30 Seconds to Mars is the debut studio album by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars. It was first released on August 27, 2002, by Immortal Records and distributed by Virgin Records. The album was produced by Bob Ezrin, Brian Virtue, and Thirty Seconds to Mars, and was recorded in rural Wyoming during 2001 and early 2002. It had been in the works for a couple of years, with lead vocalist Jared Leto writing the majority of the songs.
30 Seconds to Mars was described as a concept album centering on human struggle and self-determination, characterized by personal lyrics that use otherworldly elements and conceptual ideas to illustrate a truthful personal situation. The album incorporates progressive sounds with influences and elements from new wave, space rock, and electronica. Upon release, 30 Seconds to Mars received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who commended the album's lyrical content and the band's musicianship, which has been compared to the works of Pink Floyd, Tool, and Brian Eno.
The album debuted at number 107 on the Billboard 200 and number one on the US Top Heatseekers. It was a slow-burning success that eventually sold two million copies worldwide. It produced two singles, "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" and "Edge of the Earth". Thirty Seconds to Mars promoted the album by opening concerts for bands such as Puddle of Mudd, Incubus, Sevendust, and Chevelle.
Background and recording
By 1998, Thirty Seconds to Mars was performing gigs at small American venues and clubs. When they first started, lead vocalist Jared Leto did not allow his vocation as a Hollywood actor to be used in promotion of the band. They played their first concerts under different names, before finally settling on the name "Thirty Seconds to Mars", which was taken from a rare manuscript titled Argus Apocraphex. During this period, the band recorded demo tracks such as "Valhalla" and "Revolution", or "Jupiter" and "Hero", which later appeared on the debut album as "Fallen" and "Year Zero" respectively, but also "Buddha for Mary". Their work led to a number of record labels being interested in signing Thirty Seconds to Mars, which eventually signed to Immortal Records. In 1999, Virgin Records entered into the contract.
The work of Thirty Seconds to Mars generated the interest of record producer Bob Ezrin, who had previously worked on several groundbreaking projects, including The Wall by Pink Floyd, Love It to Death by Alice Cooper, and Destroyer by Kiss. Thirty Seconds to Mars contacted Ezrin because they felt that he had the ability to help them achieve their own vision and create a distinct sound; moreover, the band's members grew up listening to his work with Pink Floyd, Kiss and Alice Cooper. Brian Virtue, who had previously worked with Jane's Addiction, joined the band and Ezrin in producing the record.
Thirty Seconds to Mars retreated to the isolation of Wyoming's countryside in 2001 to record the album, tentatively titled Welcome to the Universe. The band and Ezrin chose an empty warehouse lot on 15,000 acres, starting an intense period of preproduction focused on fifty songs. He described the process of working with Ezrin as tumultuous but also fulfilling, having its own dynamics. He also stated that Virtue was a key element in helping the band define their sound. According to Jared Leto, the band wanted to create "something that had cohesiveness and kind of an atmospheric musical story to it". He identified groups that had a sense of identity and atmosphere as being influential on the album's songwriting. He cited classic stoner rock artists, to which he and his brother Shannon had listened while growing up. Eventually, they gravitated toward more conceptual work like Pink Floyd, David Bowie and The Cure. Thirty Seconds to Mars also drew influences from acts such as Björk, Rush, and Depeche Mode; according to Shannon Leto, the inspirations derived from "mostly big conceptional bands; bands that had depth; bands that were dynamic".
The sound of 30 Seconds to Mars takes on many musical stylistic shifts. Elizabeth Bromstein from Now magazine described it as a concoction of '80s electronics, industrial music and nu metal with a heavy dose of progressive rock.
Lyrics and themes
30 Seconds to Mars is a concept album focusing on human struggle and self-determination. The group expressed interest in signs and symbols and their relationships with cultures and subcultures. However, it was not conceived to be the original concept for the artwork. The initial cover art was discontinued and destroyed during production following the September 11 attacks due to the graphic content of the image. It featured a fighter pilot ejecting from an exploding plane. Thirty Seconds to Mars explained that they never saw it as a violent image, but felt that it was inappropriate in the wake of the events.
Release and promotion
30 Seconds to Mars was released on August 27, 2002, on Immortal Records in the United States and September 30 on EMI in the United Kingdom. It was originally expected to be released in early 2002. However, the band was behind schedule and the cover design needed a reshoot. The album's compact disc featured enhanced material developed by Little Lion Studios, including a promotional video titled "Capricorn" directed by Lawton Outlaw, and a behind the scenes footage edited by Ari Sandel. It had an accompanying music video directed by Paul Fedor. "Edge of the Earth" was released as the album's second single on January 28, 2003, with a music video directed by Kevin McCullough.
After five years since its original release, 30 Seconds to Mars was made available in Australia on April 7, 2007, on Virgin Records. The album was also re-issued as a limited edition picture disc. A re-release on red translucent vinyl was pressed the following year in a limited edition for the 15th anniversary of the album.
Touring
The band promoted the album through a number of tours in North America. Even before its release, Puddle of Mudd invited Thirty Seconds to Mars to open a six-week tour for them in the spring of 2002. On January 30, Thirty Seconds to Mars began a promotional tour in North America. The band played its first European concert on June 24, 2002, at The Barfly in London, England. In July 2002, they began a club tour and also embarked on a North American tour supporting Incubus. In early October, they were invited by MTV to join the Campus Invasion Tour, playing ten dates in Canada alongside I Mother Earth, Billy Talent, and Pepper Sands. The band was also scheduled to open a spring tour for Adema but was forced to withdraw due to scheduling conflicts.
After playing a series of shows supporting Our Lady Peace, Thirty Seconds to Mars opened an autumn tour for Sevendust. The band's first appearance on television was on Last Call with Carson Daly on November 18, which aired on November 27, 2002. It was the last performance with guitarist Solon Bixler, which left the band due to issues primarily related to touring. The band later performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, which marked the first live performance with guitarist Tomo Miličević. In 2003, the band went on tour with Chevelle, Trust Company, and Shihad, and played thirteen shows for Lollapalooza.