Zanobard Reviews

The score for Halo 4 presents an intriguingly more cinematic sound for the iconic title franchise to that of O’Donnell and Salvatori’s prior work, but new composers Neil Davidge and Kazuma Jinnouchi bring their A-game with some killer action setpieces, a captivatingly vocal sound for the Forerunners and an absolute standout of a theme for Master Chief in “117”.

For the fourth main entry in the Halo soundtrack saga, the composers – and the sound of the series too – completely changed. Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori bowed out, and in their place for Halo 4 specifically was Neil Davidge, with Kazuma Jinnouchi providing additional music. The tone and style of the score they crafted here, while excellent in its own right (in my opinion anyway) is very different to that of the traditional Halo sound provided by O’Donnell and Salvatori, even in the alternate ways they played with it in the Reach and ODST albums. The iconic Halo theme is also gone, and in its place is a brand new piece for Master Chief showcased through Standout Cue “117” which incidentally also highlights the changing sound of the series; a rumble of militaristic drums opens the seven minute track, with some rather forlorn, mournful brass starting to play. Before long, a more determined tone starts to rise with strings playing the new 117 theme, a noble and quite memorable motif that while doesn’t quite hit the same highs as the iconic Halo theme, is still excellent at capturing the unending determination of the Chief. As the track continues the theme gradually builds, growing in resolve and heroism with tense electronics also joining the fray until a ferociously intense finishing crescendo is reached. The tone here, a darker yet also more traditionally cinematic one than that of O’Donnell and Salvatori’s – i.e. it now sounds more like a film score than a game one – is intriguingly different and yet it fits well, overall cementing a new era in the music of Master Chief, and an absolute belter of a new theme for him too.

“Awakening” opens the score proper, and high-pitched strings give off an eerie, almost horror-like sound right off the bat as a short crescendo is reached. Dramatically in-your-face drums then crash into centre stage alongside blasts of imposing brass and determined piano notes, with this newly tense action thundering against a backdrop of anxious vocals right up until the end of the track’s six minute runtime. The shorter “Belly Of The Beast” then continues this orchestral tension with strings playing frantically alongside the same rapid thuds of percussion before surges of angry brass usher the track to a deafening crescendo finale. Moodily low-pitched and rather serene synth then offers a respite from the action in the opening of “Requiem”, with similarly solemn strings also emphasizing this newly melancholic tone before “Legacy” switches things instrumentally up; here these rather ghostly, ethereal vocals – for the alien Forerunner culture in the game – echo serenely for two intriguingly tranquil minutes alongside gentle synth, overall making you kind of feel as if you’re floating in the waters of a distant world. A rapid electronics-focused pace then kicks off “Faithless”, with moody brass undertones simmering at first before becoming more prominent in the second half as the thudding action accelerates to its inevitable end. An eerily wondrous ambience then occupies “Haven” with high-pitched strings, ethereal vocals and oddly echoing electronics before the Forerunner-styled vocals return to aggressively chant in the hair-raising “Nemesis”.

Dark electronic thudding is centre stage in “Ascendancy”, with some rather metal-sounding percussion and frenetic strings accompanying for the first two minutes until grander brass arrives to steer the music into less anxious territory for the track’s remaining runtime. Gentle serenity then returns for “Solace”, with twinkling strings being plucked together with solemn vocals until an utterly gorgeous orchestral crescendo is then reached in the track’s back half. A more noble tone then arrives with “To Galaxy” as grand swathes of brass and strings build with rising determination, reaching several increasingly triumphant and highly enjoyable peaks until the music finally settles at just before the five minute mark with a similarly ferocious finish to that of “117” earlier. A hair-raisingly unsettling ambience then overtakes in the first two minutes of “Immaterial” with electronics moodily ascending and descending in pitch alongside ominous piano notes, after which these rather eerie strings and a theremin continue the creepy atmosphere until a tense final crescendo is reached (with pulsing percussion now in tow). A moment of sheer orchestral heroism however then steps into frame with the subsequent “Arrival”; here hopeful strings quickly give way to upbeat electronics, thundering drums and brass rising in fist-pumping triumph as a tremendously epic action setpiece arrives, building in both volume and intensity for five and a half impeccably heroic minutes.

