Halo 4 OST Discussion

I like it a lot. It's a fresh take. But yes, the original Halo theme is one of a kind so I won't lie that I was disappointed when I found out we won't hear it when we get to the game's start menu.

I like 117 a lot, Solace, Nemesis and Revival...haven't heard all tracks yet.

Also, the OST could totally work for a Metal Gear Solid game :P

EDIT: Your link for 117 is actually for Solace.
 
IJoel said:
I agree with this. It's unfair to condemn or fully judge the OST without context. I think there are quite a few iconic pieces in a lot of the music. Of course, given that we've been listening for the Halo theme for 10+ years as one of the Halo trademarks, it's challenging for anything else to be associated just as much.
Click to expand...

Good thing i like change for change's sake. I want change, i demand it. Kinda started to feel Halos music is bound too much to the original main theme (ODST was a good departure, then Reach mixed Halo and new stuff, with bad results (outside Lone Wolf). Appreciate the effort but not a fan of the end result).
 
Ok, I take back what I've said previously about it not feeling like Halo.

'To Galaxy' is definitely playing on the themes used in previous games by Marty. Go have a listen to the first minute or so.
 
GrizzNKev said:
Yeah I find that especially weird since it was sitting there at the end of the reveal trailer at E3 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9iQiHNXgMU&feature=player_detailpage#t=72s

The theme started the cheering. Come on, it's HALO.
Click to expand...

If I was in the games creative director... which I am not.. and this has been a grave oversight.... I would have the halo theme always somewhere in the soundtrack. Especially for any game with the Master Chief. It's like Alexander Courage's original Star Trek intro chime from the 60s, If there is an Enterprise in the show/movie, that iconic theme is there. The same should go for a mainline Halo game.
 
The soundtrack sounds pretty good, especially 117. Really does have a Gregson Williams/Zimmer vibe though. Not exactly what I expected from a Halo soundtrack, but then again neither was ODST, and that remains my favourite series OST.
 
I find the soundtrack great. Does it sound "like Halo?(some tracks up for debate)" No, I believe that was the point. This is a new studio making it's own identity out of that franchise. It's not going to have familiar sounds unless they want to give you nostalgia. What would be the point in hiring a new composer if they didn't want the music to have a new sound?
 
I do agree that the potential lack of the Halo theme would be a MASSIVE shame, however I do know of one iconic Halo track featuring in game, so I'm holding out hope.
 
Plywood said:
I find the soundtrack great. Does it sound "like Halo?(some tracks up for debate)" No, I believe that was the point. This is a new studio making it's own identity out of that franchise. It's not going to have familiar sounds unless they want to give you nostalgia. What would be the point in hiring a new composer if they didn't want the music to have a new sound?
Click to expand...

Well, Marty is part of Bungie, doubt 343i could have hired him...

HollovVpo1nt said:
Question, is the classic Halo OST (remixed or evolved version) still in Halo 4?
Click to expand...

No. Page 1. 117 has traces of it.
 
Plywood said:
I find the soundtrack great. Does it sound "like Halo?(some tracks up for debate)" No, I believe that was the point. This is a new studio making it's own identity out of that franchise. It's not going to have familiar sounds unless they want to give you nostalgia. What would be the point in hiring a new composer if they didn't want the music to have a new sound?
Click to expand...

I think the point is that this "new" sound is very similar to a sound many of us are familiar with/sick and tired of. A lot of it sounds like rubbishy blockbuster film music, which Davidge is no stranger to.
 
Only listened to Solace (which is the link for 117) but I really dug it. Gonna wait until the release to check the rest.
 
BigJiantRobut said:
I think the point is that this "new" sound is very similar to a sound many of us are familiar with/sick and tired of. A lot of it sounds like rubbishy blockbuster film music, which Davidge is no stranger to.
Click to expand...

I predicted this exactly when he was revealed as the composer. Oh well.
 
It's good but I don't think it's amazing by any means, I'd rank it last out of the previous Halo soundtracks (ignoring Halo Wars). It doesn't have much identity to me, nothing strikes me as something that will become iconic going forward.

That said, I do think it's a bit unfair to judge it until I play the game and see how well it works in context as sometimes soundtracks work much better in-game but don't work as well listening from a CD.
 
Oh my god, I can't take Nemesis seriously in the slightest. What the hell is this.

This and the arrangement on Faithless seriously make me think that Davidge's idea of video game soundtracks is 16 bit RPG music + sound libraries.
 
i-Lo said:
At first I read, "ODST", lol.

Next, I don't want spoil the OST (which I may end up doing anyway). IMHO beside the Halo theme, Halo 3 ODST had some of the most memorable soundtracks in the franchise. How does this one stack up in comparison?
Click to expand...

I read ODST as well...
 
