 | Tracklist:
1. Escape
2. Night Of The Hunter
3. Kings and Queens
4. This Is War
5. 100 Suns
6. Hurricane feat. Kanye West
7. Closer To The Edge
8. A Call To Arms
9. Search & Destroy
10. Alibi
11. Stranger In A Strange Land
12. L490
Release Date: 2009 | |
| | other reviews | DarcieRoy (5)
This Is War has triumphed.... | pizzamachine CONTRIBUTOR (4)
"Ultimately, This Is War is a near perfect blend of old and new, even though the album is wildly inc... | Jared P. EMERITUS (3)
While the album is overblown and pretentious, the final product does turn out to be pretty good.... | Nicholas (1.5)
This is War seems to be a trumpeting call to arms to a war that comes so often we get sick of hearin... |
On 22 Lists
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| Summary: 30 Seconds to Mars attempts to fashion a beast that winds up dull in tooth and ultimately falls victim to its desire to be epic. |
11 of 11 thought this review was well written
It's been going on for years now--- a band previously best known for a mainstream hit gathers a fair bit of momentum on their upcoming release and becomes the temporary "saviors of radio rock," or whatever the hot phrase of month happens to be. Some bands thrive in this role and can successfully balance commercial and critical appeal. Others, however, crumble under the pressure and release a disappointing album. 30 Seconds to Mars seems like a band who could fit nicely in the former role. Jared Leto and company are four years removed from their sophomore release, A Beautiful Lie which went platinum due to the strength of singles "The Kill" and "From Yesterday." But in a mildly surprising decision, the band announced their follow-up, This is War, would not follow the more commercial direction its predecessor had chosen and instead return to the space-rock roots of their self-titled debut with more than a dash of prog thrown in. Often walking the line between impressive and shameless in terms of self-promotion for the record (highlights included bringing in Kanye West to contribute vocals to using 2,000 pictures of fans for alternate albums cover), 30STM successfully built up the hype for This is War to an astounding level. Surely this would be the group's magnum opus?
Fortunately, 30 Seconds to Mars gave the listeners exactly what they advertised--- a grand, epic record with much less radio-driven motives than A Beautiful Lie. Unfortunately, the band isn't nearly accomplished enough to pull off the grandiose vision they had drawn up. From the war-driven themes to the techno-infused instrumentals to the choir of fans that makes appearances in all the wrong places, This is War screams "wannabe" rather than "accomplished" and is pretentious more than impressive.
What is present, however, or what can be deciphered under the layers of gimmicks, is a small step forward for the band. Their sound has matured immensely--- lead single "Kings and Queens" is smooth and confident, even if Leto does channel Tom DeLonge more than he does Bono. Gone are the scream-filled bridges of "The Kill," instead the track floats on an epic verse that adequately complements its chorus and results in a fully-formed sound. When the hawk cries, countoffs in French and fan-sung choruses (check the aptly titled "Vox Populi") are stripped away, the band is left with tracks such as the sub-two minute "100 Suns" and the atmospheric "Alibi" that rely on acoustic guitar and piano-driven chords and wind up being the the most impressive displays of 30 Seconds to Mars' true talents.
Still, such moments are few and far between. Over-reliance on techno beats and synth lines, as well as Leto's forced vocal range exploration put a decent-sized dent in "Night of the Hunter"'s armor. The title track, while not the least impressive song on the album, is the worst offender of the faux-epic sound, following a textbook formula on how to send its repetitive verse exploding into the chorus at just the right time. The Kanye collaboration in "Hurricane" is unremarkable and wholly disappointing, especially after the track builds well before crumbling into auto-tuned madness.
The problem with This is War is in no way lack of effort. In fact, it's impressive that a band of 30STM's supposed caliber could fashion such a grand record. But the band has consistently floated a notch above radio rock, and it's not unfair to hold them to higher standards than those of their peers. This is War had potential to be a massive success, but it ultimately crumbles under the weight of its pretension, revealing a weak backbone that the band never took the time to develop. You can add all the choirs and hawks you want--- if the musicality isn't there, the album will suffer, and suffer it does. It's reasonable to question whether the band had the chops to pull off This is War, and even more so to be generally disappointed with the outcome.
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Good review. Based on what I've heard, I agree with this review over the other one. This just seemed like they were trying way too hard.
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Good review bro. You tend to be at your best with negative reviews, something I haven't really done well with yet.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Their sound has matured immensely
Matured, yes.
Matched the debut, no.
Digging: The Fall of Troy - Doppelganger Digging: The Fall of Troy - Doppelganger | | |
Yeah, it's weird but I seem to enjoy negative reviews more. No idea why.
And yeah their debut is still my favorite by them.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
They can be fun, like my MCMB review and Chan's Cradle of Filth one.
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worst album cover ever
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Not really.
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lol kanye's on this?
Digging: Simian Mobile Disco - Unpatterns Digging: Simian Mobile Disco - Unpatterns
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even if Leto does channel Tom DeLonge more than he does Bono.
this is a good thing
Digging: Marina and The Diamonds - Electra Heart
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Since when?
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around 1997
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
U2 at their worst >>> A&A sounding like U2
also I have like half the posts in this thread lol
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Angles and Airwaves is actually terrible
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even if Leto does channel Tom DeLonge more than he does Bono.
this is a good thing
Regardless it's not the sound the band was going for.
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Really not sure if I should bother with this.
Digging: S. Carey - Hoyas Digging: S. Carey - Hoyas
| | | Album Rating: 4
Well written although I disagree.
Digging: Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction | | |
This is a great review Ryan; you have my vote.
You said what I thought you might say, though I was surprised you didn't enjoy the title track as much I did.
Digging: Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself Digging: Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself
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You know it's actually one of the better on the album, it just seems like they looked up how "How to make an epic song" on google or something and used it for that. Especially that chorus riff.
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was gonna listen to and review this but now I really don't want to
Digging: Mount Eerie - Clear Moon Digging: Mount Eerie - Clear Moon
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I mean I don't really recommend the album but I'd definitely read the review
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