A call to arms, This Is War, is the follow-up to A Beautiful Lie and churned by Los Angeles’ alternative-rock unit Thirty Seconds To Mars. It is for the Kings and Queens, the brothers and sisters, the civilians and the victims… Filled with the youthful chorus of the future, the touch of a choir was crucial to the sound of this album. It represents the cry of the people, of the potential leaders, and more adequately, of tomorrow’s soldiers. Jared Leto, Shannon Leto and Tomo Miličević have pulled away from their angst image, and substituted it with motivational speaking icons. The tracks are clap-stomp anthems of classic stadium rock, and the lingo is clichéd and over the top, but I guess for some it would be empowering and hopeful. Leto vociferates “Time to go to war” in Vox Populi, “It’s time to pay” in Escape, “To the right, To the left, We will fight to the death, To the edge of the world” in This Is War and “Rise up above it” in Night of the Hunter. There is no mistaking it. The frontman is appealing to the brave hearts to battle and to live with no fear, no regrets. Now, exactly what he is fighting for is left to your interpretation. I’m assuming he’s fighting for good, for a life worth living by the tone of his tunes. The band does manage to come down from the plateau of upbeat quick tempo tracks, which this album is chock-full of, for the mantra of 100 Suns and the wispy vocals of Alibi. And another lovely twist is Hurricane where Kanye West furthers the melodic arrangement and transient electronic bursts of the track by singing along. According to Leto, This Is War is centered around faith and the spiritual matters of his world. The lyrics are strong and confident; I’m just hoping that someone doesn’t misconstrue it as a command to go out and kill, crash or burn. With so many records out there focused on the dismal and tragic stories, the heartbreaks and the disappointments, I guess it’s not so bad to sometimes throw in an uplifting anthem, to “Raise your hands to warm the sun.”
Key Tracks: Kings and Queens, 100 Suns, Hurricane
Moods: Dramatic, Urgent, Theatrical, Passionate, Poignant, Angst-Ridden
Buy: This Is War
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