Halo 3 Original Soundtrack (2-CD Set) Reviews

• Best Halo Soundtrack by far!!

  
  By A1DWER9KQ81KLM on 2007-11-20
  This is the best Halo soundtrack yet. The sound quality is worlds better than the previous CDs because of the actual orchestra used for the recording. This is a complete musical journey through the Halo 3 game. The terrible songs by horrible bands that were on the Halo 2 soundtrack are gone. There is one band song at the end as a hidden track, so even though it is lame, it doesn't get in the way of the actual music. If you enjoy music from the Halo world, this is a must-buy.
  
  

• Halo 3 OST Finishes the Fight!

  
  By A1VY3B6SGG1R9O on 2007-11-21
  I just received the Halo 3 Soundtrack today and I have to say it is hundred's of times better than the previous soundtracks. Halo 3's OST "Finishes the Fight" just like the game does and does so in high quality sound and "in game" continuity that leaves you wanting more.
  
  Regretfully, the only hinderance to this wonderful soundtrack is the addition of the hidden track (#17) on disc 2 "Love Your Friends" by Princeton... truthfully, while it may've won the contest, it isn't very good but, thankfully, can be skipped since it is at the END of the CD.
  
  A wonderful purchase for ANY Halo fan and hope this isn't the end...
  
  

• Amazing end to an amazing musical experiance

  
  By A3CH7WXXANM6T on 2007-11-21
  If you thought the previous Halo soundtracks were home runs, Marty O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori hit this one out of the known galaxy (or three radii from the galactic core..).
  
  The switch from MIDI instruments to a full, live orchestra has made an already outstanding musical journey completely amazing. Many familiar themes make a return, but they sound fuller and more thematic this time around.
  
  The track layout plays in the same order you would experience the music in the game, which I thought was a nice touch compared to Halo 2, v.1. My personal stand-out track is #12 on CD 1, "Follow Our Brothers", the music takes me to the exact memory of that part in the game. Truly outstanding.
  
  I cannot rate this high enough, I could not have desired more from this soundtrack!
  
  

• Simply Breathtaking!

  
  By A1IVVJT0D370TT on 2007-11-20
  As an owner of all the Halo soundtracks available I'd have to say that this is perhaps the best Halo soundtrack yet. Two CDs equals hours of awesome music, both new songs and embellishments of the ones we've come to love. As far as I know, this is the complete set of music from the game, including some bonus material. If you love the music as much as the game, you have to get this album! You will not be disappointed.
  
  

• Halo 3 score ROCKS

  
  By A3SL4ZI7KW412J on 2007-11-20
  Okay, I just bought this CD. But what I have heard of this is incredible. I have enjoyed the music since I started playing this game and it just enthralls me in its scope. Everything you heard in the music with the game is in here. Do not hesitate getting this.
  
  
• Halo at it's best!
  By A27OSWD5B81YP9 on 2007-11-21
  This is by far the best Halo score ever!
  
  I woke up at the sound of the doorbell, my package having just arrived. What a treat to wake up to! It was great to listen to first thing in the morning. The orchestral pieces are amazing, particularly the new arrangements of the classics. Follow the music along to the imagery in your mind once you've played this game. Superb!
  
  I really don't care for the hidden track, and I dare say it may be the only blemish on the set, but marketing wise I guess it served it's purpose.
  
  This 2 CD set is a must for any Halo fan. I couldn't wait to receive it, and I'm glad to say it does not disappoint.
  
  
  
  
• The words cant describe this OST
  By A2BS497TXDYHP9 on 2007-11-22
  This OST is absolutely one of the best soundtrack of all soundtracks (movies and games) ever. On 2 cds you ve got all music what you dream for. Must have for all HALO fans but not only for HALO fans, the music is great for everybody.
  
  
• So good!
  By A2WTR4GW05J9XO on 2007-11-21
  This soundtrack is amazing. I've been a Halo fan since the beginning. I've loved the music as well. When I first played through Halo 3 I loved every second of it and the music really stood out to me. I couldn't wait to get the soundtrack. I had to wait whole month! Oh well, I got to listen to my Halo and Halo 2 scores a bunch in the mean time. Well I finally got it yesterday. Every bit of music from the game is on the two discs. They've been arranged into concert suites like the previous Halo scores. Like another reviewer on here said if you've played through Halo 3 you can listen to the score and close your eyes and relive the adventure. Or if you haven't played the game, the music stands alone and is very enjoyable. I think track 12 is my favorite, and was also my favorite part of the game, story wise as they land on the Ark. It reminded me of when they landed on the original Halo in the first game. The mystery and excitement was all there and the music perfectly orchestrates that moment. Anyways, great score and well worth the money for 2 hours of music! Even the music from the game menus is on the CD.
  
