Hey Spartans,
I’ve seen many threads not too long ago about this topic on the Halo 4 forum and i now wanted to bring it over here for discussion (Since i assume 343 will be viewing this forum most).
I believe Kazuma Jinnouchi understands what the music for Halo should feel like. He understands the action themes for Halo perfectly and is even quite good at the ambient music. Here is a list of the songs he composed for Halo 4:
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117 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKoFUCqlcHs
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Sacrifice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USiAMsbaDOg
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Atonement http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cq5ux3khNE
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Gravity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrPv9_-raiA
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Wreckage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn_1LXYc0Yc
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Lasky’s Theme http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC-ckN02BjY
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Intruders http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2JQsZXgHl8
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Mantis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KFwZLjOc0w
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Never Forget (Midnight Version) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WqKJJrY6AM
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Majestic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt73AhdqJL0
I believe Neil did a good job but in my opinion Kazuma has the edge and the sprit to drive the Halo universe forward in terms of music. I will be adding a poll for the community to determine which they prefer.
EDIT: I ask the community to keep voting and commenting on this thread so 343 have a better understanding of the themes and music we want for the next Halo title!
Secret option C: Martin O’Donnell.
They’re both great. I was pretty upset when I learned Truth and Rec. wouldn’t be in H4, and I still think it needs to come back. But I was very impressed with Davidge. Arrival is an amazing track. Easily one of the best video game tracks.
I’ll give credit where it’s due. Arrival was a lovely track.
Kazuma sounds similar to the past, but his songs are mostly bland. He seems to do much more ambiance than anything else.
Neil is very, very different. He sounds almost nothing like previous Halo games.
And yet, he’s talented. Arrival, Revival, Haven, and To Galaxy are all good songs, and To Galaxy actually does sound like something from Halo 3.
Neil does not create classic music, but he is good at following his vision. I’d much rather have Neil.
Nonetheless, neither hold a candle to Martin. If someone can do better, 343I should find that person.
Where are the drum beats? The military tunes? The deep and emotionally moving covenant themes? Orchestral/electrical ambiance is good, but nothing that defined Halo has really been replicated.
If Marty and Kazuma had a love child, I would pick the child.
Kazuma knows how to make really familiar music, I love Mantis. I also heard that he did the music for the Halo Xbox One teaser.
Neil is alright, I enjoyed some of his work, but I prefer Kazuma.
> Kazuma sounds similar to the past, but his songs are mostly bland. He seems to do much more ambiance than anything else.
>
> Neil is very, very different. He sounds almost nothing like previous Halo games.
>
> And yet, he’s talented. Arrival, Revival, Haven, and <mark>To Galaxy are all good songs</mark>, and To Galaxy actually does sound like something from Halo 3.
>
> Neil does not create classic music, but he is good at following his vision. I’d much rather have Neil.
>
> Nonetheless, neither hold a candle to Martin. If someone can do better, 343I should find that person.
>
> Where are the drum beats? The military tunes? The deep and emotionally moving covenant themes? Orchestral/electrical ambiance is good, but nothing that defined Halo has really been replicated.
Just to inform you, the latter half of To Galaxy was actually composed by Kazuma Jinnouchi, not Neil Davidge. Neil Davidge only did the part that is heard in the Infinity Menu.
Since Marty is staying with Bungie… Forever…
I’d prefer for Neil to BE GONE! Kazuma’s score actually moves the player, and does not sound like modernized dubstep.
PS: I did not like Arrival, it sounded too much like Christmas music and honestly didn’t fit the scene that it played in.
PPS: I am a composer of music myself, and I simply HATE music like dubstep, I am morally opposed to using electronic sounds… Kazuma Jinnouchi is MUCH better than Neil…
But nothing will compare to Marty…
Nothing.
I think it was Davidge who made Revival, which is my favorite Halo song ever, but I prefer Jinnouchi’s as a whole
neil davidge for me. loved the halo 4 soundtrack. but i feel his creativity was kinda nullified, and they instead went with a safer approach. alot of the classic halo percussion for example seemed absent this time around. and i feel if davidge was to bring more of his massive attack background to the halo universe it would be a perfect fit. hope he stays with 343.
