25 Greatest Musical Tracks From The Halo Series

22. Black Tower - Halo 3

http://youtu.be/EzWbu5ojQrc Halo 3, in almost every regard, brought to the table everything Bungie (the developers) said it would. Enormous story, larger-than-life characters, incredible visuals, and refined gameplay (leaving out the Forge and Theater modes, along with multiplayer) all in one huge package. The devil is and was in the details for Halo 3, and perhaps one its biggest accomplishments was the huge task of creating an audio finale for the trilogy, brought forth once again by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori. One of the most impressive features of Halo 3's outstanding audio was that it brought much more emotion and weight to the story, making every moment feel imperative and bringing a sense of anxiousness to whatever may come or happen. "Black Tower", to date, has been one of the most effective pieces of emotional video game audio as far as I'm concerned, putting in its two cents by taking the role as an audio epitaph for one the story's supporting characters, Commander Miranda Keyes. Her death in Halo 3 came to me as shocking and out of the blue, but so did the music that followed suit. "Black Tower" succeeds on a personal level by including a few lighthearted and mellow choruses that hit at the heart, which is a first for the Halo series as a whole. Besides the inclusion of emotion are moments of ambient, supernatural sounds that imply the Flood's presence later on in the game's level (of which they did make an appearance). What really makes "Black Tower" stand out is its meaning. At this point in Halo 3, the Prophet of Truth is about to activate the Halo Array, which would eliminate all life in the galaxy. He would bring an end to life all for nothing, not knowing what it would actually do other than bestow upon him a first access pass to this supposed "Great Journey". He would do anything in his path to achieve nothing, even murdering Miranda in cold blood. Hence the title "Black Tower", as it reveals a loss for the heroes in a very dark time of crisis. But through the darkness lies a shimmering light of hope, where both the Master Chief and Arbiter are greeted by minions of the Gravemind to override Truth's grasp on life's end. So ultimately Humans, Elites, and the Flood work together to topple Truth's rise. But shortly after they are betrayed by the Gravemind, reverting back to old enemies and having the Arbiter say "We trade one villain for another." Thus staying true to its title "Black Tower". In the end, everything turns to black.