American rock band, 30 Seconds To Mars was formed by two brothers; Jared Leto and Shannon Leto in California in 1998. The band began as a collaboration between a duo who had been into music since childhood.
Artists like; bassist Matt Wachter, guitarist Tomo Miličević and guitarist Solon Bixler who joined the band in its early years have now departed the group, leaving the duo of Jared and Shannon as the only members of the band.
The band’s first album “30 Seconds To Mars’ ‘ was released in 2002. It got a lot of positive reviews from listeners but didn’t receive the desired commercial success. However, the band’s sophomore album “A Beautiful Lie” released in 2005 revealed the band’s talent and creativity to the world.
30 Seconds To Mars has been signed by record labels like; Universal, Interscope, Virgin, EMI, and Immortal, and the band is known for their compelling and melodic sounds.
The band has been in existence for over two decades and within this period, they have garnered millions of fans. Due to the religious themes often employed in their music, listeners are actively seeking answers on the religious status of the band. An examination of the band’s music style and comments by band members will answer the question: Is 30 Seconds To Mars a Christian Band?
Is 30 Seconds To Mars a Religious Band?
Since its inception, 30 Seconds To Mars has been suspected to be a religious band owing to the religious elements employed in their songs. Members of the band have not owned up to being a part of any religious groups but some of their concepts, music lyrics, and comments send ambiguous messages about the band’s religious beliefs.
Jared and his brother Shannon have been rumored to be raised in a religious home. The band makes so many references to faith and religion and also uses religious concepts in their songs. The duo of Jared and Shannon grew up in a Hippie commune and this could be another angle to guess where their spirituality or religious beliefs are learned from.
On Jared Leto’s MySpace page, he added “Christian-other” when asked about religion. This has left fans confused about whether the artist subscribes to Christianity or is generally a religious person and does not subscribe to a particular religious group.
30 Seconds To Mars has not been very expressive of their religious views. Listeners try to get a cue of the band’s religious views from the lyrical composition of the band’s songs and one can perceive some elements of spirituality in those songs.
For instance, looking at “Kings and Queen” by 30 Seconds To Mars, the song contains a deep religious message that fans have interpreted to mean different things. According to some interpretations, the song means that humans are the victims of themselves as they’ve put a lesser god above the only true God and are now facing the consequences. Here are the lyrics
“Into the night
Desperate and broken
The sound of a fight
Father has spoken.
We were the kings and queens of promise
We were the victims of ourselves
Maybe the children of a lesser God
Between Heaven and Hell,
Heaven and Hell.”
Elements of faith and religion show up a lot in songs by the band and apart from the religious themes in those songs, some concepts portrayed by the band have also been associated with a particular religious group. Jared Leto has been seen severally dressing up like Jesus Christ who is the founder of the Christian religion. He even posted a controversial picture on his official Twitter page with a man looking like Jesus and caption it “Jesus and I”
Jared Leto went ahead to establish an alleged cult group with his fans as members. Fans of the artist are called “Echelon”. Jared gathers the Echelons in an isolated area, dresses in white, and preaches to them like Jesus Christ did as portrayed in the Bible.
What kind of Music Band are 30 Seconds To Mars?
30 Seconds To Mars is an Alternative Rock band. The alternative rock genre emerged in the 1970s but became popular in the 90s. This music genre refers to independent music bands that are distinct from commercial rock or pop music bands.
Alternative rock bands are generally defined by their rejection of music commercialization and having some DIY influences. Recently, this has been argued over because some supposed alternative rock artists have achieved success in the mainstream.
30 Seconds To Mars is notable for infusing a variety of genres into their songs. The band combines elements of progressive metal, space rock, emo, and heavy metal with electronic influences in their songs. These music genres/subgenres are an amalgam of electronic musical instruments, languid vocals, screamo, minimal drumming, distorted guitars, themes related to space and science fiction, aggressive vocals, complex rhythms, and eclecticism.
Some themes in songs by 30 Seconds To Mars include; faith, religion, spirituality, nature, philosophical concepts, self-determination and human struggles, governance, and leadership, conflict, survival, love, and lust, social, political, and environmental issues, etc.
