Review: 30 Seconds to Mars - 'A Beautiful Lie'
Posted: 28 January 2007
Contributed By: Nick
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Overview: 30 Seconds to Mars is the brainchild of actor Jared Leto, who is most notoriously known for his dynamic role in the gripping Requiem for a Dream. The band was conceived in the late 90's alongside Leto's brother Shannon. Matt Wachter was welcomed into the fold shortly thereafter, and after holding a slew of auditions to find the perfectly suited guitarist, 30 Seconds to Mars settled upon Milicevic to fill the void. The band latched on with Virgin Records who released the band's eponymous debut in August 2002 to little acclaim. After traveling the globe in search of artistic freedom, 30 Seconds to Mars pieced together their sophomore opus 'A Beautiful Lie', which hit stores in August 2005. The album failed to make a splash however until the breakout success of the disc's second single, "The Kill", which brought the band a slew of awards and Platinum certification status for 'A Beautiful Lie'. 30 Seconds to Mars' third single "From Yesterday" has begun receiving spins at rock markets throughout the U.S.
The Good: 30 Seconds to Mars possesses the character of a band chockfull of dignity, as respect should be fed to them from a silver spoon because of the band's unwillingness to ride the coattails of Jared Leto's Hollywood repertoire. Personal opinions aside, 'A Beautiful Lie' is a very exploratory and exquisitely crafted piece of work, raising the bar of other rock acts of a similar ilk. The album commences with the sonic roar of "Attack", which is followed up by the dynamic and atmospheric title track "A Beautiful Lie". "The Kill" is soaked in catchiness, while the upbeat "The Fantasy" and the almost Killers reminiscent sounding "Savior" keep the listener guessing and provide a more lighthearted pizzazz to the record. 'A Beautiful Lie' also highlights the band's more dark and experimental side, as heard in the brooding "The Story", as well as the churn of "Was It A Dream?", which implements the sounds of stormy weather to create a faux trance throughout the song. The album also includes a powerful acoustic number in "A Modern Myth", which shows off the pure vocal talent of frontman Jared Leto. Lyrically, 'A Beautiful Lie' is thought provoking and evocative and the musicianship of 30 Seconds to Mars is highly precise and honed beautifully, making sure each instrument is perfect in sync with the track's tempo.
The Bad: Although 'A Beautiful Lie' is a brilliant step forward for 30 Seconds to Mars, one can't help but notice several contributing factors holding the disc back from being lauded as a real masterpiece. 'A Beautiful Lie' is far too commercially sedated for any high form of interpretation, which makes some of the album's highest points feel watered down and plagued by expansive forms of production. The latter part of the album begins to feel weak and grows tired much faster than the first half, as the more up-tempo tracks are stacked throughout the first parts of 'A Beautiful Lie'. For many songs, the beat or style fails to grow or evolve in terms of speed or beat, forfeiting much of the album's potential to mundane repetition and a lukewarm, radio friendly style.
Bottomline: If not for "The Kill", who knows if 30 Seconds to Mars would be where they are today. In any case, 'A Beautiful Lie' is an album perfectly fit for its time, as it explores, defies, and hooks the listener in from song one. There is enough material on 'A Beautiful Lie' to make the band salable to a large audience, while still allowing the group to maintain their creative dignity in the process. For all the work, travel, and artistry pumped into 'A Beautiful Lie', the album is well worth a repeated listen, but don't expect to see the band's material wind up in a museum for its artistic genius just yet.
Rating:
8 out of 10