  
• WOW - I'd like to give it 6 stars.
  By A2P6GSY8VH2JD1 on 2007-11-25
  To be honest, I was kind of disappointed with Halo 3's single-player campaign: the story wasn't as imaginative as it could have been, the characters weren't fleshed out (with the exception of Cortana), and the gameplay was a lot of "been there" and "done that." The one thing that lived up to my hopes was the musical score by Martin O'Donnell. To say that it lived up to my expectations is an epic understatement, but I just don't know how else to put it. This soundtrack is simply amazing. O'Donnell really gave it his all. I want to ramble on at a mile a minute using every superlative in the dictionary to describe it, and then make up my own when I run out. Thankfully I won't, but the music here is hard to describe any other way. A lot of what's here are old Halo themes reworked and re-recorded. On paper it might sound boring, but trust me: it's not. O'Donnell has always done excellent work with the Halo scores, but it was because of his compositions, not the synthesizers they were too often performed with. This time his music is finally being done justice, thanks in no small part to a real orchestra whose energy swells to rapturous heights in all the right places. But the quiet moments also sink perfectly into the background like they are supposed to, and the electronic meanderings are more competent than they were in the first two games' scores as well. The music feels alive now. You feel like you're hearing these old themes for the first time, and you get the feeling that this is the way they were always meant to be heard. This music makes me want to forge my own epic adventure; it inspires me, it makes me want to cry, and it moves me more than the actual game did. If there's anything you might find wrong with it, it's just the fact that there isn't enough "monk chanting" this time. But there's so much other amazing work here that you'll hardly even care. In fact, this soundtrack is so good that I'm almost tempted to sell back all the other Halo soundtracks. I would recommend this soundtrack to people who aren't into Halo or even video games. Marty O'Donnell has established himself as the best music composer in the video game industry, and Bungie is lucky to have him.
  
  
• A Fitting Finale and Farewell.
  By A3K6W8NERKFI3G on 2007-12-31
  As one who has appreciated the music far more than the game itself--and has purchased the previous three soundtracks (Halo 2 had two separate volumes)--it should come as no surprise that I had my eye out for the final OST of the series. I was a tad worried that they might pull another Halo 2: Vol. 1 scenario where they do two volumes and load the first with a bunch of licensed junk; sorry, Bungie, but I DIDN'T buy Halo 2: Vol. 1 for the tracks by Incubus and other rock musicians.
  
  So for those who want music strictly from the composer (Martin O'Donnell), you will love this soundtrack. This OST is comparable to what they did when releasing Halo 2: Vol. 2. A series of suites (this time spliced into more individualized tracks) built specifically for pure listening joy. As for that listening joy, it seems Marty has out-done himself this time. This soundtrack exudes everything you'd expect from the final chapter of a trilogy, and then some. This OST is also filled with tracks that are remixes of music from previous games, and are remixed so well as to either feel completely new or offer up what seems to be a deliberate retrospective nostalgia built to make you think back on the whole journey the series has taken.
  
  So, you may ask, are there any low-points to this OST? Well, there's one hidden (i.e. unlisted) song on the 2nd CD that's terrible and isn't even by Martin O'Donnell, but other than that all I'll say is I'm generally not a fan of any of the Flood themes (heavily present in the track Dread Intrusion). Granted, I appreciate them for what they are meant to be: the creation of a creepy mood.
  
  Overall, the soundtrack is wonderfully diverse. A few soft themes here, some epic upbeat pieces there, some short creepy melodies, and some simply stunning retrospective pieces. It's varied, but each track flows so nicely that you'd think it were one big masterpiece, which is certainly a fine way of describing this soundtrack. After all, Martin O'Donnell has managed the unthinkable: music so good that I buy every soundtrack without buying a single game.*
  
  Kudos, Marty.
  