> neil davidge for me. loved the halo 4 soundtrack. but i feel his creativity was kinda nullified, and they instead went with a safer approach. alot of the classic halo percussion for example seemed absent this time around. and i feel if davidge was to bring more of his massive attack background to the halo universe it would be a perfect fit. hope he stays with 343.
I’d rather not take that risk on another Halo game if that we’re me. Personal opinion.
There is no competition there, Neil Davidge is remarkably terrible.
All he makes is dubstep and monk noises, Kazuma Jinnouchi actually makes THEMATIC music and not static.
Davidge’s music almost never fits where it plays, is mostly garbage, and over half the time isn’t noticeable. Try listening to Ascendancy and then 117 and see the massive difference.
It isn’t fair to include Marty in the discussion because he outperforms Davidge and Jinnouchi and he isn’t coming back.
> There is no competition there, Neil Davidge is remarkably terrible.
>
> All he makes is dubstep and monk noises, Kazuma Jinnouchi actually makes THEMATIC music and not static.
>
> Davidge’s music almost never fits where it plays, is mostly garbage, and over half the time isn’t noticeable. Try listening to Ascendancy and then 117 and see the massive difference.
>
> It isn’t fair to include Marty in the discussion because he outperforms Davidge and Jinnouchi and he isn’t coming back.
I agree. Don’t include Marty because…
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He’s not going to come back to due his work on Destiny for the next 10 years.
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The other audio composers despite them doing a good job could never top Marty.
Let’s keep this thread going folks. Keep voting! 
Kazuma Jinnouchi + original Halo themes = some pretty fantastic music, I’d think. I’m not a big fan of Neil Davidge’s music for Halo 4.
> Secret option C: Martin O’Donnell.
Oh yes. I would choose him, over Neil and Kazuma
Can you supply some links to Neils work in the OP as well, for a direct comparison of composer styles?
To be honest I’m not sure which songs are entirely Neils and which aren’t. Haven’t been able to buy OST yet.
However, I like pretty much every single song I’ve heard from the Halo 4 soundtracks. Yes, even the SpOps ones. I like a very wide variety of music, for a wide variety of reasons.
And to be honest? Martin’s music doesn’t bring much emotionally to the surface for me. He’s not a bad composer at all. But the Halo 4 version of Never Forget? Trumps everything I’ve ever heard done by Martin. Martins music doesn’t bring much to me in the way of color. But I don’t sit and listen to his music for hours on end either so I’ve probably not heard every single note he’s ever produced in his life.
Now to prepare for the angry nostalgia mob…
In true honesty I didn’t know who Kazuma was until now. I heard Neil did all the tracks til now. I loved most of Halo 4’s music, although it didn’t feel like Halo music. Even though 343 Industries wanted to put their brand name on it I think they went with a bad music choice. If I was head of the music department I wouldn’t let half the stuff be published.
I would had made the team play the past games forward and backwards til they knew the feeling the music had on the game. Now than Neil did have those key parts down like in the last level when you hear that old track from Halo 3 in it. I thought most of it sounded bland but was good at some parts like when it was dealing with Cortana that little dribble on the piano was excellent.
tl;dr: I just hope for more feeling in the music.
> I believe Kazuma Jinnouchi understands what the music for Halo should feel like.
There is no ‘should’, there is absolutely no arbitrary definition for what Halo’s music ‘should’ feel like. It’s dictated by the atmosphere and tone of the game, as well as what the composer wants to bring to the story and gameplay.
Both should be utilised like they were in Halo 4. Kazuma creates awesome tracks which harken back to the original trilogy more with its epic crescendos while Neil is more about the subtle, emotionally-driven character moments and ambience. Both of these talents ought to be used to their fullest potential.
Well to be fair to Davidge, his music sort of fits the Prometheans which is good