Dangerous Night- Thirty Seconds To Mars Review

Let me just say up front: I don't like Thirty Seconds To Mars very much. They are a bit too loud for the their relatively low artistry and meaning, with some just plain ugly shouts. The instrumentals are often pretty good but too mixed up and confused. I also don't really like Jared Leto's proto- messiah complex- he acts too much like he's some sort of god. Their next and fifth album has been plagued by delays. The first single, Walk On Water, was released last august, a volatile blend of electrorock, gospel-like choruses and general stadium decadence. That was half a year before this one, the second, and the album won't even come out until the end of this year, or even as late as 2020. So is this track worth the wait?

The songs starts with a classic, 30 STM whisper-shouting verse, backed by classic 30 STM keyboards that sound lonely and dying yet defiant, each backed by trap sub-bass drops. Vox sample drops and more electronic beats give way to a rare guitar that launches the prechorus in to the chorus. The instrumentals for the chorus are just a big mess, and while the vocals are a bit more of a subdued scream for 30 STM, they're vague, basic, and short. The beats get more skittery and glitchy (yet controlled), and there are yet more basic arena rock tropes through the rest of the song, which lasts the perfect length for the radio stations it was made for.

This song isn't terrible but it isn't tremendous either. Thirty Seconds To Mars is barely changing their sound, but they're acting pretty much the same and haven't actually changed. Their fifth album will definitely be better than their first, with Dangerous Night and probably the next singles playing on alternative radio but not spreading to the mainstream. I don't really know what to say... 30 STM is getting a bit depressing, not going anywhere getting less and less popular... I dunno.