  *(As of this review I have yet to own any Xbox systems, and have merely played Halo 1 and 2 on a friend's Xbox, finishing the single-player modes of both games. I have yet to play the 3rd game, and even if I owned any Xbox systems I wouldn't buy any of the three games. Interesting, no?).
  
  
• Moving... Epic Soundtrack.
  By A6HHH6ASO2VE8 on 2008-01-01
  Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RX2IR1GLGWWZX
  
  
• Best Halo Soundtrack So Far!
  By AXG093G9KLLV on 2007-11-20
  I love the soundtrack! This is easily the best Halo soundtrack yet. Thanks Marty!! (+ Michael!)
  
  
• Sweet Music
  By A22KVQRVAX0OEI on 2007-12-17
  This music is so sweet, it is like candy to my ears. I have all three soundtracks and the sets, and I highly recomend this to anyone who likes dramatic music with out words and that is easy to listen to. Actually my mom used some of this music in her masters degree presentation at a leadership conference and she got many good comments from alot of PhDs about the music and where was it from. Shockingly it is from Halo, a video game. Cannot wait to hear the music for the movie or for Halo Wars. Sad that there were no rock and roll type of music, but that was not featured in the game like it was in Halo 2. The Odyssey and Blow Me Away where featured in the game, so the 3 star rateing guy can shovel it.
  Rock on Mr. O'Donnell.
  
  
• More Than Excellent... Inspiring
  By A1D2ZN57YG2NMH on 2008-01-11
  Every several years a score comes along that goes beyond anything you could of imagined, a score with such thematic beauty, deep action and wonderful storytelling that you can't believe it exists... Halo 3 is such a score. I loved the first Halo score, although (being a film score buff) I was a bit underwhelmed by the midi instruments. This is one of the first problems Halo 3 fixes by using a completely organing orchestra. Another one of the highpoints of the Halo 3 score is the sheer musical genius put into it, while the first score relied heavily on guitar and techno sound effects, Halo 3 effectively blends techno with orchestra to create musical hybrid fusion (succeeding in so many ways.) So I guess you could say that Halo 3 not only transcends all other video game scores, but it trasends half of the film scores released this year. Game music has a new milestone people... it's Halo 3.
  
  
• A very, very lackluster composition.
  By A1YGPEQFE4LQJA on 2008-02-09
  Unfortunately, unlike previous works, this soundtrack contains very few original ideas. Many of the compositions are just older compositions from previous works, with an added part to make it seem "jazzed up", for example, a first violin whining in the background, or a women's section added to a previously all male composition, or a first soprano part added that is a fifth higher than the other first sopranos.
  
  Unfortunately, Michael O'Donnell probably could have created an outstanding soundtrack, and Bungie could have created an outstanding plot for the game, but the sad fact is that Microsoft has to have their all consuming profit, and therefore didn't give Bungie the time they needed to created a good game, and didn't give Martin O'Donnell the time to create a good soundtrack. Now, I do admit, there was one piece in this soundtrack that truely did move me... but other than that...
  
  The soundtrack and the game deserves a two. No more, no less, like how the game was created.
  
  
• Awesome Soundtrack... and I've never played the Halo series
  By A2D16Q8Z8ZNTF9 on 2008-02-24
  That's right. Halo 1, 2, 3, I've never played. I picked this soundtrack up on a whim at WalMart and I haven't regretted it.
  
  Even in the softer pieces, there's an energy that just doesn't quit it. It's a soundtrack for your own day-to-day life which isn't far from tactical combat.
  
  This is the soundtrack of a company of soldiers in a grueling campaign trying to hit hard while conserving strength. I think all of us can relate.
  
  
• Such music brings euphoria to my ears
  By A3P6IXDXRV5M85 on 2007-11-25
  Not often will a game's soundtrack please everyone as there are many different tastes. But this has to be one of the times where even people who never listen to orchestrated music, will truly be thrilled. The CD is absolutely breathtaking simply because each musical note is crafted perfectly to fit the game. While playing the game, we dont get a full appreciation of the track. But listening to each track gives me not only a muscal masterpiece, but it takes me back into the virtual fantasy world. Not many albums can do this. Oh, and finally I dont have to sit in front of the TV staring at the home screen just to listen to "Never Forget!"
  