I like Faithless and Immaterial because they sound alien to me.
Faithless has parts that sound like... hmm, not sure actually. For some reason i think of Ancient Egypt during those parts.

Both tracks have sounds that are very rare or non-existent in the music i've heard before, so they feel alien...* and hopefully the places where they're used in-game are clearly alien. Not that Requiem would lack that.

*I listen relatively little music, don't know what genre would use similar instruments or whatever produced the sounds.
 
Woorloog said:
No. Page 1. 117 has traces of it.
Click to expand...

We should be clear. There is lots of music that never makes it into OST releases. Half of Halo 2's music was left out and we had to wait for Vol 2 OST to get that...And there are other tracks that are heard in games that never show up in release.

I'm hoping the icon theme shows up somewhere in the game. Fingers crossed.
 
We'll see how it works with the game, but it definitely has a stronger feeling of mystery and slow discovery (especially Solace). Seems to really lack any hard edge though, which is a little troubling.

sp3000 said:
I have the total opposite opinion.

It's a pretty awful OST. Tries to imitate hollywood and primarily just falls flat in even doing that. It ends up sounding like a Hanz Zimmer ripoff at times.

It has zero recognizable themes. You can slap it into any sci fi game and it would fit. You say old themes vs new themes but there are really no themes at all.
It's bland, uninspired, and it's obvious that the composer does not understand what a video game ost should be. You can tell it wants very hard to be epic, and in the process loses it's identity.
Click to expand...

Meh. I've gone through pretty much every library for production music there is, and I still think this has its own feel. At times it may sound like something hear before, at times it has a touch of traditional Halo, but it feels very much like an original score.

And To Galaxy sounds like a Halo tune.
 
watership said:
We should be clear. There is lots of music that never makes it into OST releases. Half of Halo 2's music was left out and we had to wait for Vol 2 OST to get that...And there are other tracks that are heard in games that never show up in release.

I'm hoping the icon theme shows up somewhere in the game. Fingers crossed.
Click to expand...

Well, i've heard a remake from a track in Halo 2 or 3 appears in-game but not on OST, but is not Halo's main theme. Not sure if true though.
What i know for sure i haven't heard anyone even claiming the main theme would be in-game.
 
Woorloog said:
Well, i've heard a remake from a track in Halo 2 or 3 appears in-game but not on OST, but is not Halo's main theme. Not sure if true though.
What i know for sure i haven't heard anyone even claiming the main theme would be in-game.
Click to expand...

Has anyone given an explanation to why the theme isn't in Halo 4? It just doesn't make sense to me.
 
As some have pointed out, and I agree, if there's a theme for this OST is that of mystery/exploration/discovery.

I disagree with the comments related to it being generic. Can't say I'm an expert on such matters, but I've gone through my fair share of Movie/Game OSTs and it sounds fairly distinctive, and most importantly, very consistent throughout. I think it was AltogetherAndrews that mentioned the Halo theme wouldn't fit within this OST (in another thread), and I fully agree.
 
BigJiantRobut said:
Oh my god, I can't take Nemesis seriously in the slightest. What the hell is this.
Click to expand...

Context...I think it's important that we reserve judgement until we see how the tracks fit within the game's. This is now a story about the Forerunners, so this type of track that deals with timidity could be fitting in a certain stage.
 
HollovVpo1nt said:
Has anyone given an explanation to why the theme isn't in Halo 4? It just doesn't make sense to me.
Click to expand...

New team. There are a lot of stylistic changes in Halo 4. They want Halo to feel new, different. Cutting ties to previous Halos is one way to try this, i think. EDIT no official reason, this is just my guess.

Me, i don't care. I've played Halo for 10 years, i love Halo theme but i won't miss it. I can still play Halo CE, 2, 3 to hear it... any more and i'd think it is overused. It is too used as it is, if it were up to me each game would have its own theme and musical style (while sharing things too, of course).

Jibbed said:
There is one song that definitely makes it in.

OST in-game spoiler:

Neil's done a new version of 'Never Forget' for Halo 4's credits.
Click to expand...

Ah, i had forgotten the track's name... ironic, no?


EDIT Arrival is an oddity for me, it always brings a smile on my face when i hear certain parts of it. I can't think of any other music that does this.
 
Woorloog said:
Well, i've heard a remake from a track in Halo 2 or 3 appears in-game but not on OST, but is not Halo's main theme. Not sure if true though.
What i know for sure i haven't heard anyone even claiming the main theme would be in-game.
Click to expand...

There is one song that definitely makes it in.

OST in-game spoiler:

Neil's done a new (slightly revised) version of 'Never Forget' for Halo 4's credits.
 
