|Origin|
Los Angeles, California, USA
|Current Members|
- Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar)
- Tomislav "Tomo" Milicevic (lead guitar 2003-present)
- Shannon Leto (drums)
- Tim Kelleher (bassist-temporary)
|Discography|
- 30 Seconds To Mars (2002)
- A Beautiful Lie (2005)
- This Is War (2009)
|About|
30 Seconds to Mars was formed in 1998 by brothers Jared and Shannon Leto, the band began life as a small family project, however they gradually began to take it more seriously, recruiting Matt Wachter as bassist and keyboardist and Tomo Milicevic as guitarist (a posistion previously held briefly by both Kevin Drake and Solon Bixler) Matt Wachter left the band in April 2007 and has now joined Angels and Airwaves, replaced indefinitely by Tim Kelleher.
The bands name is apparently derived from a thesis by a former Harvard professor about the 'expediential growth of human technology', it states that the rate of technological improvement means we are just '30 seconds to Mars'.
The bands self-titled debut album, produced by Bob Ezrin achieved only limited success upon its release selling just over 100,000 copies. However the band have amassed a huge cult following since the release of their second album 'A Beautiful Lie' which has now gone Platinum. Between the two albums the band travelled a lot, and worked on honing their sound.
The time also allowed Jared some space to pursue his acting career which he originally became famous for. 'A Beautiful Lie' was produced by Josh Abraham who has worked with Velvet Revolver and Linkin Park. The album was leaked online five months early, so when it was officially released the band decided to add two extra tracks (which are unlisted on the album sleeve). The first is "Battle of One" and the second is their cover version of the Bjork song "Hunter".
In 2006 the band won an MTV2 award for the song 'The Kill'.
It was also nominated for 'best rock video'. The video is a tribute to the film 'the shining' and was directed by Jared himself (although it was credited to 'Bartholomew Cubbins', actually a character from a Dr.Seuss book). The band have released two further singles 'From Yesterday' and 'A Beautiful Lie', and have recently re-released 'The Kill' in the UK. The band also won the best single award for 'The Kill' at Kerrang! Awards 2007.
They were also nominated for 'best international newcomer' (but were beaten to the award by Madina Lake). The band has announced they will begin recording their 3rd album once they have finished other commitments...
|Facts|
-The bands phoenix logo ('mithra') features the bands motto "Provehito in Altum" which roughly translates as "launch forth into the deep".
-'The Echelon', 30 Seconds to Mars' publicity street team take their name from a song on the bands first album.
-Their hit single 'The Kill' was subtitled 'Bury Me' in the U.S and 'Rebirth' on its UK release.
|Influences and Style|
The band are influenced by alternative rock, alternative metal and progressive rock. They play a blend of these three genres and are often classified as 'emo'.
- Musical influences: Pink Floyd, The Police, The Cure, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Bjork, Steely Dan
- Stylistic Influences: abstract art, self interpretation
|If You Like This Listen To...|
Muse, Bjork, My Chemical Romance, Lostprophets, Disturbed
