The music in the new vidoc … there was nothing wrong with it. It was fine.
That’s a problem.
Halo music is above average. Remember the music from the announcement trailer? No? Neither can I. That’s because it was generic, strings, pentatonic notes. In the announcement trailer and this vidoc the music is very generic. It doesn’t have any interesting instruments or surprising melodies. The Dorian scale in the Bungie Halo games was signature to the game, when you heard it, you knew it was Halo.
This music however. It sounds like it could be from Gears of War, The Avengers movie, any standard action music score. It’s very forgettable.
I’m worried. Halo’s music has always been otherworldly, original, ear catching, intriguing. Halo 1’s chant made you feel like this was something ancient, mysterious, unexplored. ODST’s smokey saxophone and lonely themes made me feel so utterly alone and stranded. Halo 3’s announcement trailer with it’s gentle Cortana piano theme that rose to the uncharacteristic striking fanfare horns was just so unexpected. Each Halo score is as much a part of the character of the game as the Master Chief and the stories of the games. Each score was tied so tightly to the emotions, experiences and locations of the games, injecting more into the experience than any game had before. Marty didn’t just write generic action music, he took risks, pushed boundaries and didn’t play it safe.
So far this music is safe, it’s practical, it’s fine, it’s formulaic, it’s standard. Honestly, it’s generic strings with no surprises or interesting instruments or interesting melodies. So far all I hear is. You could put it to any action game/movie and it would fit. Halo deserves more. I hope the final score blows my mind and challenges my ears more than what I’ve heard so far does. I really do.