  
• Marty O'Donnell does it again!
  By A22MRB6GYEFW16 on 2007-11-27
  As much as I love Halo 3 I have to admit the music sounds a lot like Halo 2's music. But this is by far better than Halo 2's music though.Halo 3 Original Soundtrack (2-CD Set)
  
  
• Where's the rock bands?
  By A24OHXR3G828DN on 2007-11-22
  Halo 3 does not feature any real bands. For making over 170 million you'd think Bungie could afford at least one real band. An orchestra does not count. Must of been a few guys sitting in a room with their synthesizers. However, it has many great sounding techno songs.
  
  
• Halo 3 Soundtrack
  By A167DGDSY97YV5 on 2007-11-28
  Martin O'Donnel and Michael Salvatori have worked wonders for the Halo franchise, making iconic music that is both emotional and rememberable. This album is a must buy for anyone interested in music in gaming or interactive media (not to mention a staple for halo fans). 5 stars.
  
  
• Unbelievable
  By A2Z6GSII25D6EJ on 2007-12-01
  Simply work of a master. This is probably the best soundtrack to a game or movie ever made. Just unbelievable. I would give this 6 stars if it were possible. This is what makes the world of Halo, Halo.
  
  
• Absolutely awesome soundtrack
  By A3K91X9X2ARDOK on 2007-12-05
  That the Halo series ended with a bang is one thing but the fact that the final installment of the Halo trilogy contains the best music of the three is even more impressive. Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori pull out all the stops in this comprehensive two disc set that contains pretty much all of the music in the game and it's up there among the best soundtracks, film or otherwise, that I've ever heard. They also do away with all of the filler tracks by artists that took away from the Halo 2 soundtrack and keep it down to the bare essentials (there is one unlisted track at the very end of the 2nd disc but it's a harmless rock track and nothing that ruins the integrity of this collection).
  
  If you loved the music in the game, this one is a no-brainer but I think this would definitely appeal to anyone who enjoys a good soundtrack either way.
  
  
• Halo 3: Original Soundtrack
  By A31I0C62QF1CAH on 2007-12-18
  Awesome compilation, the songs are just what you'd expect from Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori - and more. If you're into the Halo trilogy, buy this soundtrack!
  
  
• Halo 3 Original Soundtrack
  By A2NYTVV7HQFEMN on 2007-12-21
  Halo 3 Original Soundtrack (2-CD Set)
  
  It's very good! I recommending for all!
  
  
• If you have the others, get this one as well...
  By A29K41DHYCTIBB on 2007-12-23
  If you have enjoyed the other Halo soundtracks then you will equally enjoy this one. While it is a little more of the same, for fans of the game as well as fans of just the music this is a great cd.
  
  
• Halo 3
  By A3V3ADPZRV64EQ on 2007-12-23
  Music is good though my case was damaged in the mail, but it is still usable. Disk is good condition and not scratched from the insident. I highly recommend this soundtrack especially if you really like the Halo games.
  
  
• Amazing music, you'll love it if you've loved Halo's previous music
  By A2YKS6XEPC0ZDX on 2007-12-24
  The Halo 3 OST is an amazing compilation of practically every Halo 3 song in the game. Its great to hear some of my all time favorites which were amazing even though they were recorded with software instruments, now be re-recorded and arranged using a huge orchestra and choir. If you've enjoyed previous Halo music, you will absolutely not be disappointed by this CD. Marty is a genius, and there are so many amazing songs across these two disks, I definitely recommend the purchase!
  
  
• Halo 3 soundtrack
  By A3NNPR1VZ8WAS4 on 2007-12-26
  Loved the game, loved the music... I guess that's pretty much it. This soundtrack is great for some relaxing background music, or pretty good to drive to
  
  
• Halo 3 Original Soundetrack
  By A2A0U8V8NK0QIR on 2007-12-31
  
  I bought it for my son.
  He already had the 1st and 2nd soundtrack. he said it is good.
  
  
• This soundtrack is the best.
  By A3K29W21C3IBMW on 2008-01-02
  This soundtrack is really good. This soundtrack brings back some songs from both Halo and Halo 2. It brings me back into the game without me turning on my 360.
  
  

• Contact Harvest (Halo)
• Halo 2, Vol. 2
• Halo: Original Soundtrack
• Halo 2, Vol. 1
• Mass Effect Original Game Soundtrack