30 Seconds To Mars – This Is War

Track listing:
1. “Escape” — 2:24
2. “Night of the Hunter” — 5:41
3. “Kings and Queens” — 5:48
4. “This Is War” — 5:27
5. “100 Suns” — 1:58
6. “Hurricane” — 6:12
7. “Closer to the Edge” — 4:34
8. “Vox Populi” — 5:43
9. “Search and Destroy” — 5:39
10. “Alibi” — 6:00
11. “Stranger in a Strange Land” — 6:54
12. “L490” — 4:26

On the epic This Is War, 30 Seconds To Mars manage to distill the essence of  noughties Rock. It is as if some mad scientist has taken U2, The Killers and My Chemical Romance, extracted their Factor-X and then injected it into 30 Seconds To Mars. I remember Pop Rock band Roxette doing this sort of distillation of clichés within their field, and getting slated for it. Well I actually enjoyed it, and I enjoy this stuff. Cranked to the MAX, of course!

Reviewed at:

All Music Guide – http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fbfuxzraldhe~T1

Slant Magazine – http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=1945

The Guardian – http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/dec/04/30-seconds-to-mars-this-is-mars

Spin – http://www.spin.com/reviews/thirty-seconds-mars-war-rca

Dot Music – http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/091216/33/2224n.html