Review Summary: "Whatever you do don’t be afraid of the dark; cover your eyes, the devil’s inside."
“This is War” could have been their
St. Anger record. The band went through so much turmoil from their beef with EMI Records and who could blame them? The band received
ZERO profit from both of their previous album (
A Beautiful Lie and their self-titled debut), they were over $3 million in debt, and to make matters worse, sued for $30 million just because. Of course it is subjective per listener the extent of how much the turmoil damaged the quality of the record, but, just like
St. Anger, it should be seen as nothing short of a triumph on the artist’s part. "
This is War” is as bombastic as their previous records, but what separates it from the others is passion (often mistaken for arrogant pretentiousness) that bleeds in every song. The album isn’t meant to convert listeners to become fans (although it no doubt did that, too) but a heartfelt gift to the fans, nothing more/nothing less.
On the surface, the lyrics on the record is just absurd space rock-isms harkening back to their self-titled debut, but looking closer, it is very obvious that almost every song on the record is an assault on their record label. Right as Jared whispers that ominous annihilation of an oppressive name on “Escape”it is very blatant who they will be talking about for a majority of the record: EM-Fuking-I. There are diversions from that topic too as the following song “Night of the Hunter” incorporates sly nods to Jared’s and Shannon’s childhood in Louisiana and others like “Vox Populi” and “Search and Destroy” are call-to-arms anthems to stick together through tough times.
Musically, it’s a radical departure from their previous records as it incorporates a more pronounced presence in electronic music courtesy of producer Flood (of Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, and U2 fame). Sure the music can be rather compressed and badly clipped in areas, but the entire record had to be recorded in Jared’s basement so its excusable. But even taking into account it was recorded in his basement and money was spent frugally, it is surprisingly very well produced. The record contains less guttural screams that pervaded ABL, but Jared places a lot emphasis on his astonishing vocal range. Jared can easily transition from whispers to much higher notes with so much ease, he makes it sound so easy (just listen to “Alibi”). The bass guitar is more audible, though there’s notably a lesser emphasis on distortion. The band does maintain their strong prog rock influences, but the emphasis on their new pop sound can be a turn off for some.
For the most part, the songs are more or less what 30StM have always been delivering in their last two albums, albeit less distortion. So whether or not the listener may enjoy the record will mostly be based on how much exposure to the band the listener has and just how much she/he tolerates them. “Stranger in a Strange Land” is the most unique song on the album as it uses industrial flavored synths and percussion for its distortion but remains as the band’s darkest and most uncomfortable song with a chilling, apocalyptic atmosphere. “Hurricane” is subtle in how it uses calmness for its bombast and loudness as well as easily having the greatest chorus on the entire record.
The one notable flaw of the record is the way how the bombast affected the songwriting. Songs like “Kings and Queens” and “This is War” have a chorus that sound almost nearly identical with their soaring, clean vocals over a long-ass verse. “Closer to the Edge” fares much better as it balances bombast and passion making it the most moving song on the album. Although “Vox Populi” and “Search and Destroy” are very heartwarming touches to the album, they suffer the most, however, as neither do anything very noteworthy to merit a place. “L490” is a very intriguing closer when you take into account that the title derives from the medication Jared had to be on after he starred in the movie
Chapter 27; the song was written and performed solely by Shannon with monks chanting a traditional prayer of rebirth and redemption. On a song like “Alibi,” the average songwriting is more than made up by Jared’s heart wrenching vocals and it is a true tearjerker as Jared literally cries that he will rise from his broken state and beat all odds *cough*murder everyone in EMI*cough*.
If there was anything the band wanted the listener to get out of the album, it would be that life is yours for the taking. Prove everyone wrong and get yourself out there. The band still received jack-***t in terms of profit for “This is War” but they already knew that from the moment they started recording. They’re in the business mostly just because they love what they do and cherish every second of it and share those moments with their dedicated fan base. There’s hardly any bands out there as passionate as 30 Seconds to Mars and you have to at the very least give them credit for that.
Track Ratings:
Escape: 3/5
Night of the Hunter: 4.5/5
Kings and Queens: 3/5
This is War: 4/5
100 Suns: 3.7/5
Hurricane: 5/5
Closer to the Edge: 4.5/5
Vox Pupuli: 2/5
Search and Destroy: 2/5
Alibi: 4/5
Stranger in a Strange Land: 4/5
L490: 3/5
Album Rating: 3.7
