Soundtracks charts

Review: Laced Records and Halo Studios partner up to bring the epic soundtracks of the original Halo trilogy to vinyl for the first time, remastering and revamping 83 original scores from Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3. the music that defined a franchise is thus ethered in perpetuity. Weaving orchestral elements, prog rock, drum corps marches, and heavy metal, Halo presents a perfect bottling of angst and militancy; owing to its popularity with a certain teen gamer cohort, Halo 2's score especially made history as the first video game OST to chart on the Billboard 200. Now, each soundtrack is presented in its own sleeve with custom artwork, and comes in a collector's box adorned with a debossed Halo logo and silver laminate finish.

Review: Survival horror franchise Alan Wake saw its second instalment in 2023, following the game series' 2010 debut. Again, we follow novelist Alan Wake, as he attempts to escape his imprisonment in an alternate dimension by penning a horror story about an FBI agent, Saga Anderson. Both a detective story and a shoot 'em up, the second game bolsters the franchise's neo-noir and gothic Midwestern tropes; the soundtrack is fittingly both lachrymose and chilling, with its contributing scorers - Petri Alanko, Old Gods Of Asgard, Jean Castel and more - portraying Nordic moods of modern, nailbiting mystery. Through stark, grim, minor-keyed anthems, trip-hop furrowers and trembly orchestral laments, we find dead bodies found in the woods, fight spriggan-esque creatures, and soak in moods of noir crime psychodrama, all chillingly captured in a single sonic melange.

Review: It's been a long time since Halo: Combat Evolved revolutionised the word of first-person shooter video games. Graphically superior to anything that had come before it, the franchise also benefits from a spectacularly gripping storyline in which humans are outgunned and out-teched by a ruthless and uncompromising alliance of superiorly equipped alien races united as The Covenant. The titular Halo adds a kind of Prometheus air of uncertainty, as nobody really knows what it does until attempts to activate the galaxy-destroying weapon reveal something worse than death - a parasitic breed called the Flood. If all that was enough to blow everyone away in 2001, 2004 brought us to a whole new level of immersion in this future scape. Just like its predecessor, a big part of the impact was the visionary score by gaming soundtrack masters Martin O'Donnell and Michael Savatori. Now here it is in all its Gregorian chanting glory.

Review: Jesper Kyd may not be a 'household name', but once you've encountered the Danish composer and sound designer's work you're unlikely to forget who he is or what he is capable of. Largely self-taught, he began exploring composition at an early age, by 14 was composing on a Commodore 64 and then an Amiga, and later became a member of the audio-visual computer-based artist collective Silents DK, a demogroup. Soon after that, he was collaborating with the Crionics coders. Seemingly born into the world of video game development, but from a staunchly artistic perspective, to date he's created some of the most accomplished game scores we've encountered, and 2006's Hitman: Blood Money is among them. Recorded with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, it's tense, building, grand and, even without the on-screen action, thoroughly captivating contemporary classical stuff.

Review: From the moment you hit play on 'A New Threat Is Born', the first few minutes on this soundtrack to the acclaimed video game, Resident Evil 3, you could easily close your eyes and feel like you're back sat in front of a TV playing the story through. If you're unfamiliar with the franchise, let's just say it (re)wrote the book on survival horror, and a big part of this was in the scores used to accompany the on-screen tension. Less focused on specific theme tunes and tracks, over time the emphasis has increasingly fallen on building atmosphere and setting up jump scares for unassuming players. On a record, that sounds like a combination of fast moving and quickly developing instrumental movements and intimidating sound effects. Perhaps not the dinner party soundtrack you were looking for, nevertheless it makes a big impact.

Review: Pirates have always had a pretty rough time in the land of video games. On the face of it, there's so much about bandits-on-the-waves that should work perfectly for a playable adventure. And yet so few have managed to really crack the formula, save for the likes of Assassin's Creed Black Flag and Sid Meier's standard-bearing Pirates. Enter Skull & Bones, a high spec 2024 release which - having reportedly spent the best part of a decade in development hell - really wants to change the sketchy track record. Sadly, it only partly manages it, with reviews pointing to a title that's "almost great", but not really. Nevertheless, the aesthetics and effects have been praised, as has the music. Created by Tom Holkenborg, AKA Junkie XL, while much of it is relatively bombastic classical stuff, there's more than a garnish of experimentalism, ambient and avant garde here, too.

Review: Final Symphony II delves deeper into the cherished melodies of the Final Fantasy series. Renowned composers Roger Wanamo and Jonne Valtonen skillfully craft rich and intricate arrangements of Nobuo Uematsu's iconic compositions from FF5, 8 & 9. Additionally, Masashi Hamauzu offers a captivating suite inspired by his monumental original score for Final Fantasy XIII, while Valtonen sets the tone with his atmospheric opening piece 'In a Roundabout Way - Fanfare'. Pianist Mischa Cheung shines brightly in the spotlight, captivating audiences with his masterful performances in 'For the People of Gaia' and the emotive solo arrangement 'You Are Not Alone'.

Review: Last Epoch is an action role playing game that's been picking up some serious commendations since it arrived early 2024. For one thing, critics have lauded the open nature of its 'skill trees', which effectively means players can create characters with an entirely bespoke balance of talents and abilities, surpassing the vast majority of other titles in this genre. Others have praised the look of the title, with vivid detailing helping set the scene of this time travelling adventure. But what about the music? Well, for one thing Eric Desiderio has certainly embraced the atmosphere and the idea of Last Epoch. These tunes are epic, grand, transportive, ancient and futuristic all at the same time. It's an odyssey in itself, and one that really does elevate the overall playing experience. For some, that might be just enough to own a standalone copy of the score, too.