30 Seconds to Mars - A Beautiful Lie
By:  Karim Sultan
October 12, 2005
Excalibur Online
 

In these odd times, the landscape of popular culture is quite littered with the odd creature, the multi-talented hyphenate: Actors-turned-musicians, musicians-turned-actors, actors-turned-musicians trying their hand at fashion design, etc.

Given that a lot of the material these folks decide to churn out seems to be of sub par quality, one can't expect not to be at least a little cynical when hearing that yet another Hollywood high roller has decided to delve into the realm of music making. Enter 30 Seconds to Mars. The collection of surprisingly rocking songs are written and sung by Jared Leto, known primarily as a popular actor, with his brother Shannon on drums, guitarist Tomo Milicivitch and bassist Matt Wachter. Chock-full of anthemic choruses, driving riffs and emotive vocals in a style borrowing heavily from the whisper-to-a-scream aesthetic found in popular acts such as Deftones or Nine Inch Nails, the album appears, at first listen, to be quite the commercial rock package. Further listening exposes the flaws.

At first, you don't expect much, but when the first two songs, "Attack" and the title track, get going, you're pleasantly surprised. They can sing and play their instruments! Not to mention that the production is quite polished; a bit too polished, however. The shiny, radio-ready production and catchy choruses aren't quite enough to sate the avid rock fan. It's hard not to ignore the extremely derivative nature of the music, not to mention the whiny, self-absorbed lyrics that don't leave anything to the imagination.

If you're not looking for anything other than a quick thrill, or are a Jared Leto fan looking to see other facets of his career, then I say go for it. However, if you take rock music with any modicum of seriousness, your time would be better spent elsewhere.