"Closer to the Edge" by Thirty Seconds to Mars, Friday, July 1, 2022
Thirty Seconds to Mars exploded on Alternative Rock radio with their second album, A Beautiful Lie. The album produced four singles, including the number 1 hit "From Yesterday." Fronted by actor Jared Leto, who was then known for playing supporting roles on movies like Fight Club, Alexander, and American Psycho as well as the lead in the film Requiem for a Dream, the singer was not yet a household name. But once Leto won an Oscar for best supporting actor in Dallas Buyers Club, Jared Leto the actor far outshone Jared Leto the front man to an Alternative Rock band. Just before that success, though, was the 2009 Thirty Seconds to Mars record, This Is War.
THE BIRTH OF A SUN, THE DEATH OF A DREAM. This Is War is a concept album that plays on several lyrical and musical themes. Nothing in the lyrics of the record is specific about what the actual or metaphoric war the band is fighting. But behind the scenes, Leto and his band, composed of his older brother Shannon on drums and guitarist Tomo Miličević, had been in a dispute with their record label, Virgin Records. The label eventually sued the band for $30 million, claiming breach of contract. The lawsuit was later settled and the band signed to EMI Records, all the while filming the recording process of the record and sharing their story about the underbelly of the recording industry in a film they would release in 2012, Artifact. The documentary film features Thirty Seconds to Mars and their friends--producers, members of other bands, and others in the music industry--talking about their experiences with the predatory practice of record labels. And while the record labels tend to bully smaller artists, Thirty Seconds to Mars wielded Leto's celebrity status to draw attention to their cause.
I'M NOT SAYING I'M SORRY. "Closer to the Edge" is the band's third single from This Is War. And like A Beautiful Lie, the singles from this record were radio hits. "Closer to the Edge" even brought the rock band onto Adult Alternative stations. The anthemic synth, guitar, and drum loops make the song quite addictive along with the chorus of fans that make the song sound almost like it was recorded live--a musical motif that appears on this records on many of the tracks. The video features fans talking about how music got them through a hard time. One fan even says: "Some people believe in God, I believe in music. Some people pray, I turn up the radio." Elsewhere on the record, notably on "100 Suns," Leto testifies that he "believe[s] in nothing / Not in sin and not in God." Yet, the battle cry throughout the record sound like a U2. It sounds the Christian Rock of a worship service. While Leto and his fans may not believe in God, there is a spiritual quality to the sound of the chorus singing along with Leto as he screams out the higher notes. The spirituality of connections and the spirituality of having a common enemy (though not defined in this record) lifts This Is War to anthemic greatness.
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