30 Seconds to Mars is the debut album by American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. The album was released on August 27, 2002, by Virgin Records and two singles were released from it, "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" and "Edge of the Earth" of the two, only the former charted, peaking at #31 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart.

The phrase 'Welcome to the universe' is repeated throughout the album in the songs "Welcome to the Universe", "93 Million Miles", and "The Struggle". The original name for the album was going to be "Welcome to the Universe". Additionally, "division" and "unity" are repeated in the lyrics of the songs "Oblivion", "Echelon", "End of the Beginning", "93 Million Miles", and "The Struggle". 93 million miles is the average distance from Earth to the Sun.^[1]

Overview

The overall theme of the album is of that of human struggle. "Revolution", a song recorded for the album, was not included because its lyrics did not fit the rest of the album thematically, and because its lyrics could be misinterpreted. Ultimately, the band chose not to include the song in light of the September 11, 2001 attacks.^[2]

Two other tracks were recorded for the album: "Phase 1: Fortification" and "Anarchy in Tokyo"; "Phase 1: Fortification" was included on a promotional single for "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" released in the UK, and "Anarchy in Tokyo" was included as a bonus track with the Japanese release of the album.

The lyrics of the hidden track, "The Struggle", were taken from Sun Tzu's The Art of War.

The song "Echelon" is featured in the film, The Core.

Track listing

All songs written by Jared Leto

1. "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" – 3:53
2. "Edge of the Earth" – 4:37
3. "Fallen" – 4:59
4. "Oblivion" – 3:29
5. "Buddha for Mary" – 5:45
6. "Echelon" – 5:50
7. "Welcome to the Universe" – 2:40
8. "The Mission" – 4:05
9. "End of the Beginning" – 4:40
10. "93 Million Miles" – 5:20
11. "Year Zero" (ends at 4:37, and hidden track "The Struggle" begins at 4:57) – 7:53
    • "The Struggle" – 2:57 (Hidden track)

DVD extras

• "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" (Multimedia) (Video) – 3:33
• Behind the Scenes Footage (Multimedia) (Video) – 5:52

Bonus tracks

12. Anarchy in Tokyo (ends at 4:11 hidden track "The Struggle" begins at 4:28) – 7:25 (Japanese Edition)
13. Valhalla - 4:52 (Japanese Edition)

Release history

Personnel

30 Seconds to Mars

• Jared Leto - guitar on all tracks except for "The Struggle"; bass on all tracks except track 6 and "The Struggle"; synth on all tracks except track 7 and "The Struggle"; programming on tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8-10, and "The Struggle"; and vocals on all tracks except "The Struggle"
• Shannon Leto - drums on all tracks; guitar and vocals on "The Struggle"
• Solon Bixler — guitar on track 4; bass on track 6; additional guitar on tracks 2 and 9-11; additional synth on track 10

Additional musicians

• Backing vocals on "Fallen" by Maynard James Keenan
• Synthesizer on "Echelon" by Brian Virtue
• Piano on "The Mission" by Bob Ezrin
• Additional synthesizer on "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" by Dr. Nner
• Additional programming on "Oblivion" by Joe Bishara
• Additional bass and guitar on "Welcome to the Universe" by Phillips Exeter Blue I
• Additional bass on "Buddha for Mary," "End of the Beginning" and "93 Million Miles" by Jeffery Jaeger
• Additional guitar on "End of the Beginning" by Jeffery Jaeger

Production

• Produced by Bob Ezrin, Brian Virtue and 30 Seconds to Mars
• Additional programming on "Fallen" by Danny Lohner
• Additional programming on "Oblivion" by Joe Bishara
• Photography: Shannon Leto
• Additional photography: Ken Schles
• Creative direction: Mary Fagot
• Design: Eric Roinestad
• Art direction, concepts and iconography: 30 Seconds to Mars
• Legal: Eric Greenspan
• Management: Arthur Spivak (Spivak/Sobol Entertainment)
• Business management: Dian Vaughn and Mark Walker Assante
• U.S. booking: Creative Arts Agency (CAA), John Marks, John Branigan and William Morris
• UK booking: Mike Dewdney (ITB)

References

2. ^ Redmon, Jess. Shoutweb.com: On the Record: 30 Seconds to Mars: Welcome to their universe (May 2002). Accessed April 5, 2006.