30 Seconds to Mars BiographyInitially known for his work as an actor (most notably on the '90s TV drama My So-Called Life and in movies like Requiem for a Dream and Fight Club), Jared Leto also had musical ambitions. His band, 30 Seconds to Mars, debuted in 2002 with a self-titled effort featuring a post-grunge sound suggestive of groups like Chevelle and Incubus. 30 Seconds returned three years later with the platinum-selling A Beautiful Lie, an emotional album based around the concept of change that touched on metal and neo-prog. By that point the lineup had shifted a little, slotting in Tomo Milicevic on guitar alongside Leto's vocals and guitar, his brother Shannon Leto on drums, and bassist Matt Wachter. Constant touring and an expanding fan base sparked several nominations and awards at the MTV Video Music Awards (both the American version and several international editions of the ceremony). Wachter left the band in 2007, the same year the band toured around the world, including spots on major festivals (Roskilde, Pinkpop, Download) and support roles for the Used and Linkin Park. - by Johnny Loftus 30 Seconds to Mars works30 Seconds to Mars (studio album)
30 Seconds to Mars is the debut album by American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. The album was released on August 27, 2002, by Virgin Records. The album produced two singles, "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" and "Edge of the Earth." Of the two, only the former charted, peaking at #31 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart. 30 Seconds to Mars met with mixed reviews and achieved sales of just over 100,000. The overall theme of the album is of that of human struggle. "Revolution," a song recorded for the album, was not included because its lyrics did not fit the rest of the album thematically, and because its lyrics could be misinterpreted[citation needed]. Ultimately, the band chose not to include the song in light of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Two other tracks were recorded for the album: "Phase 1: Fortification" and "Anarchy in Tokyo"; "Phase 1: Fortification" was included on a promotional single for "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" released in the UK, and "Anarchy in Tokyo" was included as a bonus track with the Japanese release of the album. The lyrics of the hidden track, "The Struggle," were taken from Sun Tzu's The Art of War. The song features a lot of synthpop elements. In accordance to this, Elijah Blue Allman and Renn Hawkey of Deadsy contributed on the tracks "Welcome to the Universe" and "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)," respectively. The song "Echelon" was played during the ending credits of the film 2003, The Core. The phrase 'Welcome to the universe' is repeated throughout the album in the songs "Welcome to the Universe", "93 Million Miles", and "The Struggle". The original name for the album was going to be "Welcome to the Universe". Additionally, "division" and "unity" are repeated in the lyrics of the songs "Oblivion", "Echelon", "End of the Beginning", "93 Million Miles", and "The Struggle". 93 million miles is the average distance from Earth to the Sun. A Beautiful Lie (studio album)
A Beautiful Lie is the second studio album by American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. The album was released on August 30, 2005 through Virgin Records. The album was produced by Josh Abraham and the members of 30 Seconds to Mars. The album produced four singles, "Attack," "The Kill (Bury Me)," "From Yesterday," and "A Beautiful Lie"; three of the four songs managed to chart within the top thirty on the U.S. Modern Rock chart, with "The Kill" and "From Yesterday" both entering the top ten. It has also gone Platinum, shipping over 1 million copies. Also Going on to be Gold certified in Canada (50,000 copies) by March 2007. A Beautiful Lie is different from the band's self-titled debut album, both musically and lyrically. Whereas the eponymous concept album's lyrics focus on human struggle and astronomical themes, and the music was heavily atmospheric, the lyrics of A Beautiful Lie are "personal and less cerebral," and the music takes on a youthful, more post-hardcore approach by introducing intense screaming and deemphasizing synth effects. A Beautiful Lie was recorded on four different continents in five different countries over a three-year period to accommodate vocalist/guitarist Jared Leto's acting career. The album's title track, as well as three other songs, were composed in Cape Town, South Africa, where Leto was later met by his bandmates to work on the tracks. It was during this time that Leto conceived the album's title. Prior to this, the album was tentatively to be released under the title The Battle of One. The album was leaked onto peer-to-peer file sharing networks almost five months before its scheduled release; however, the version of the album that leaked happened to be unmastered. Because of this, the band was forced to set the release date of the album back. To promote A Beautiful Lie, 30 Seconds to Mars included the songs "Battle of One" and "Hunter" (originally performed by Björk) as bonus tracks. To further promote the album, the band included "golden passes" with three of the special versions of the album that entitled the buyer free entrance and backstage access to any 30 Seconds to Mars show for life. Deluxe Edition The album was re-released with new artwork as A Beautiful Lie - Deluxe Edition on November 21, 2006. The set contained one bonus track — a re-recording of the "The Kill (Bury Me)", entitled "The Kill (Rebirth)". Also included was a DVD featuring the VMA-nominated video for "The Kill", making of "The Kill" video, live performances and MTV2 moments involving the band. Before production of the Deluxe Edition, the band requested that the members of the "Echelon" send in their names so that they could be thanked for their support over the years. As a result, the inside cover(s) of the Deluxe Edition contain a huge list of printed fan names. In addition to this, the front cover contains a holographic image consisting of the Mithra (Phoenix) and the Trinity (Skulls). 2007 re-release The album was re-released yet again in 2007, following extensive touring throughout Europe, in an attempt to expose themselves to a larger audience. This re-release is essentially the same as the original release, just with different artwork. The re-release does not contain the new version of "The Kill," nor does it contain a bonus DVD. The album was re-released in Ireland again in November 2007. This version contains the new version of "The Kill" and a second bonus track, an acoustic version of "A Beautiful Lie" recorded live on a radio session. This Is War (studio album)
30 Seconds to Mars were sued for breach-of-contract by their record label, Virgin Records, in mid-2008. The label sought $30 million in damages, claiming that the band had failed to produce three of the five records they were obligated to deliver under their 1999 contract with the now-defunct Immortal Records. In 2004, Virgin took over the contract. Leto responded to some of the claims in the suit on the band's website and was coerced into dismissing rumors that the group had disbanded. He said the claims were "ridiculously overblown" and "totally unrealistic", before stating "under California law, where we live and signed our deal, one cannot be bound to a contract for more than seven years." 30 Seconds to Mars had been contracted for nine years, so the band decided to exercise their "legal right to terminate our old, out-of-date contract, which, according to the law is null and void." After a nearly a year of the lawsuit battle, the band announced on April 29, 2009 that the case had been settled. The suit was resolved following a defence based on a contract case involving actress Olivia de Havilland decades before. Leto explained, "The California Appeals Court ruled that no service contract in California is valid after seven years, and it became known as the 'De Havilland law' after she used it to get out of her contract with Warner Bros." 30 Seconds to Mars then decided to re-sign with EMI(the parent label of Virgin). Leto said the band had "resolved our differences with EMI" and the decision had been made because of "the willingness and enthusiasm by EMI to address our major concerns and issues, (and) the opportunity to return to work with a team so committed and passionate about Thirty Seconds to Mars". He said it was "the most challenging business obstacle that we've ever gone through as a band." Upon completion of the record, Leto spoke of the troubles the band faced whilst working on This Is War; "We spent two years of our lives working on that record, and it was us against the world... There were times that it was overwhelming. Everything that was going on was brutal... It was a case of survival, to tell the truth." Track listing with lyrics |