The Pillar of Autumn

This article is about the soundtrack. For articles of the same name, see The Pillar of Autumn.

The Pillar of Autumn
Album:	Halo: Reach Original Soundtrack
Composer(s):	Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori, and Stan LePard (Move Mountains & Noble Six) Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori, C. Paul Johnson, and Stan LePard (On the Gun)
Length:	9:40
Previous:	The Package
Next:	Epilogue

The Pillar of Autumn is the tenth track (Disc 2 Track 3) included in Halo: Reach Original Soundtrack, and plays mainly in the Halo: Reach campaign level The Pillar of Autumn. It is composed of Once More Unto the Breach (0:00-0:58), Through the Rock (0:58-1:31), Shipbreaker (1:31-3:18), Meltdown (3:18-4:58), Move Mountains (4:58-6:12), Noble Six (6:12-7:11), Special Delivery (7:11-8:50), and On the Gun (8:50-9:40).

Overview

Once More Unto the Breach

Once More Unto the Breach (0:58) opens with a louder and graver rendition of the brass opening in The Battle Begins (from the earlier track Winter Contingency), followed by the choir singing a variation of the vocals of Black Tide (from Dread Intrusion in Halo 3: Original Soundtrack). The piece plays in the cinematic in which Carter-A259 rams his D77-TC Pelican into a Type-47B Scarab, then continues into the gameplay sequence afterwards.

Through the Rock

Through the Rock (0:33) features eerie choir ambiance with low strings accompaniment. The piece plays when Noble Six and Emile-A239 encounter a swarm of Yanme'e in the caverns, with the ending playing when they exits the cavern.

Shipbreaker

Shipbreaker (1:47) begins with percussive beats, quickly joined by strings playing a heave melody, which occasionally evokes the Halo Theme. The piece ends with high strings holding a note. The piece plays during the first encounter with Covenant in the Asźod ship breaking yards.

Meltdown

Meltdown (1:40) is a reprise of The Other Side (from the earlier track Exodus), featuring a more prominent brass as well as low strings over the original pulsing synth effects and a high tempo string melody. The piece ends with ambience played by brass and low strings. The piece ends with high strings holding a note. The piece plays after Shipbreaker at the Asźod ship breaking yards.

Move Mountains

Move Mountains (1:14) features a heavy melody by brass and heavy strings, accompanied by percussion. It transitions into synth effects. The piece plays when Noble Six encounters a pair of Mgalekgolo in the ship-breaking facility.

Noble Six

Noble Six (0:59) is a strings-only version of the second section of Lone Wolf (from Winter Contingency), though omitting the solemn ending. The piece plays when the first wave of Type-52 Phantoms deploy Jiralhanae at Platform Delta.

Special Delivery

Special Delivery (1:39) opens with the percussion from The Battle Begins, accompanied by high strings ambience. Male choir fade in as the percussive beats become more complex briefly, and when the percussion fades out, strings return in ambience in accompaniment to the male choir. The piece ends with a drumroll. The piece plays in the cinematic in which Noble Six passes the armored matrix to Jacob Keyes and Emile-A239 is killed.

On the Gun

On the Gun (0:50) opens with twinkling effects. The twinkling effects plays in the main menu of Halo: Reach, and when Noble Six battles with the Sangheili Zealots and the Sangheili Field Marshal. Heavy percussion of Few More Days enters, quickly joined by synth effects. Strings fade in and the piece ends with a dissonant chord and synth ambience. The percussion plays when Noble Six mans the Mark 2488 Onager.

Production notes

• The name Once More Unto the Breach alludes to the first Halo: Reach ViDoc released, Once More Unto the Breach, itself being a reference to the famous speech in William Shakespeare's play Henry V. The name is also used as the opening chapter of the level.
• The name Through the Rock alludes to the rocky caverns before reaching the ship-breaking yards.
• The name Shipbreaker alludes to the ship-breaking yards and the decommissioned UNSC Commonwealth.
• The name Meltdown alludes to the melting of steel scraps in the ship-breaking facility.
• The name Move Mountains is likely derived from the idiom and alludes to NOBLE Team’s mission to deliver the armored matrix to UNSC Pillar of Autumn in the Covenant-dominated Asźod region.
• The name Noble Six is named after SPARTAN-B312’s designation within NOBLE Team. Fittingly, the piece is a variation of the character’s motif Lone Wolf. It may imply that the Spartan, as instructed by Carter in the the first campaign level Noble Actual, has discarded his/her Lone Wolf personality, and adopted the role of a team member as “Noble Six”.
• The name Special Delivery alludes to NOBLE Team’s mission to deliver the armored matrix to Captain Keyes. A track of the same name was featured in Halo 3: ODST Original Soundtrack.
• The name On the Gun alludes to Six operating the Onager.