As the album nears its end, “Revival” – the theme for the Ur Didact, the primary antagonist of the game – opens menacingly with echoing clangs of percussion and electronics playing underneath malevolently chanting Forerunner vocals. As the cue continues, wary brass and strings also start to murmur underneath the imposing alien chants, emboldening the continually aggressive vocals for much of the track’s seven minute runtime until the rising volume finally arrives at a deafeningly in-your-face crescendo with thudding drums also present, and the villainous music quickly fades to its end. Final track “Green And Blue” then twinkles solemnly in its opening minutes with gentle electronics and quiet piano notes, before some particularly mournful strings then start to drive this newly downtrodden tone home. A dramatic yet also rather forlorn orchestral flourish then occurs at just past the four minute mark, cementing the regretful feel of the music with further crescendos then soaring in similar anguish – though it’s an absolutely gorgeous use of orchestra, I must say. In the cue – and the score’s – final minute, the music then returns to the quietness of its beginning, with ethereal strings, vocals and electronics fading it gently away.

This isn’t quite the end though, as a second volume of Halo 4‘s score is also available. Initial highlights include “Atonement”, which moodily reprises the Forerunner-esque vocals before finishing with a hopeful hint towards “One Final Effort” from Halo 3, and “Wreckage” – by Kazuma Jinnouchi – which plays the composer’s “117” in an unusually downtrodden, regretful manner on strings. After some fiery action with roaring brass, drums and swirling strings in “Escape” and a thrillingly espionage-styled focus on percussion in “Convoy”, we’re then treated to an extended version of “To Galaxy” (with further minutes of orchestral tension added), though I feel the original is compositionally tighter personally. A noble tone is then evoked on quietly hopeful brass and strings in “Lasky’s Theme” (for Captain Lasky in the game), which then builds in both volume and intensity with militaristic drums joining until the now deafeningly grandiose track reaches a terrific finish. The eerily otherworldly vocals for the Forerunners return in the ghostly “Foreshadow” alongside floating electronics, before the still electric mood turns sprightly and much more optimistic for the fast-paced “This Armour”. The “117” theme then reprises in tense, espionage-style form on anxious strings and lengthy bursts of brass in the Jinnouchi-composed “Mantis” as well as the subsequent and similarly styled “Sacrifice” with the second volume then ending with “Majestic”, an aptly-titled piece that holds an intensely brass-led orchestra high all the way to a thunderous finishing crescendo.

Overall, Neil Davidge and Kazuma Jinnouchi offer a differently-styled, more cinematic approach to a Halo soundtrack in their score for Halo 4, and while it’s not quite as standout as Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori’s iconic prior works as a result, it’s still a well composed and very entertaining entry in the franchise. In particular, the new main theme for Master Chief – “117”, composed by Jinnouchi – is absolutely phenomenal, introducing a soaringly determined new motif for John that leaps and thunders across an impeccably crafted heroic orchestral style. Other than that happily seven minute long setpiece though, it is a little underutilised in the score itself – only appearing in hints and short renditions in tracks like “Mantis” and “Sacrifice” – which is a shame given how strong a theme it is. Still, we do get a number of excellent moments across the album even mostly sans-“117”, with cues like the moodily imposing “Awakening” kicking the album off, the delightfully grandiose “To Galaxy” and the electronically optimistic “This Armour”. We also get some intriguingly alien-sounding vocal work for the Forerunners, which comes to a head in the malevolently chanting theme for the Ur Didact (“Revival”), and also echoes rather forlornly through various atmosphere setpieces (including “Legacy” and “Solace”). And finally, for me personally I also absolutely love the thunderous action of “Arrival”, as brass surges in fist-pumping triumph for one of the most epic setpieces on the album (beaten only by the incredible “117”).

All-in, it’s not the iconic O’Donnell and Salvatori sound of old, but that doesn’t stop Davidge and Jinnouchi’s Halo 4 from being pretty damned entertaining in its own way.

Score: 7.5/10

Standout Cues: 117, Arrival, Green And Blue

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