I kind of think the context in which the music is played is too important to the memorability of the music itself to judge right now. The music could be incredible but if I feel I'm watching paint dry I won't remember it too well.
 
the soundtrack is really good ill give it that. but the fact is im still pissed the main halo theme isn't in this soundtrack and probably the game.

it's like if The Last Crusade didn't have the Indiana Jones theme. just doesn't make sense that they'd throw out one of the most iconic video game themes.

i wouldn't mind if they modified it a little. halo 2 made it a rock anthem, halo 3 made it orchestrated, halo 4 could make it more techno-ey, or more space opera like.
 
KdoubleA said:
Context...I think it's important that we reserve judgement until we see how the tracks fit within the game's. This is now a story about the Forerunners, so this type of track that deals with timidity could be fitting in a certain stage.
Click to expand...

I have a sneaking suspicion the context will be "shooting guys" or perhaps "a cutscene where a bit robot/alien/thing is supposed to be scary appears"
 
dangerbyrnes said:
the soundtrack is really good ill give it that. but the fact is im still pissed the main halo theme isn't in this soundtrack and probably the game.

it's like if The Last Crusade didn't have the Indiana Jones theme. just doesn't make sense that they'd throw out one of the most iconic video game themes.

i wouldn't mind if they modified it a little. halo 2 made it a rock anthem, halo 3 made it orchestrated, halo 4 could make it more techno-ey, or more space opera like.
Click to expand...

I really don't care what the rationalisation would be, if 343i has made a Halo 4 that doesn't feature the Halo theme, they've made a mistake. It's one of the few, truely iconic themes gaming has, it would be stupidly wasteful not to use it at all. It's not some sort of re-imagining, it's a direct continuation from the previous games, it would just be too weird.
 
Majanew said:
Love Halo 4's OST.
Click to expand...

I found the music to be absolutely beautiful.

I can see why people are so attached to Marty's great work; however, it should not take away from the incredible talent and direction on these tracks. Once I lifted the "must sound like Halo" expectation, I really enjoyed it.
 
I'm 50/50 on it. Only track 2 stands out to me as awful (i really hate it), but To Galaxy and 117 are both great and a few others have good moments. Not as good as Marty, but it's not bad
 
Sojgat said:
I really don't care what the rationalisation would be, if 343i has made a Halo 4 that doesn't feature the Halo theme, they've made a mistake. It's one of the few, truely iconic themes gaming has, it would just be stupidly wasteful. It's not some sort of re-imagining, it's a direct continuation from the previous games, it would just be too weird.
Click to expand...

i cant really think of too many. mostly Nintendo's first party things, uncharted games, battlefield games, and mass effect?
 
dangerbyrnes said:
i cant really think of too many. mostly Nintendo's first party things, uncharted games, battlefield games, and mass effect?
Click to expand...

Non-gamers know that "Oh, that's the Halo music", in the same way as people who have never watched a sci fi movie know the Star Wars Main theme. I'm guessing not much else in gaming outside of the Super Mario theme has that kind of recognition.
 
Sojgat said:
Non-gamers know that "Oh, that's the Halo music", in the same way as people who have never watched a sci fi movie know the Star Wars Main theme. I'm guessing not much else in gaming outside of the Super Mario theme has that kind of recognition.
Click to expand...

yeah i agree. not very many gaming themes are that recognizeable.

i could play uncharted and battlefields themes and no non-gamer could guess where they're from. but with halo, or mario, or tetris you can.
 
There's no doubting Marty's genius, the Halo 1 OST was great. On the other hand I felt that his work on the sequel soundtracks consisted more of rehashes of the same themes from that first OST than fresh re-imaginations. I agree that Davidge's compositions don't have the same impact as Marty's but I appreciate the new blood. To Galaxy and 117 are great tracks.
 
I don't want to listen to it, but I really hope the score isn't too... bombastic. One great thing about Marty's work is that there were always those calm, mesmerizing, ambient tracks that you tend not to get from other games and composers... Under Cover of Night, Farthest Outpost, In Amber Clad, Heretic Hero, Neon Night, Bits & Pieces, Ashes...
 
I think the OST is pretty good.
It has a modern action feel which I think would match with the atmosphere of this game.

Though, the previous series music gave more of a distinct divine "Halo" feel which made them more memorable.
I guess it makes some sense though, since the more we find out about the forerunners, the less divine they seem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Halo 4 & Halo 5: Guardians Sales Reached Nearly 10 Million Units Worldwide each
Rumor 
44
512
IFireflyl replied
Pre-orders for Claire Obscur Expedition 33 Physical OST Are Live!
News 
4
102
GateofD replied
Ninja Gaiden 4 Team Ninja Fiend Discussion both Dragon & Shadow Clans
43
3K
NeverYouMind replied
What is the most serious discussion topic in gaming?
38
259
Danjin44 replied
Halo 3: ODST Collab coming to Helldivers 2
31
73
DirtInUrEye replied
Top Bottom