Halo 4

Track listing

Volume 1 Awakening – 5:41 E5C3 opening cinematic E6C1 after freeing marines E10C3 boarding Belly of the Beast – 2:38 E7C2 when Covenant reinforcements arrive, followed by a lighter version Requiem – 2:15 Legacy – 2:29 E9C5 activating the map Faithless – 5:02 E3C1 defense with UNSC gear E3C2 final wave of Covenant E4C3 initial arrival E4C4 light version in opening, followed by full version E6C1 after deactivating shield door E7C2 when returning to the hangar E8C2 opening cinematic E8C3 opening cinematic E8C5 briefly in opening cinematic E9C4 wave of hunters after ambush E10C1 blowing up the harvester entrance E10C5 briefly in opening cinematic Haven – 5:44 Nemesis – 3:31 Ascendancy – 4:19 E4C4 when defending after arrival of mantis E4C2 when defending the rear tower E4C5 when reactivating the reactor E5C1 when defending wave E5C5 briefly in opening cinematic E5C5 when Phantoms arrive E6C3 after extracting Covenant intel E7C4 when clearing aft weapon controls E8C3 when inside the cave E8C5 when clearing the area after activating AA guns E10C3 when opening door E10C3 exiting the lich Solace – 4:45 To Galaxy – 4:57 E3C1 Opening cinematic E3C2 opening cinematic E4C5 closing cinematic E5C4 opening cinematic E5C5 after clearing the area Immaterial – 7:32 117 – 7:28 Arrival – 5:36 Revival – 7:19 Green and Blue – 7:59

Volume 2 Atonement – 3:16 Gravity – 2:09 E10C5 escaping the cave Wreckage – 3:24 Aliens – 5:31 E9C5 activating grav lift Kantele Bow – 4:04 E4C5 activating base power E9C4 after ambush Pylons – 5:39 E4C4 when knights enter near the end E5C2 when destroying tech E6C5 exiting harvester E9C1 defending the power source Escape – 3:57 E10C3 returning to caves Swamp – 2:49 E3C2 deactivating generators E3C4 briefly opening between each wave E5C2 between each wave E6C5 seraching IFF tags E7C1 opening skirmish E9C2 between encounters E10C1 inside harvester E10C5 inside cave Push Through – 4:44 E3C4 when defending waves of Banshees and Phantoms E5C5 when drop pods arrive after finding UNSC gear E7C4 when closing doors E7C5 when facing final wave E8C2 when clearing the conduits E8C3 clearing the area after freeing switchback E9C3 nitial scorpion section, again in the final assault E10C5 attacking the harvester Convoy – 4:44 E10C3 when lich arrives To Galaxy (Extended) – 7:04 E3C3 briefly in opening cinematic (3:15) E7C2 when entering server room hallway (1:07) E7C5 upon clearing hangar E9C2 into the cave Lasky's Theme – 3:55 Foreshadow – 3:34 E6C5 entering harvester E7C4 when moving to guns Cloud City – 4:35 This Armour – 4:47 Intruders – 3:39 E4C1 after cinematic and until pylon is activated E5C2 when returning to the main atrium E5C4 when defending the generators E6C1 opening combat E7C3 in the hallways to data center Mantis – 4:02 E7C1 after Murphy drops off a Mantis E10C4 when defending the caves and clearing the landing zone Sacrifice – 3:02 Never Forget (Midnight Version) – 4:37 Majestic – 2:12

Music excluded from OST (according to my ears anyway):

• The strings heard during level Requiem when moving to The Gate
  • E3C3 when attacking jammer
  • E4C1 when leaving sniper valley
  • E6C3 when outside fending off reinforcements from the phantom
  • E7C2 when clearing the hangar
  • E8C5 when investigating the first two map locations
• Ambiance with soft drums and suspenseful strings heard in E3C3 when investigating tower
• Grave melody by strings and bass heard in E3C4 during initial defense
• Strings melody heard in E3C4 when pelicans bring in mantises
• triumphant melody usually played for crimson heroics
  • S3C4 when defending
  • S4C3 after activating portal
  • E8C5 after activating turrets
  • E10C1 disabling the aa guns
  • E10C3 after activating comm panel
• humming suspenseful ambiance
  • E4C1 after tapping into covenant comms
• upbeat woodwinds
  • E4C2 opening cinematic
• creepy digital ambiance (sounds like swamp - variation?)
  • E4C2 when attacking waterfront tower
• creepy ambiance
  • E4C2 when inside waterfront tower
• suspenseful bass and percussion
  • E4C5 opening
• short suspenseful strings
  • E6C4 investigating base