...but i am severely disappointed by halo 3's soundtrack.

halo 3's soundtrack, for those who may not know, is set to be released on november 20, 2007. someone on my red vs blue friends list posted a link to samples of the halo 3 soundtrack, and so, as someone with a background in music and 10 years of piano lessons under her belt, i'm picking it apart and realizing the bitter truth of the matter all over again.

halo 3 is the game that made me abandon the thought of replacing my xbox that was lost to the clutches of an ex boyfriend and decide to get a 360 instead. i spent what seems like an eternity waiting patiently for the conclusion to what quickly became one of my favorite video games of all time (and i've played many over the past 25 years). and so the hallowed day arrives, and i can almost hear the gregorian chants as i unwrap the sacred box and then i let the story unfold.

the story...that's another topic for another time. but the music...what a huge let-down. nearly every piece of music in halo 3 is a recycled theme from halo 1 or 2, and probably the only exception is the new (and short!) thematic passages that were found in the E3 trailer tacked onto either end of the main halo theme. and even then, playing four E's at different octaves hardly constitutes a new musical theme.

on this site, marty o'donnell writes, "...i realized that there were strong themes in the first two halo games that begged to be heard again." and that about sums up my position that 90% of halo 3's music is recycled. so i rifled through this site that was posted, looking for that one track that really caught my ear, and even then it's a rehash. i obviously can't fully analyze the thematic content since the site contains small snippets of each track, but here's the breakdown so far, if you're following along:

luck - opens with the E3 theme, as i'll call it, and throws in a little flood theme. so there's some new music. but i'm fairly certain the track ends up with a crescendo of the main theme.

released - a new arrangement of "perchance to dream" from halo 1.

infiltrate - seems to be a bare-bones rearrangement of the notes that make up what i call the arbiter's theme. the arbiter's theme can be found at the very beginning of "sacred icon suite" in halo 2, vol 2. i could be wrong, but that's certainly how the sample feels.

honorable intentions - "enough dead heroes" from halo 1.

last of the brave - difficult to tell without more of the clip

brutes - a new arrangement of "under cover of night" from halo 1.

out of shadow - this is an almost exact reproduction of the section of the mombassa suite from halo 2, vol 1. it is the second second of the suite, and it's entitled "broken gates" (1:43 into the mombassa suite track)

to kill a demon - ramped up main theme. possibly leads into new musical territory, diffcilut to tell without the entire track

this is our land - seems familiar, i'm sure it turns into a recognized theme later in the piece

this is the hour - E3 theme that leads into the main theme (though i have to hand it to marty, the new violin melody he underscored the main theme with is pretty exciting and beautiful)

dread intrusion - new arrangement of the arbiter theme, specifically the 1:14 or so mark from "ghost of reach" on halo 2, vol 1 that starts with that exact drum pattern.

follow our brothers - revisitation of "brothers in arms" from halo 1.

farthest outpost -this is by far my favorite piece in the entire game. i'm a huge arbiter/covenant elite fan, and this is a mysterious and intriguing interpretation. i love the violin motif that kicks things off and builds up to the arbiter's theme (again, see the beginning of the "sacred icon suite" on halo 2, vol 2. for the unadulterated version of the arbiter's theme.)

behold a pale horse - "on a pale horse" from halo 1.

edge closer - impossible to tell from this clip, but it sounds vaguely "high charity suite"-ish

three gates - this is the "leonidas" section of the "delta halo suite" from halo 2, vol 2. (5:14 mark)

black tower - this may very well end up being the only track that's mostly new material

one final effort - main theme revisited

gravemind - main theme revisited again (this is also the halo 3 end credit music) and leads into the vocal section of "covenant dance" from halo 1 (which is also what you hear when you put the Halo 1 for PC CD in the CD drive and it loads up)

no more dead heroes - rearrangement of "enough dead heroes" from halo 1, but you already knew that from the track title didn't you

keep what you steal - somber arrangement of the main theme, it takes a part from "enough dead heroes" and lays it over the main theme, and then goes into the E3 theme

halo reborn - "under cover of night" from halo 1, just really slow and more melodic. it may progress into new material but i'd need moreof the track to know for sure.

greatest journey - "under cover of night" from halo 1 again

tribute - this is the "road to voi" section of the "epilogue" from halo 2, vol 2. (1:03 into the track)

roll call - rehash of the "farthest outpost" take on the arbiter theme, you can hear more of the arbiter's theme in this sample, and it progresses into an "under cover of night" arrangement.

wake me up when you need me - a new interpretation of the halo theme. but the halo theme nonetheless.

never forget - "unforgotten" from halo 2, vol 2. marty can't even come up with names for the tracks to mask their origins.

finish the fight - this track is available on itunesright now for 99 cents. i recommend it just cause it's pretty good new fare, even if it's just the music pulled right from the E3 trailer.

i'd like to revisit this critique more fully once the soundtrack becomes available, but this will have to do for now. have fun with your comparisons!

this is now the second time i've randomly exchanged gamertags with someone in real life before having played on xbox live with them. first was the guy at target who overheard my halo conversation with my friend and chimed in and we ended up exchanging IDs. then it was the guy from xbox live tech support who was very cool and way better than the outsourced, script-reading guys who couldn't help me. the cool guy couldn't figure out my problem (no one could, i think i have a bum wireless adapter) but nonetheless our conversation went all over the place from bassists like geddy lee to the transformers movie. and it ended with a friend request. i love getting new friends on xbox live!

now if only itunes would make the mastodon song from the aqua teen hunger force movie available for individual download instead of having to buy the whole album just to get that one song, i'd be a very happy girl. but at least i have my FiOS set up and can play halo 3 online once again, and i can't complain.