30 Seconds to Mars - Attack (Immortal)
3/5
By: Christiana Spens
30 Seconds to Mars was pulled together by the incredible actor Jared Leto, famous for his performances in Requiem for a Dream and Fight Club, and soon to play John Lennon's assassin in the upcoming biopic of Mark Chapman, Chapter 27. After a career portraying life on the edge, characters possessed by insanity, drug addiction and rage, it follows that Jared Leto should branch out into rock, and play the music that otherwise would soundtrack a brawl, a heist, a fight, a tryst...
But after starring roles in such iconoclastic cult films, does Leto's band's music even come close to winning the kudos that the efforts of his film career were deservingly paid? Put bluntly, does Jared Leto have in musical verve what he does in acting ability, or is it just a little something on the side of a film career, similar to Ethan Hawke's road trip novels - which although were passable, were by no means critically acclaimed.
Well judging from 'Attack' - the first track to be taken from their hugely successful US album 'A Beautiful Lie' - Jared Leto is no mere dilettante - and the rest of his band are far from submissive backing artists. It's a strong and passionate debut, possessing dynamics that push the song forward and demand attention. The vocals of Jared Leto are exciting, captivating, and expressive, and it's obvious that he puts into vocal performance the verve he put into film performances. His voice, as well as the equally strong performances of the other bands members - Shannon Leto on drums, Tomo Milicevic on guitar and Matt Watcher on bass - suggests a depth of story and drama and emotion.
It's very much that kind of American subversive energy that fills the counter-culture of reactive films, music and literature and embodies all the angst and antagonism of modern American society. It is tormented, divided, self-destructive and on the edge of sanity. It is what draws us to America - and also what scares us away - it thrills, it kills - and we watch the drama unravel on the screens of televisions and cinemas, at once detached and intimately involved. So here is another chance to be in on the action. Only where a movie is always defined by a script's typical start, middle, end - a song is less contained within that structure. It is shorter, more condensed, and hits you a little quicker. You are less an observer, but instead a character possessed by the soundtrack, in your own film, your own life, with these voices in your head...
Jared Leto, with the strength of his band mates, takes the bold step from playing fictional characters to expressing a real character - his own. And in so doing, he shows that fiction and reality are inevitably entwined, informed by one another, and that the drama, be it on film or in song - is real. Only there's something a little more dangerous I feel, about life on the edge when cameras are gone - only a soundtrack, those voices in your head, to feed you your next line in life's play.
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