Biography

Thirty Seconds to Mars (also commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1998. Since 2007, the band has consisted of actor Jared Leto (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, bass, keyboards, songwriter), Shannon Leto (drums, percussion) and Tomo Mili?evi? (lead guitar, bass, keyboards, strings). Following the departure of Matt Wachter (now of Angels & Airwaves) in 2007, Tim Kelleher became the bassist for the group, performing live only with both Jared and Mili?evi? recording bass for studio recordings, while Braxton Olita (keyboards) was added to the touring lineup in 2009. Previously, the group also featured guitarists Solon Bixler (now of Great Northern) and Kevin Drake (now of Polaroid Kiss).

To date, Thirty Seconds to Mars have released four studio albums – 30 Seconds to Mars (2002), A Beautiful Lie (2005), This Is War (2009), Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams (2013) and three extended plays – AOL Sessions Undercover (2007), To the Edge of the Earth (2008), and MTV Unplugged: 30 Seconds to Mars (2011). As of May 2013, the band has sold over 10 million albums worldwide.

Thirty Seconds to Mars’ music has been associated mostly with new prog, progressive metal and alternative rock, but they have also included emo, screamo, space rock and synthrock into their music. They have been compared to Pink Floyd (who were an influence on their work) and Tool because of their use of philosophical and spiritual lyrics, concept albums and their use of experimental music.