Thirty Seconds to Mars began in Los Angeles in 1998, formed by brothers Jared Leto, already known as an actor, and Shannon Leto, who had been playing music together since their childhood . Initial musical influences included The Cure, Metallica, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin with a lineup that included Wachter on bass, Jared on guitar and vocals and Shannon on drums. The band's name itself carried an air of mystery, as Jared Leto stated it was inspired by a rare manuscript titled Argus Apocraphex . Guitarist Tomo MiliÄević joined during the 2003 touring season, eventually becoming a defining member of the band's classic lineup alongside the Leto brothers.
The band's self-titled 2002 debut, produced by Bob Ezrin, was released to positive reviews but only to limited commercial success . Everything changed with their 2005 sophomore effort, A Beautiful Lie, which achieved worldwide fame with the release of its second album, which received multiple certifications all over the world . The single "The Kill" became a phenomenon, making history by being the longest-running song in history on the modern rock billboard charts for a year , while the video for "From Yesterday" made history as the first American rock video ever shot in China . By this point the band's core lineup consisted of actor Jared Leto (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Shannon Leto (drums, percussion) and Tomo MiliÄević (lead guitar, keyboards) , a trio that would carry the band through its most celebrated years.
Momentum only built from there. Their third album, This Is War (2009), showed a dramatic evolution in the band's musical style, as it incorporated experimental music as well as eclectic influences , and produced two chart-topping singles in "Kings and Queens" and "This Is War," which both reached number one on the Alternative Songs chart . The album's creation was shadowed by a bitter legal battle with EMI, later chronicled in the documentary Artifact, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the People's Choice Documentary Award . The band went on to rack up dozens of honors, including "Best International Band" at the Kerrang! Awards three times (2008, 2010, 2011) and nine MTV Europe Music Awards, including "Best Rock" and "Best Alternative" . They even set a Guinness World Record for playing over 300 live shows during one album's tour . Following a move to Universal Music, the band released Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams (2013) and later America (2018), both of which climbed higher and higher up the charts, breaking into the Top 10 across the globe .
Thirty Seconds to Mars remains active, having issued their sixth studio set, It's the End of the World But It's a Beautiful Day, in 2023 . Across more than two decades, the band has built a reputation for consistently enjoying sold out tours and numerous headlining festival slots, noted for its energetic live performances and for fusing many music genres , drawing comparisons to acts like Pink Floyd, The Cure, Tool, and U2, because of their philosophical and spiritual lyrics, concept albums and their use of experimental music . With Jared Leto's dual career as an Oscar-winning actor keeping the band in the cultural spotlight, Thirty Seconds to Mars has endured as one of the more theatrical and fan-driven forces in modern alternative rock.
That larger-than-life stage presence is part of what makes their appearance in this archive so fitting. Wayne Dennon photographed Thirty Seconds to Mars just once, in 2005, right as the band was breaking through with A Beautiful Lie, a fleeting but well-timed encounter that left behind 12 photographs now preserved here. Modest in number but rich in context, that single show has become one of the more visited corners of this archive, with visitors returning to view these images 10,253 times, a quiet testament to both the band's lasting pull and Wayne's eye for capturing a moment just as it was taking flight.
