HALO 4 SOUNDTRACK — VARIOUS SONY MUSIC

HALO 4 SOUNDTRACK — VARIOUS SONY MUSIC; 499 Electronic/Ambient: Up to recent times, the music you’d hear in games was just something that sounded like it was cranked out on a cheap casio keyboard with some beats thrown in. It could have very well been made by a zombie. But with games these days that regularly gross $200 million and above on their opening weekend, the stakes are extremely high. It is a fact that games in our time, are more profitable than most Hollywood movies. Some of the most cutting edge and grandiose music to be found these days is on gaming soundtracks. Now developed by a new studio (343 instead of Bungie), no expense in time and Microsoft’s money was spared in the making of this soundtrack on a carte blanche budget. And it shows. Because the soundtrack is brilliant. Zoning in on this one, the opening track Awakening is jaw-droppingly good. Dynamic and punchy, this kind of stuff can be enjoyed on its own even if you aren't a gamer at all. Faithless builds up slowly and magnificently, with a lush orchestral wall of sound. Surprised? Don’t be. It’s just the genius of Neil Davidge, who has produced artistes like Massive Attack, David Bowie and Primal Scream. And no this isn’t the work of just one man and a computer. He enlisted a 16-person hand-picked male tenor/bass choir, ten females from the London Bulgarian Choir and an entire 50-piece orchestra. There are no doom-laden Gregorian chants here. Instead, you get the finesse of 117 and the bittersweet symphony of Green And Blue. There isn’t a lot of music around these days that has the power to make me stop, pause and listen, but Requeim, Solace, Immaterial and Nemesis are all superb. I’d say that this is mood music at its finest. The second disc in this double set has some uptempo club remixes of the songs that somehow manage to retain the flavour and texture of Neil’s original work. All in all, the music is strong, significant and full of purpose. It is full of nuance and encompasses a range of evocative sounds and textures. Living up to hype is never easy, but somehow, this one manages it. I assure you this: you cannot go wrong with this one.