30 Seconds To Mars

Bringing theatrical grandeur paired with unfiltered sincerity to an ever-shifting mix of alternative rock, pop, neo-prog, and hard rock, the American group Thirty Seconds to Mars took shape in the late 1990s when brothers Jared Leto and Shannon Leto launched the project. Jared, already an Oscar-winning actor whose breakthrough came via the 1990s television series My So-Called Life, turned thirty and chose to channel his energies into music; together with his older sibling the pair officially started the band in 1998. Their self-titled debut album arrived in 2002 and contained the U.S. rock-radio success “Capricorn (A Brand New Name),” its post-grunge textures revealing clear echoes of Chevelle and Incubus. Though commercial returns stayed modest, the record persuaded the Leto brothers to persist despite Jared’s packed acting slate that soon included Panic Room, Highway, American Psycho, and Requiem for a Dream.

Three years of globe-spanning sessions across four continents, often squeezed between Jared’s film sets, produced the 2005 follow-up A Beautiful Lie. That multi-platinum release broadened the sonic palette to embrace metal, neo-prog, and screamo textures, delivered two Top Ten modern-rock singles in “The Kill” and “From Yesterday,” earned platinum certification at home plus gold status abroad, and swelled the group’s following. Expanded touring featured new members lead guitarist Tomo Miličevic and bassist Matt Wachter, both of whom had already played on the album; although Wachter exited in 2007 the band pressed on with headline runs at Roskilde, Pinkpop, and Download plus support slots for the Used and Linkin Park.

Mounting popularity collided with contractual friction when the band sought to leave EMI/Virgin after the A Beautiful Lie cycle, prompting the label to sue for thirty million dollars and insist three further albums remained due. The dispute ended with Thirty Seconds to Mars returning to the roster and delivering their aptly named third album This Is War in December 2009. To foster fan involvement the group collected photographs from supporters, using the first two thousand submissions to generate two thousand unique covers. The record achieved gold certification in seven territories including the United States and platinum in four others including the United Kingdom, after which the band embarked on a 309-show trek that secured the Guinness World Record for longest concert tour by a rock band.

Once that marathon concluded, Jared completed his documentary Artifact, which chronicled both the making of This Is War and the EMI battle; the film premiered at South by Southwest in 2013, months before the Steve Lillywhite-produced Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams reached stores that May. While the band toured through the remainder of the year Jared garnered further acting praise for Dallas Buyers Club, ultimately winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2014. Another large-scale outing followed in August 2014 as co-headliners with Linkin Park on the Carnivores Tour. That same year the band exited Virgin and later signed with Interscope in 2016.

After supporting dates with Muse and PVRIS in 2017, Thirty Seconds to Mars issued the pop-oriented singles “Walk on Water,” “One Track Mind” featuring A$AP Rocky, and “Dangerous Night” produced by Zedd. These tracks formed the backbone of the 2018 album America, which also included Halsey on “Love Is Madness,” debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, and coincided with a U.S. trek alongside Walk the Moon, MisterWives, and Joywave before Miličevic departed amicably later that year.

Over the next five years the group continued crafting material amid a worldwide pandemic and Jared’s film commitments that encompassed House of Gucci, Morbius, and a Haunted Mansion reboot. By 2023 they introduced the synth-driven sixth album It’s the End of the World but It’s a Beautiful Day, whose sound recalled the work of Jean-Michel Jarre and Giorgio Moroder and yielded the Top Ten single “Stuck.”