Thirty Second to Mars

Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, percussion). During the course of its existence, it has undergone various line-up changes with the Leto brothers being the only consistent members.

The band’s debut album, 30 Seconds to Mars (2002), was produced by Bob Ezrin and released to positive reviews but only to limited commercial success. The band achieved worldwide fame with the release of its second album A Beautiful Lie (2005), which received multiple certifications all over the world. Its next release, This Is War (2009), showed a dramatic evolution in the band’s musical style, as it incorporated experimental music as well as eclectic influences. The recording process of the album was marked by a legal dispute with record label EMI that eventually became the subject of the documentary film Artifact (2012). Thirty Seconds to Mars then moved to Universal Music and released the fourth album, Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams (2013), to critical and commercial success. It was followed by America (2018) and It’s the End of the World but It’s a Beautiful Day (2023), which both polarized critics upon release.

As of September 2014, the band had sold over 15 million albums worldwide.^[1] Thirty Seconds to Mars has consistently enjoyed sold out tours and numerous headlining festival slots. The band is noted for its energetic live performances and for fusing elements from a wide variety of genres, through its use of philosophical and spiritual lyrics, concept albums, and experimental music.^[2] Thirty Seconds to Mars has received several awards and accolades throughout its career, including a Guinness World Record, and has been included in the Kerrang! list of best artists of the 2000s.^[3]

Thirty Seconds to Mars started in 1998 in Los Angeles, California, as a collaboration between brothers Jared Leto and Shannon Leto, who had been playing music together since their childhood.^[4] The duo later expanded to a four-piece when they added guitarist Solon Bixler and bassist Matt Wachter to the line-up. Additional guitarist Kevin Drake, who first auditioned for the position of bassist, also joined the band as a touring musician. The band played its first concerts under different names, before finally settling on the name “Thirty Seconds to Mars”, which was taken from a rare manuscript titled Argus Apocraphex.^[5] Jared Leto described the name as “a reference, a rough translation from the book. I think the idea is interesting, it’s a metaphor for the future,” he explained. “Thirty seconds to Mars—the fact that we’re so close to something that’s not a tangible idea. Also Mars being the God of War makes it really interesting, as well. You could substitute that in there, but what’s important for my brother and I, is that it be imaginative and really represent the sound of our music in as unique a way as possible.”^[6] He described it as a name that “works on several different levels, a phrase that is lyrical, suggestive, cinematic, and filled with immediacy.”^[7] When Thirty Seconds to Mars first started, Jared Leto did not allow his vocation as a Hollywood actor to be used in promotion of the band.^[8]

By 1998, the group performed gigs at small American venues and clubs. Their eponymous debut album had been in the works for a couple of years, with Leto writing the majority of the songs. During this period, the band recorded demo tracks such as “Valhalla” and “Revolution”, or “Jupiter” and “Hero”, which later appeared on the band’s debut album as “Fallen” and “Year Zero” respectively, but also “Buddha for Mary”.^[7] Their work led to a number of record labels being interested in signing Thirty Seconds to Mars, which eventually signed to Immortal Records.^[9] In 1999, Virgin Records entered into the contract.