The first thought upon listening to this CD: This sounds like a movie soundtrack. And indeed it is. Midnight Syndicate's new album, The Dead Matter - Cemetery Gates, is a soundtrack companion to a film. Midnight Syndicate flexes some serious bravura muscles here, as this soundtrack is dark and brooding, but entices the listener on, if nothing more than to discover where the twisting labyrinth of music will lead next. A surprisingly good and professional soundtrack, what it lacks in lyrics, it more than makes up for with a dark and ominously alluring sound. Reminiscent of the soundtrack to Batman Begins, this album should appeal to fans of motion picture scores. With track titles like "Meeting of the Acolytes," it's hard not to be somewhat intrigued by what lies within.