcome Home (Sanitarium)", Unrestrained! (Mississauga, ON), Issue 16, Pg.52
  7. ^ "Midnight Syndicate - Midnight Syndicate (1997, CD) on Discogs"
  8. ^ Jim O'Rear, "Gates of Delirium", Underground Entertainment (Mt. Juliet, TN), Issue 14, Pg.18
  9. ^ "Best Techno/Goth/Industrial Act Midnight Syndicate", Cleveland Free Times (Cleveland, OH), March 7, 2001, Pg.19
  10. ^ Midnight Syndicate News
  11. ^ Gregorious Chant, "Audio Drone: Gates of Delirium", Rue Morgue Magazine (Toronto, ON), May 2001, Pg.57
  12. ^ DJ D.K., "Underground DJ - Gates of Delirium", Haunted Attraction Magazine (Charlotte, NC), Issue 26, Pg.27
  13. ^ Lester Smith, "Born of the Night, Gates of Delirium, and Realm of Shadows", Games Unplugged (Lake Geneva, WI), Issue #13, November 2001, Pg.38
  14. ^ "Goodman Games listing for Cage of Delirium". Archived from the original on 2020-02-23. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
  15. ^ Discogs for Gates of Delirium Alt Cover
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