As a former musician, I can say that music is one of the most critical elements that contribute to the success or failure of a game. The Halo franchise is a perfect example of this, using sweepingly epic tracks to pull the player along through the game.

Well it seems that I am not the only one that appreciates Halo's use of music! Video Games Live just announced that they will be debuting a track from the upcoming Halo 3: ODST at an upcoming show in Seattle.

"After selling out scores of shows in front of hundreds of thousands of fans around the world, Video Games Live is proud to announce the live WORLD PREMIERE of the music from the Halo® 3: ODST trailer. The music will be given the full symphonic Video Games Live treatment at the Seattle performance at the famed Paramount Theatre on January 24th.

...The Seattle performance of VGL will also feature personal appearances by veteran game composer Marty O'Donnell, best known for scoring the Halo franchise, as well as Halo composer Michael Salvatori and other members of the Bungie team—and ticket holders will be able to interact with them at a post-show meet & greet. Says O'Donnell, 'I've always debuted my music with Video Games Live and it's an honor to be involved with such a highly successful production. It's a fantastic show and a great and unique way to connect our music with an audience.' Video Games Live was the first to perform the music of Halo with a symphony orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl in 2005 featuring the Los Angeles Philharmonic and guitar legend Steve Vai (whose guitar work appeared on Halo 2) in front a crowd of 11,000 people." -- VideoGamesLive.com

To all those lucky bastards in the Seattle area, enjoy the show. Too bad writing about video games can't pay for a cross country road trip! If you are able to get tickets, I would advise you do so immediately. I had the opportunity to see them when they came to Houston last summer and it was a concert that I will never forget!