Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (Video Game Score)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Counting now as the third member in the Medal of Honor series, followed quickly by Frontline, Allied Assault is one of the newest entries by hot composer Michael Giacchino. Not as celebrated as a game because it only received a PC version, the score is largely unknown to the public, which to many will be an utter frustration. Why is because Medal of Honor: Allied Assault is so far the only Medal of Honor score not receiving their initial time on soundtrack to prove its benefits. Mostly the reason for this is not because the music is bad but because Giacchino spend so much time on Frontline that he actually composed only several new pieces, 5 tracks to be exact. At first I assumed to receive the best of all, several new tracks and all the highlights of the first and second score, as that is the other material found on the soundtrack. Yet, to my utter disappointment there was barely a sight of all the highlights that were scattered around on the first and second. They chose not the highlights but those that did set the mood and its raw bold form. Still, this also made that what Giacchino delivered us of extra new material was easily gonna knock your socks off. However, I immediately saw that the score was different, not that superior anymore even if it worked as trendsetter. But then, just at the end Giacchino delivers one of his ever best moments of music, easily one of the best highlights of the year, not joking!

The score starts with one of the two main theme performances and what a theme he has written again. A majestic, noble trumpet theme that steals a lot of qualities away from what Saving Private Ryan possessed but only in a good way. In Saving Private Ryan it never received this orchestral majesty and without a doubt Giacchino delivers what people wanted to hear on that score. Another new track is 'Sabotage the Motor Pool' with its different tone for sure, a sneaky pounding mood is set as something is luring around the corner, reminding me as what he wrote for The Lost World, even using a short main theme performance in it. And then you receive a lot of used tracks, coming from either the first or the second Medal of Honor, in order read them as 'Attack on Fort Schmerzen' (MOH), 'Ascent to the Castle' (MOHU), 'The Road to Tobruk' (MOHU), 'The U-Boat' (MOH), 'Panzer Blockade' (MOHU), 'Panzer Attack' (MOH), 'Passage to Iraklion' (MOHU), 'Locating Enemy Positions' (MOH) and 'Amongst the Dead' (MOHU). Easily the better tracks are the fifth, sixth and eight, but are not the highlights I picked out of the whole soundtrack of both. And when I reached another original track, namely 'Sniper's last Stand', I was disappointed because I never received something in the grandeur of the first two scores. But I was wrong, I got it in an exploding finale of movie music magic.

The first of two original tracks scores already high, 'The Hunt for the King Tiger' finally starts erupting with the finesse and orchestral power style that Giacchino so masterfully controls, it uses finally a sub action theme which in its own right is quite playful. But how Giacchino uses it as thematic core for the piece is outstanding. And numbers 14 and 16 are in fact the closing tracks and highlights I might add of Medal of Honor, namely 'Stopping the V2 Launch' and 'The Jet Aircraft Facility'. But be then ready for what I find one of Giacchino's ever best creations and one of the ultimate highlights of years so far. 'Storming Fort Schmerzen' uses the sub theme of 'Stopping the V2 Launch', creating so a nice link with its predecessor but equally states the main theme in all the mayhem and orchestral color, and suddenly out of the blue he inserts another heroic sub theme that blows your socks off and lets it end in full heroic color. I am not exaggerating, if I knew in the game that this was used as score material and I didn't have a CD version of it, I would have killed myself. It is really one of the best tracks ever created. So people are wondering, "Where the hell did he then get the copy?" Well, we created it ourselves, got the mp3 tracks of the game CD and sorted them in pleasing order, something you guys could easily do yourself. Why? Because Medal of Honor: Allied Assault is well worth it. Not giving you a full original score, since he saved that magic for Frontline (trust me) but he nonetheless chose well in his arsenal of tracks. He picked the moody entries and gave it color in a different environment, further he delivered an outstanding main theme and one track that tingles the spine more then welcome. The third in the series is no forgotten entry and one climatic end suite of highlights proves that Giacchino remains the best at what he does, meaning pleasing everyone.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Main Theme (4.07) Excellent Track

2. Sabotage The Motor Pool (3.22)

3. Grounding The Airfield * (3.59)

4. The Lighthouse ** (3.24)

5. Secret Documents Of The Kriegsmarine ** (3.23)

6. Scuttling The U-529 * (4.42)

7. Cover Blown ** (3.20)

8. Escape From Trondheim * (4.17)

9. The NebelWerfer Hunt ** (3.40)

10. Diverting The Enemy * (4.10)

11. The Command Post ** (3.17)

12. Sniper's Last Stand (3.23)

13. The Hunt For The King Tiger (3.25) Excellent Track

14. Communications Blackout * (4.13) Excellent Track

15. Storming Fort Schmerzen (3.38) Excellent Track

16. Nazi Defeat * (3.29) Excellent Track

17. Main Theme (Reprise) (4.07) Excellent Track

* Music also featured in Medal of Honor

** Music also featured in Medal of Honor: Underground

Total Length: 64.06

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Site: Michael Giacchino ===