Thirty Seconds To Mars
A Beautiful Lie

THE REVIEW

I wonder how they continue to talk about, celebrate, and release singles from a useless album even last year, which came out more than three years ago. Leaving aside the typical introduction about the band that everyone knows, I'll just say that this is the second album after the first self-titled one by semi-unknowns released in 2002.

Many have panicked or lost sleep trying to define this and other bands. Do they play metal? No, maybe punk? Not even close... Then emocore? But which one? This is nothing more than a rock album like many others without any fuss. The ten tracks are as dull as the music market can offer. Generally, from a rock band, you expect some solos, tempo changes, but none of that; the group with instruments in hand can't do anything amazing! But what irritates the most is the repetition of the same structures of the songs that repeat from the beginning to the end of the album without any change.

Take the opening track "Attack", okay, nice and very catchy, I must admit.. But let's move on from track two to the last one, what do you notice? Incredible but true the songs are all the same. Sure, there are slower songs and not, but the structure of the pieces remains unchanged following a predetermined pattern: always calm verse, fake angry chorus in which the frontman strains his voice (note how the singer in the various songs is fixated on repeating always the two key words in the choruses that immediately get into your head, see in "Attack" the "run away run away" etc etc) and then the central part of the compositions which is really bad and terribly static. As for the individual songs, what can I say, all terribly catchy and glossy that quickly get on your nerves, having to save something, I save the already mentioned "Attack" and little else. From the second track onwards, a frightening copy and paste starts, a poorly executed recycling of ideas. The much-acclaimed "The kill" (I don't care if their videos quote cinema greats, the notes matter) has only the basic melody as noteworthy perhaps (even if the ending of the song vaguely resembles the basic riff of the piece "Smile in your sleep" by Silverstein), then everything is irritating starting from the sticky refrains to the 'magnificent' final screaming just to show they're tough and attract new recruits. Question mark: what's the point of this vocal technique grafted on nothing more than a classic rock sound? The answer is simple: years ago, to sell, you had to spice up your works with electronic effects and season everything with frequent guitar walls typical of nu, today, screams for the sake of it are in vogue and ours ride this wave greatly. Otherwise, they let us know what the third commandment of the fake emo bands bible is after the circus-like look and long, unpronounceable titles: namely, the constructed screaming.

The other interesting points come from a decent "Savior" with an anthemic refrain and finally not 'screamed' pardon the term, while the melodic "The Fantasy", drowned in a useless broth, is appreciated, however, for its playfulness and cheerfulness that emerges in the choruses, almost pop-punk-like. The worst of the worst is heard (or rather felt? It's the same) with the two singles "The Fantasy" and "A Beautiful Lie", touted by many as the best on the platter, are incredibly dreadful. Someone here would call it pop masked behind the big guitars, no I don't want to be so banal. Rather, from here all the flaws afflicting the group emerge: production, vocals, and low compositional level (already said before). The production is terribly botched and overproduced, moreover, the sounds are misaligned, shifting from low to high tones (of the refrains) without the slightest graduality, and this creates annoyance to the listener's ear. Listen to "The Fantasy" as it shifts from the pop sounds of the verses to the ear-splitting sound of the chorus. Jared Leto's performance is in its theatrical dramaticity often pathetic, especially when he tries by all means to hit the notes in screaming or tries to achieve vocal extension at all costs. The main flaw without beating around the bush too much is simple: they can't break away from the usual rhythms, melodies and they repeat endlessly, quickly tiring.

For the record, I also say that the album is accompanied by two bonus tracks: "Battle for One" and "Hunter". The first brings to mind the sound of s/f work, the second is a cover of Bjork. Additional reflection deserves the stylistic differences between this work and the previous one, and it doesn't take much to understand why success has only come now. The previous self-titled album, apart from not excelling particularly as a whole, at least had a possibly more complex sound formula and even sounded a bit harder. Now? Well, they've moved from the nu metal of the first to a clear lightening of the sound in "A Beautiful Lie". I'll also throw in an additional hint: a rock album (albeit drowned in pop-punk undertones) more or less in the same genre as 30 Seconds to Mars like "The Black Parade" by the much-hated My Chemical Romance is definitely of a higher quality than this, although still enveloped in the spiral of mainstream.

In conclusion a horrible album to be avoided. If you then like modern rock, just to stay on topic, I take the opportunity to recommend a valid and at the same time catchy band, which although semi-unknown and not advertised, deserves a listen, namely Three Days Grace. As for me, I really hope they go to Mars or that someone sends them there quickly, in less than 30 seconds, and possibly they stay for a long time, they will certainly not be missed.