ReMix:Halo 3 "Unearthed" 5:36

ilp0 (Ilari Nieminen) sends us a solemn vintage rock take on "Never Forget," from Halo 3:

"I wanted to do a post-rock influenced remix of some game theme and this felt like a good candidate song for that. It's not as post-rock as I wanted it to be, but remix nonetheless."

I can hear some post-rock flavors in there but yeah, this comes off more as interesting vintage/classic stuff, with a nice blend of acoustic & electric guitars, some tasteful, almost Cream-esque wah later on, and a moving narrative arc to the development. Larry writes:

"Anything tackled by ilp0's going to receive a creative arrangement and this was no exception. The post-rock sound works for this theme, and so does the rhythmic change to the melody at 1:01 along with the original guitar writing behind the melody during the conclusion of the verse (e.g. 1:18-1:24, 1:41-1:46). Really loved the placement of the intimate acoustic guitar from 1:46-2:06, where the instrument feels like it's right next to you, followed by some relaxed soloing until 2:47. Winding back to the source tune at 2:50, I'm just struck by how great Ilari's transitions and dynamics are. Loved the keyboard accent notes behind the guitar for the final section from 4:37-5:23, which provides yet another fresh bit on instrumentation. This takes all the great emotive aspects of "Never Forget" and retains them; even though the genre and presentation are different here, this flows wonderfully, so both the source tune and ilp0's rendition feel like you're going on a journey. Very cool approach, Ilari! :-)"

Wasn't particularly expecting Ilari to tackle Halo, but I'm glad he did; this isn't the style/approach you hear often with arrangements of the series' iconic music, but it works, it's engaging, & it captures the drama, redressed in handsome rock clothes. Great stuff!