Around this time last month, Halo: Combat Evolved, the original game in the beloved series, celebrated its 15th anniversary. While first-person shooters have made tremendous strides since 2001, what remains undeniable about Halo is its music, created by Martin O’Donnell and meant to convey “a feeling of importance, weight, and sense of the ‘ancient.'”
The game’s main theme certainly gives that impression, with it’s opening ethereal vocals that sounds like mountaintop monk chants of yesteryear before transitioning into a more intense classical/tribal sound. Well, a couple years ago, when two buddies were hiking in Switzerland, they came across an empty chapel, and when they noticed the reverb-heavy acoustics of the room, one of them put his gorgeous voice to use and recreated the intro of the song (above, via Reddit).In case you’re blanking on what the original sounds like, here it is for reference:
Aside from the lack of string accompaniment, this guy absolutely nailed it, as it seems the level of reverb perfectly matches that of the original recording. If you ever find yourself in Switzerland, you have an angelic voice, and you want to recreate this yourself, the video uploader says that the building they were in is “the church on top of Monte Bre in Lugano, Switzerland.”
We also couldn’t help but be reminded of one of our favorite chant-related movie scenes of all time, from Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. Next time you find yourself in that Swiss church, guy from the video above, bust out a quick “Alrighty then” chant for us, please and thank you.
Featured image: Microsoft Studios
