30 Seconds To Mars is the vehicle of singer / guitarist Jared Leto, whom film buffs may know from his roles in American Psycho and Requiem For A Dream. Those roles turned out to be an excellent advertisement for his tape. So much so that in recent years he has been making more music than acting. Initially the group was mainly an American phenomenon, but now they are also gaining popularity in Europe
… with their bombastic emo-rock. On the basis of producer Flood (including U2 and Depeche Mode), the group serves a bricked-up sound in which Leto regularly alternates a sultry bedroom voice with screamed outbursts. Despite the striking appearance of the front man (beautiful boy with asymmetrical haircut and black-rimmed eyes), 30 Seconds To Mars is musically an empty shell. With their clichéd choruses and over-emotional lyrics, This Is War seems primarily a declaration of war for music lovers with an original taste. (PdK)more
