Gears of War 3 Original Soundtrack Album Review

The adventures of Delta Squad have come to an explosive conclusion with the release of Gears of War 3. Alongside the wrapping up of the story of Marcus, Dom, Baird and the Cole Train as they fight to free Sera from the Locust and Lambent, is the final piece in the trilogy of soundtrack albums produced for the Gears series. How does it sound? We’ve got samples for you to hear so take off that COG helmet, soldier. Just watch for snipers.

The Gears of War 3 original soundtrack album is a 31-track set of sounds released by Sumthing Else Music Works. Composer Steve Jablonsky returns for his second score of the Gears series, having picked up the baton from original Gears of War composer Kevin Riepl. The first thing you will notice when listening to Gears 3, is just how much Jablonsky has improved upon his own creations. The tones are overall brighter (glowie if you will) while being no less bombastic in their delivery. The music simply sounds even better this time, which is saying something as Jablonsky’s Gears of War 2 score was an absolute must listen itself. Take a spin of the opening notes of “Gears Keep Turning” to hear why.

Performed by the Northwest Sinfonia (Halo: Reach, Crysis, Medal of Honor) the Gears of War 3 soundtrack is one of those rare listens which plays incredibly well away from the game. In fact, if you are a hardcore Gears fan like me (I bought the Epic Edition and tried to get one of the NECA Retro Lancer replicas) you may find yourself so lost in the story and the action that you tune out everything while playing in an effort to keep your character from becoming Locust fodder. Spinning the Gears of War 3 soundtrack definitely lets you more fully appreciate what Jablonsky has created, without those pesky Lambent explosions and rat-a-tat of Lancer fire drowning it out.

Steve Jablonsky, whose creations have leapt out at you on the big screen from movies including the Transformers series and next summer’s Battleship, has his finger on the pulse of what it takes to craft music for over the top action sequences. “Stalk City” from early in the Gears 3 campaign is a good example.

Jablonsky does well in balancing between thunderous sounds with tones that are more humanistic, as in the case of “Marcus’ Rock”, along with other selections from some of the more emotional sequences of the story.

So who is the Gears of War 3 soundtrack album for? If you are a Gears head and you don’t have it already, then you obviously didn’t know it existed. For soundtrack fans inclined towards militaristic themed music, it’s a must listen. And for those out there who have yet to embrace the idea of video game music as something to listen to when not squeezing the right trigger, Gears of War 3 is an epic place to start listening. The album is available now in both physical and digital form from Amazon as well as directly from Sumthing Else itself.