Review Summary: It took a moment before I lost myself in here...
It’s no secret that 30 Seconds to Mars has become a bit of a running gag on this site. Their work got exponentially worse as their career went on and it grew to be all about Jared Leto. However, their first record is the one in their discography that is constantly overlooked and not many people have heard it. Having started out with A Beautiful Lie, I didn’t know what to expect going into their self titled debut. I first heard Edge of the Earth at a friend’s house and it just didn’t sound like anything else they’ve ever created. From the moment the swelling synthesizer in Capricorn started, my mind was blown right up until the end of Year Zero where Leto aggressively shouts with passion “we will never fade away!” However, my mind wasn’t blown just because of the music though.
When I found this album, it was during a period where my house flooded three times in just a year and a half. I was in a bad place and I was simply hating life because my whole neighborhood was constantly being taken from me and the place where I made my wonderful memories as a child was destroyed. This being a concept album about human struggle, I really connected with it at the time and it’s still one of the albums I turn to when I’m struggling. Yes I kept telling myself that things could have been worse, but when you’re going through a bad experience, you really don’t care. The focus of this album is struggle and it is dealt with in a mature and complex manner unlike anything of their later works. Songs like Capricorn, Fallen, 93 Million Miles, And Buddha for Mary you could really develop a connection with.
The album’s overall sound is raw, heavy, and bursting at the seams with effects. It’s sound also works exceptionally well with Leto’s astronomically complex metaphors. The best song lyrically and musically is Buddha For Mary. Mary is used as a hard hitting metaphor of showing that most religions look the same inside from the storyteller’s eyes. Meaning no disrespect to anyone mind you, I believe this deep down too. The robotic vocals in the beginning are mesmerizing and Leto’s performance is one of his best. The guitar work is also catchy, but not just on Buddha For Mary. Capricorn is the lead single from the album and rightfully so. This is one of the first songs I developed a connection with due to it’s lyrics about starting over which is what we inevitably had to do. Leto’s amazing range is also demonstrated beautifully as his explodes in the final minute of the song. He also stuns with his vocals on Fallen and his brother Shannon shows his skill as a drummer in the song too. His unique intro transitioning into the heavy guitars is brilliant.
However, Shannon really unleashes his drumming ability on Welcome To The Universe, Echelon and Edge of the Earth. Welcome To The Universe is basically a short rhythmic explosion as Shannon displays some epic beats. Echelon begins with an strange jungle like beat and it’s another one of the albums mesmerizing songs. The final minute is solely for Shannon to show off and he doesn’t disappoint in the slightest. Edge of the Earth another explosion of electronic drumming, synthesizers, and incredible lyrics. Leto sings about taking control of your life and it really spoke to me at the time. Change is sometimes inevitable so you just have to stand up and embrace it. It’s a truly uplifting message that the song sends.
Out of all these songs that hooked me, 93 Million Miles is the one I came back to the most often. The haunting synthesizer intro transitioned into more heavy guitars and truly amazing lyrics. In my high school, I was constantly surrounded by people who took everything they had for granted. It took flooding over and over again to make me realize, I did this too. Leto preaches about how he doesn’t care what you have in the chorus and I began to feel the same way as I listened to it more and more. Not to mention the fact that the guitar work throughout the song is infectious.
This may not be the best album in the world in it’s genre, but it truly is an overlooked gem and something really special. It really had an effect on me and it got me through. It’s overall message is beautiful and the instrumentation is incredibly well done. The poetic nonsense of it all allows you to form your own connection and interpretation of the songs. This is the band’s most mature work to date and it is a real shame the band got worse as their career went on. It’s a shame…