30 Seconds To Mars is known for its eclectic music styles and energetic live performances. The band has released 5 full-length albums, with many of them topping music charts and winning awards. The band has successfully sold millions of copies of their albums globally. As of 2021, the band had received 178 nominations and won 82 out of this number.
Is 30 Seconds to Mars a Christian Band?
A Christian is a person who believes in the teachings and practices of the Christian faith. Christianity entails believing in God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and other structures of Christianity like the Holy Bible. The lifestyle of a Christian must reflect the teachings and practices of the religion.
A Christian band can be defined by the type and style of music the band churns out and the beliefs of members of the band. Also, to be labeled a Christian band, such a band must openly identify itself as a Christian band.
Songs by a Christian band mainly portray the beliefs and practices of Christianity. They are usually based on the pillars, teachings, and structure of the Christian faith. Members of such a band are usually Christians who have openly affirmed their faith in the religion and their lifestyles depict true Christianity.
30 Seconds To Mars is notorious for using Christian imagery in its songs. On different occasions, the band’s frontman Jared has acted like Jesus Christ. Jared has been seen imitating the dressing, speaking, and walking styles of Jesus Christ as the bible portrays.
On a tour with the Echelons sometime in 2019, Jared already has long hair and was dressed in a white rope. He was addressed as a messiah figure by his fans and he fully embraces it.
Several songs by 30 Seconds To Mars have employed Christian imagery and themes and have given fans things to debate about. We do not consider the band a Christian band because band members have not labeled it as one, and the band does not meet the requirements to be classified as a Christian band.
Notwithstanding, their songs have been influenced by Christian beliefs, terms, and themes. Some such songs include;
“Walk on Water” by 30 Seconds To Mars
Look at the sky, see a dying star
White lies, it’s a man on fire
Making love with the devil hurts
Times are changing
A thin line, the whole truth
The far right, the left view
Breaking all those promises made
Times are changing
Oh oh, oh oh
Do you believe that you can walk on water?
“Kings and Queen” by 30 Seconds To Mars
“We were the kings and queens of promise
We were the victims of ourselves
Maybe the children of a lesser God
Between Heaven and Hell,
Heaven and Hell.
Birth by 30 Seconds to Mars
I will save you from yourself
Time will change everything about this hell
Are you lost, can’t find yourself?
You’re north of Heaven
Maybe somewhere west of hell”
“End of All Days” by 30 Seconds To Mars
“I’m tired of waiting
For the end of all days
The prophets are preaching
That the god are needing praise
Headlights are coming
Showing me the way
Serpents are singing
A song that meant to save
All we need is faith
All we need is faith
Faith is all we need”
30 Seconds To Mars Christian Songs
30 Seconds To Mars makes use of Christian symbolism in their songs, however, these songs do not meet the criteria to be categorized as Christian songs. Some of the songs come as a criticism or the imagery is being used to pass an ambiguous message, something quite different from Christianity. Against this backdrop, 30 Seconds To Mars has no Christian songs.
Is 30 Seconds To Mars a Satanic Band?
No! We don’t also label 30 Seconds To Mars as a Satanic band. Satanism is characterized by demon worship, and the use of dark and creepy themes, concepts, and graphics in their music.
30 Seconds To Mars has not publicly associated with Satanic practices like demon worship and glorification nor do their songs contain themes or messages that portray Satanism. As such, we do not consider them a Satanic band.
Conclusion
Music intersects human lives and can evoke distinct moods in users. Music artists are aware of the power music has on humans and have adopted different techniques to appeal to diverse listeners.
Some have adopted poetic influences while others have tilted to religious themes to spice up their songs even when they are not a religious band. 30 Seconds To Mars have been able to creatively employ these influences in its songs and has made a mark in the American music scene.
30 Seconds To Mars is not a Christian band but we can’t dispute the fact that the band has produced a great body of work that has earned them well-deserved recognition and awards in the global music scene.
Think we were wrong? Write your reasoning in the comments and prove us wrong!