So I’m pretty stoked we finally know who the composer behind Halo 4 is. Though I’m not really familiar with his work, it’s good to know he’s done work for some fairly big movies.
I do have a huge issue with what we’ve heard so far though. All of the tracks (whether it be the ones just posted today or in the first vidoc) are more ambient background noise than they are memorable melodies. And yes there are a lot of ambient/atmospheric tracks in Marty’s scores, but there are soooo many memorable, and dare I say catchy, Halo tracks.
I’m just scared that even though the music is solid and does create an appropriate atmosphere we won’t get any iconic memorable tracks that even come close to rivaling the original Halo theme, or one of my personal favorites, the pizzicato brilliance of Peril (Halo 2 OST).
What does everyone else think of the newly released music?
Yea, they’re more of ambiance and background music. The only one that has that “theme” and “catchy” effect was the one that played in the “Working in 343” video, which sadly they have not released in full quality.
> > So? The music is good, that’s all that matters.
>
> Ask yourself this. Do you want good music that’s memorable or good music that’s unmemorable? I’m pretty sure I can answer that for you.
> > So? The music is good, that’s all that matters.
>
> Ask yourself this. Do you want good music that’s memorable or good music that’s unmemorable? I’m pretty sure I can answer that for you.
> <mark>All of the tracks</mark> (whether it be the ones just posted today or in the first vidoc) <mark>are</mark> more ambient background <mark>noise</mark>
I’m kinda mad now! I think you’re unfamiliar with Electronica or something, because these scores are amazing.
At first, I was skeptical about someone being able to rival Marty’s scores, but I shouldn’t have thought that. Neil’s genre is awesome, and most fitting for Halo, esp. the Reclaimer saga. I’m looking forward to more!
> > > So? The music is good, that’s all that matters.
> >
> > Ask yourself this. Do you want good music that’s memorable or good music that’s unmemorable? I’m pretty sure I can answer that for you.
>
> I’m indifferent.
Well it’s memorable x_x. I mean even now, after I’ve heard it one time I can remember how it goes.
We haven’t heard all that much music from the new composer but, I’m sure we’ll hear some memorable tracks in Halo 4. After all, 343 has made the campaign centered around the Chief and Cortana’s relationship with each other. With such a personal story, I’m sure that the music will be heart felt and not just background noise. If anything, the new composer will try his best because, he knows he has some big shoes to fill.
I agree, I’m still waiting to hear something that could be considered iconic, or even a theme song. Everything sounds a tad generic thus far, there hasn’t been anything that just grabs you…mostly just ambient/background stuff as you say. Halo has some iconic and amazingly powerful themes, mass effect has them…all good games do, so far all I’ve heard are some really nice “soldier hero dude going around and doing his thing” tracks, nothing that defines anything, as it were. Kind of like crysis…while I’m sure there’s some good music on those games, nothing memorable or iconic.
Not saying there won’t be, just an observation based on the tiny fraction we’ve heard.
> > > So? The music is good, that’s all that matters.
> >
> > Ask yourself this. Do you want good music that’s memorable or good music that’s unmemorable? I’m pretty sure I can answer that for you.
>
> Wouldn’t GOOD music be memorable?
Not necessarily. Most of the music most people listen to is pretty melodic that’s very easy to digest. There are some composers (and some bands) who write incredibly dissonant music that is just as expertly crafted as anything else, but is so far from being melodic that it’s hard to remember the melody. A lot of Baroque era orchestral music also have these very long melodies that last for several several measures which make them harder to remember. But that doesn’t make them bad.
This soundtrack was cut from Halo 2. It would be nice to see this placed in an appropriate part of the campaign but I doubt it since it’s more of a military theme.
> So I’m pretty stoked we finally know who the composer behind Halo 4 is. Though I’m not really familiar with his work, it’s good to know he’s done work for some fairly big movies.
>
> I do have a huge issue with what we’ve heard so far though. All of the tracks (whether it be the ones just posted today or in the first vidoc) are more ambient background noise than they are memorable melodies. And yes there are a lot of ambient/atmospheric tracks in Marty’s scores, but there are soooo many memorable, and dare I say catchy, Halo tracks.
>
> I’m just scared that even though the music is solid and does create an appropriate atmosphere we won’t get any memorable tracks that even come close to rivaling the original Halo theme, or one of my personal favorites, the pizzicato brilliance of Peril (Halo 2 OST).
>
> What does everyone else think of the newly released music?
I understand your concern with melodies. But keep in mind, we still haven’t heard much. The music from the making Halo 4 - First Look vidoc was very melodic. The strings carried melodies that are certainly stuck in my head over all the percussion bed. Also, the very mysterious, dreamy melody in the intro part of that video was unique and had a lot of character.
I am beyond psyched to hear the rest. The production aspect of it is exactly what I was hoping for. The electronic textures are gonna add dark, ominous element that Marty didn’t often achieve.
Sotaro acknowledged that Neil knows how to create memorable melodies (I cant remember if it was in the OHI or the vidoc), if that helps put your mind at ease.
It goes without saying that Halo 4’s style will be different, we probably won’t see as many lighter/upbeat tracks, but there is still room for epicosity. (yes, that’s a word…well it is now!)
Don’t forget that everything can’t be an instant classic, I was a little underwhelmed by Reach’s soundtrack at first, but after a while It grew on me, and now I hum and sing along when I’m playing campaign, even though my co-op companions don’t approve!
I’m looking forward to the Music of Halo 4 based on what I have listened to so far.
What we’ve heard bears parallels to what we’ve seen of the campaign. We’ve barely scratched the surface of the campaign, and the same goes for the music. Neil’s work I’ve heard so far sounds great, but like I said, we’ve yet to hear the memorable scores and we probably won’t do until we play the game.