Halo Reach Original Game Soundtrack

You will get lost in this soundtrack and caught up in the highs and lows of the music. It's a great listen

Marty O'Donnell is the Beethoven, the Tchaikovsky, the John Williams of the video game music world. He quickly rose to fame with his groundbreaking Halo: Combat Evolved soundtrack and has continued to up the ante with every new (Bungie-made) Halo release. The Halo: Reach OST is, by far, the best of the best.The music of Halo: Reach is epic, beautiful, majestic, and awesome. It is a fantastic medley of grandiose orchestral scores, adrenaline-pumping techno rock, alien ambiance, drums of war, and haunting melodies. The first time I listened to the two-disc set, I found myself thinking "This is excellent!" several times during each track. "Unreconciled," the first part of "Tip of the Spear," is my personal favorite, with a spectacular score that brings to mind all of the epic battles of the Halo games. "Ashes" is one of the most haunting tunes you'll find in a video game, underscoring the ultimate tragedy of the story of Noble Team and the fall of Reach. Uphill, Both Ways (Remix) is an excellent techno-rock bit that was featured, in part, in the multiplayer teaser trailer. Everything else is just as awesome in its own way.The tracks themselves (aside from the "bonus tracks") are divided into separate parts with individual titles and themes; the track listings such as "Tip of the Spear" reflect merely the campaign level in which the music is featured, whereas "Unreconciled" is the name of the first segment of that track. Each one has a great blend of different sounds and styles that flows with perfect harmony and will bring to mind parts of the campaign that you have heard the music in.I own all of the Halo soundtracks, but this one is the very best. The Halo: Reach OST is truly Marty's masterpiece. I will be listening to this OST for a long time, and it is currently my favorite CD (set) out of all of the nearly one hundred CD's I own/have listened to.If you're a fan of the game and a fan of the music, this is a must-buy. The Reach OST is worth every penny; it is an absolutely brilliant work of music.

Reach is where Halo peaked (personal opinion), all of Bungie's experiences from Halo 1-3 shine prominently in this Prequel entry to the franchise. But there was also plenty of new tricks thrown in a fresh story in the Halo universe. That story required a new type of music, one that captured the feel of what was being told. Thus Halo: Reach Soundtrack was born. Every time I listen to this I can't help but reflect on some moment playing through the game. Scenes of triumph are highlighted with great drum work and horns, while pain and loss are captured on violins, accompanied by a choir singing tunes of mourning. As the death knell for Reach becomes undeniable, the music grows increasingly somber with each track, to the point you can almost feel the resignation within Noble squad, even if you aren't playing. There's a distinct air of resolve to finish the fight, knowing it'll be their last.This is what makes Halo Reach so great, in my opinion. Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvator crafted the perfect send-off OST to a series that for many (including self) ended with Reach. If you're a fan of stories being told through music (or Halo in general) this is a good purchase.

Marty O'Donnell is one of the top composers of the last fifty years. His Halo themes are iconic - all I have to do is type da, da, da, daaaaah, and you'll hear it in your head.While I rank the Halo 3 soundtrack as his very best, the Reach soundtrack is a close second. It's thematically quite different, because it's for a dark tale of fighting against all odds, and mostly losing. It brings goosebumps in a way the other Halo music never has for me.Disk 1 has the best stuff. Disk 2 is OK, but I find I don't listen to it nearly as often as disk 1.If you like music with emotion and depth, and you ever played Halo at all, this ought to be a part of your music library.

I've purchased every Halo soundtrack, and love them all. Reach falls a bit short, I just feel like it didn't hit the same level as the others. It is still a great soundtrack and should not be missed.I was dissapointed to find out that much of the "cool" music in Reach was not very long in the soundtrack. For example, the space music was cut down considerable, it starts essentially half-way through the song. This has happened in all the Halo Soundtracks, I wish he would've changed it for Reach though. (The NMPD Rooftop Defense in ODST is another example of a great in-game song, but not as good on the soundtrack).My one big problem with the CD is that none of the songs were named when I ripped them onto my computer. Therefore, I had to manually change everything; one song was even named something completely different. *Although some of these problems could have been the fault of the Zune Software I was using.*Overall it's just one more great video game soundtrack, and for just $12 you should pick it up.