Beautiful Lie, A (+DVD) [Digipak] - 30 Seconds To Mars

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Some great live performances on the DVD
Disadvantages:	A lot of unnecessary rubbish on the DVD, and the poor extra track

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

NOTE: This is a review of both the CD and the DVD that comes with it.

"A Beautiful Lie" is the sophomore effort from the band 30 Seconds to Mars. Not many people realise it's actually their second release, simply because their first album received no real exposure. Breaking away from the conceptual themes of space, the universe and war, "A Beautiful Lie" seems to deal more with personal loss, personal struggle, and the "inner demons" that we all keep locked up.

So I mentioned it's different from their first release. This CD is a lot more accessible to music listeners. I really hate attempting to put genres to music, but if I were to classify this I'd say it's a more alternative-rock release, of which some people would also say has hints of "emo". Because of it's accessibility, this CD has gained 30 Seconds to Mars more exposure than before. As a result they've now been rocketed to the limelight and have won various awards both for their music and their videos.

It's clear from this CD that both Jared and the rest of the guys have evolved musically, considering they spent the better half of a few years travelling around the world, gaining inspiration for this release. Jared's voice is stronger and more confident, and with the addition of Matt on bass, and Tomo on guitar, they have created a brilliant harmony together.

A Beautiful Lie contains the following tracks:
1. Attack
2. A Beautiful Lie
3. The Kill
4. Was It A Dream?
5. The Fantasy
6. Savior
7. From Yesterday
8. The Story
9. R-Evolve
10. A Modern Myth
11. Battle of One
12. Hunter
13. The Kill (Rebirth)

"Attack" was the first single released, to limited success despite various TV appearances. It was "The Kill", however, that rocketed 30 Seconds to Mars to fame. With a video based upon Stephen King's "The Shining", and directed by Jared, it won "Best Music Video" at the MTV Video Music Awards. "From Yesterday" is an athemic track hugely popular with fans and again, with a video directed by Jared, earned them a lot of attention due to it's extreme length and Chinese theme. "A Beautiful Lie" is announced as their next single.

The music from the album ranges from hard rock/metal tracks ("Battle of One") to beautiful orchestral melodies ("A Modern Myth"). 30 Seconds to Mars are known for their use of synthesisers, and other "special effects" such as the sound of rain in the track "Was it a Dream?". Jared's vocals are excellent, as always, and his ranges are fantastic. Ear piercing screams or mesmorising whispers, you can find it all on this CD. One thing to be said, however, is that the lyrics are very often misinterpreted or even not understood at all. They tend to be cryptic and vague, I suppose so that the listener can interpret them into their own situations. Because of this a lot of people have been put off by this band, and this CD, saying that it "makes no sense". I, personally, don't judge a CD by the lyrical content.

Aside from the 4 singles released, the remaining tracks on the album are solid. There are, however, a couple of tracks I generally skip through because I feel they're too similar to others. Of a 13 track release, I'd say that 11 of those are exceptional, and the other 2 can simply be skipped without any real loss of quality.

It must be said now that the ABL (A Beautiful Lie) CD+DVD combination should differ slightly from the standard "A Beautiful Lie" release. The CD should contain an extra, revamped version of "The Kill" called "Rebirth". This is basically "The Kill" with vocals that are less "screamy" and with far more synthesisers.

So what does this +DVD combination contain?
Well, you get a copy of the CD, naturally, with the bonus track. You then receive a bonus DVD which contains the following features:

Basic:
1. The Kill (Video)
2. The Making of The Kill (Video)
3. The International Music Feed Interview (Video)

MTV's Greatest Moments 2006 - All that Rocks Performance:
1. Attack
2. The Kill
3. The Fantasy (Fan Generated Take)
4. T-Minus Rock Interview

MTV's Video Music Awards:
1. Red Carpet Arrival
2. MTV2 Award Acceptance Speech

MTV$2 Bill Presents "Welcome to the Universe Featuring 30 Seconds to Mars"
1. MTV$2 Bill Internet Promo
2. MTV$2 Bill Pre-sale Tour Promo
3. MTV$2 Bill Ticket Sale Tour Promo

As you can see, it's mainly all promos and other junk. I class myself as a "die hard" 30STM fan and despite the few actual video performances they have on there, the rest is the kind of thing you don't actually WANT to watch. Why re-release an album with such utter rubbish extra content? To me this is just a complete dishonesty to your fans, and is a classic example of corporate sellout.

It's great to have a DVD video of "The Kill", but it's not even the director's cut - which is an additional 20 seconds or so long. "The Making Of The Kill" is a 15 minute documentary showing pieces of the band in makeup, doing their thing, and some random people who have showed up. To be honest it's all very rushed and not even put together that well. You can tell simply by looking at the DVD menu that this was hacked together.

The Interview on this DVD is boring, and a complete waste of space and time. Jared is generally the only one who talks on the interviews, so the rest of the band sit in the background looking bored.

The best part of this DVD is clearly the "All that Rocks" MTV performance of the tracks - which, admittedly, is performed extremely well. 30 Seconds to Mars are absolutely amazing live, and this performance easily reflects that and is perhaps worth buying alone. You could, of course, just download these videos from the Internet if you so wish.

All in all, as I've already said, I found it hugely disappointing. Given how they released "Attack" and made a video for it, long before they released "The Kill", they should have included the original video on this DVD too. It would've also been nice to see a lot more backstage stuff, perhaps some of the music production, or just some "on tour" scenes. Instead, we are barraged with promos and media rubbish which is of no interest to anyone except the hoardes of fangirls who are only interested in 30 Seconds to Mars to see Jared Leto in makeup. Whilst the intent may have been there, the execution was indeed poor.

I'd recommend the CD+DVD combo for anyone who is a "true" fan and wants this to complete their collection. If you're not very familiar with the band and just want to check out the music, you're probably best off sticking to the standalone CD instead - unless you can find this for the same price. Definitely don't pay any extra for it if you can help it.