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Welcome
to the universe. Exploding with atmosphere, power and melody, their
songs are at once apocalyptic and uplifting, filled with characters
who battle with alienation, paranoia and dark obsessions, while
envisioning their own escape from this world.
30
Seconds To Mars is a captivating, imaginative new band from Southern
California. They co-produced their self-titled Immortal/Virgin album
with the legendary Bob Ezrin and newcomer Brian Virtue (Jane’s
Addiction). They sought out Ezrin because they grew up listening to
his groundbreaking work with Pink Floyd, KISS and Alice Cooper and
they felt he was the only one who could help them capture the size and
scope of what they wanted to accomplish on their debut recording. The
band’s widescreen sound is adrenalized and nuanced, balancing huge
guitars with anthemic vocal lines and organic synthesizers with
electronic underpinnings.
Even before the album was released, the buzz was so strong Puddle of
Mudd took the unusual step of inviting 30 Seconds To Mars to open a
six-week tour for them in the spring of 2002, even though they were
totally unknown and no one had yet heard their music on the radio.
Drawing on influences ranging from masters like Pink Floyd, Led
Zeppelin and Rush to other important artists such as Brian Eno and The
Cure, 30 Seconds To Mars transcends the chaos of the modern world by
allowing listeners to imagine themselves away from it. The band’s very
name implies the accelerated society we live in, suggesting that an
escape may be as close as a few seconds away. Mars hovering above us
has always been an iconographic image, not to mention being the God of
War. But this is not science fiction. 30 Seconds To Mars’ songs are
real stories and real moments that examine personal human experience.
Lyrically, the songs are filled with metaphors and moments of fantasy
that capture the imagination.
In songs such as the dynamic “Capricorn (a brand new name),” with its
reference to a mysterious disappearance, and the foreboding “End Of
The Beginning,” with its soaring vocals and intense driving rhythm, 30
Seconds To Mars draws a startlingly unique mood rather than a picture.
Relishing the challenge of the artist’s duty, rather than simply
representing the obvious, the band thrusts itself into the sonic
atmosphere they’ve created, leaving their own indelible mark. In the
provocative “Oblivion,” pulsating guitar and keyboards lead into the
frantic warning, “Everybody run now, everybody run now.” Powerful
vocals, potent guitars and a dramatic narration drive “Buddha For
Mary,” the story of “a different girl” who “always liked to fly” and
had “a thing for astronauts.” Living life on Mars, she is urged to,
“leave the politics to madmen.”
30 Seconds To Mars retreated to the isolation of Wyoming’s big sky
country to record the album. The band and Ezrin chose an empty
warehouse lot on 15,000 acres, striving for the precise location that
would enhance their sound. An intense period of preproduction began,
starting with an almost obsessive examination of close to 50 songs.
After an initial period of chaos, a fruitful relationship bloomed
between the musicians and producer, leading to an artistically
rewarding work atmosphere. The expansive frontier helped feed their
imagination and their playing. Although the songs had already been
written, nothing was left untouched as they massaged them
frame-by-frame into distinguished guitar riffs and tones and sculpted
every last note and detail to achieve their goal.
While the subjects of their songs are engaged in their own searches,
30 Seconds To Mars is involved in a search of their own to produce
something unique in today’s world of disposable music--something with
depth and substance, a work that is built to last.
[Mission accomplished.]
The Kill is the longest running single on the
Modern Rock Charts in the States.
- Bio
courtesy of Virgin/Immortal Records
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