Zanobard Reviews

Kazuma Jinnouchi brings back his “117” theme for Master Chief in gloriously heroic form for the Halo 5: Guardians score, with a bombastically cinematic orchestral style, welcome reprisals of O’Donnell & Salvatori’s iconic original theme and an intriguingly antagonistic motif for Jameson Locke and Fireteam Osiris making this Halo entry more than worth a listen.

Neil Davidge and Kazuma Jinnouchi introduced a newer, more cinematic sound to the Halo franchise with their score for Halo 4, together with a brand new and impeccably grandiose theme for Master Chief himself in “117” (composed by Jinnouchi). Now with Halo 5: Guardians, Jinnouchi returns as a solo act, and in the very first track does something that was sorely missed in the music for Halo 4 in bringing back the iconic Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori theme. The opening cue, titled “Halo Canticles”, gets off to a great start immediately as the phenomenal gregorian chant of the Halo theme echoes melancholically through. The motif then plays solemnly on strings with grander vocals and electronics also joining the fray, floating serenely with several further reprisals until coming to a rather forlorn crescendo finish at just past the four minute mark. Overall, it’s fantastic to hear the Halo theme returning here, and it’s especially interesting to hear it play in Jinnouchi’s more cinematic orchestral style too. I wouldn’t describe it as better than the original necessarily, it’s simply different – and intriguing as a result. With the stellar opening title fading out, “Light Is Green” then opens quietly before building quickly into thunderous action, with grand surges of brass and frenetic strings fast reaching a deafeningly in-your-face crescendo before intense thuds of drums and aggressive electronics arrive and usher the now intensely frantic track to its end.

The intense brass of “Light Is Green” returns for the similarly styled “Kamchatka”, with the instrumentation revealed as a theme for Fireteam Osiris, led by Spartan Jameson Locke. The orchestra thunders to impeccable effect throughout this track, reaching soaringly epic heights with the aforementioned motif held enthusiastically high alongside electronics and drums. The subsequent “Return To The Fold” then simmers in quieter, more stealthy style with electronics and strings echoing moodily at first before the Osiris team theme returns with an aggressive action focus. The slower, more reflective “Rocks And Ice” then reprises the “117” theme from Halo 4 on regretful strings and militaristic brass, and despite its forlorn rendition its great to hear it back. A similarly solemn hint of the Halo theme then plays in “Argent Moon” on strings, with the faster “Scavengers” reprising the “117” theme again in enjoyably more determined, action-centric form on rousing brass and drums. The imposing thunder of Fireteam Osiris then returns briefly on imposing brass in the frenetic “Meridian Crossing” opposite rapid swathes of strings and percussive electronics before the tone turns eerie and rather foreboding in the short “Keeper Of Secrets”, with the ethereal vocals for the Forerunners returning alongside increasingly horror-like bursts of strings and brass. This stylistic coldness then continues into the subsequent “Cavalier” with the same frantic strings rushing anxiously against these rather ghostly electronics, angry drums and surges of malevolent brass.

Agitated bursts of violent brass occupy the minute-long “Skeleton Crew”, with the Osiris team theme also leaping and dodging anxiously through. The theme then also echoes warily in “Enemy Of My Enemy” on low-pitched brass and strings with rumbles of militaristic drums in tow, until “Honor’s Song” then evokes a rather Western-esque, face-off kind of tone as moody guitar plucks, ominous woodwinds and serene strings take centre stage. The woodwinds and strings then continue in their moody ways in the subsequent “Warrior World”, swirling unnervingly for further ambience until an electric guitar and emphatic percussion then arrive to build to crescendo in the back half. Aggressive vocal chanting is then the centre point of “Covenant Prayers”, with a deep pitch and a moody sense of malevolence keeping the tone rather dark throughout. With tense orchestral atmosphere occupying “Sentry Battle” and “Worldquake”, “Advent” then quietens things in its opening seconds with ethereal vocals and low-pitched brass before swirling strings suddenly kick up a ferocious pace, and increasingly imposing drums help to drive the track to a deafening final crescendo. A quiet yet also rather unnerving serenity then settles over the music for “Genesis” as atmospheric vocals and electronics play against worrisome strings and brass, before solemn vocals then cement a more mournful tone in “Dominion” with echoes of the Halo theme.

Things then get really interesting for “The Trials”; electronics swirl in the opening seconds before noble brass and drums begin to sound, building a dramatically determined tone that then surges to full-on heroism as the action side of the Halo theme finally returns, playing in gloriously orchestral form together with the “117” theme on grandiose brass for a thunderously entertaining action setpiece overall. The Osiris team theme then looms angrily on brass in “Sentinel Song” alongside distant percussive rumbles before we get another excellent action setpiece with “Crypt”; tense swathes of electronics play alongside continual bursts of frantic strings and brass here, building in both volume and intensity until the “117” theme strides grandly into frame at just before the three minute mark, with the entire orchestra then rallying emphatically behind it for the rest of the track. With the action fading, great strings-focused sorrow then opens “End Game”, with brass swirling in anguish alongside marching militaristic drums and aggressively chanting backing vocals before a solemn hint towards the “117” theme echoes in the thirty second “Reunion”. With the album nearing its end, we’re then treated to a series of extra theme cues; “Blue Team” reprises the “117” motif for a noble yet also rather solemn setpiece for Master Chief and his team, with quietly downtrodden strings playing the theme initially before then building it dramatically on proud brass and drums to a fist-pumpingly epic finishing crescendo alongside gentle echoes of “One Final Effort” from Halo 3.

“Jameson Locke” brings us back to the material for the titular Spartan and Fireteam Osiris, opening quietly with electronics lurking moodily in the background until strings start to play the Osiris team theme in a similarly forlorn manner to that of “117” in “Blue Team”. Before long though louder, more determined brass enters the fray with strings and militaristic percussion holding the Osiris team theme proudly high for a dramatic final crescendo. We then get a number of “Osiris Suite” cues to finish the score, starting with “Act 1” where noble brass plays the Osiris team theme in a parade-like fashion together with rumbling drums in the first half before being joined by a thunderously upbeat electric guitar and electronics in the second. “Act 2” then continues in the same heroically militaristic fashion at first before the music then settles somewhat into quieter, espionage-y ambience with strings as the instrumental focus and the Osiris team theme echoing warily. Angry thuds of percussion and moody brass undertones then kick off “Act 3”, rising in both determination and aggression with the Osiris team theme tensely leading the charge throughout. Final track “Act 4” then concludes the thematic saga with further anxious action work on the Osiris team theme interspersed with solemn vocal hints toward the Halo theme, bringing the score full circle for its finale.

Overall, Kazuma Jinnouchi’s score for Halo 5: Guardians follows in the more cinematically-styled footsteps of his and Neil Davidge’s score for Halo 4, but with more thematic continuity this time. To I’m sure everyone’s delight, Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori’s iconic Halo theme returns in gloriously gregorian form through main title piece “Halo Canticles”, with the action side of the theme also happily reprising in the impeccably thunderous “The Trials”, and we even get hopeful hints toward the “One Final Effort” motif from Halo 3 too. Returning also is Jinnouchi’s superbly grandiose theme for Master Chief himself – “117” – from Halo 4, and it thankfully appears more fully this time around, getting proper thematic workouts in tracks like the continually building “Blue Team” on proudly determined brass as well as heroic renditions in action setpieces “The Trials” and “Crypt”. Against it is then a newly composed piece for Jameson Locke and Fireteam Osiris, which thunders determined and angry through much of the score with highlights being “Kamchatka” and the various Acts of the “Osiris Suite” section – “Act 1” being the standout personally. Stylistically, I will say that the score does get a little samey after a while – the continually frantic strings-focused action with little atmosphere or ambient cues inbetween is a bit grating at times – but the variety of enjoyable action setpieces and the use of excellent themes both old and new throughout the album is still plenty to entertain, so it’s a minor issue really.

I just love that “117” theme.

Score: 7.5/10

Standout Cues: Halo Canticles, The Trials, Crypt, Blue Team

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