"This is War" (30 Seconds to Mars) - Song Review

Hello everybody! Welcome to my new site Lyriticus. This is the first of MANY songs (and later on, movies) which will be reviewed here at The Truth Machine. This post will also serve as a "tutorial" to show you what the site is all about.

Why did I choose "This is War" to be first song reviewed? Well, the title is so appropriate considering the conspiracy nature of Lyriticus, and it also has a lot of interesting themes to discuss in the Lyritical Analysis below.

All in all, it should make for an excellent showcase for my new blog and why you should stay tuned for (hopefully) years to come. Now, without further adieu, let's get reviewing!

Reviewed By: Kyle van Rensburg (Head Writer)

Album: This is War (Studio Album)

Artist: 30 Seconds to Mars

Release Date: March 2010

Genre: Progressive Rock

Verdict: 14+ for Mature Themes and Brief Strong Language (Music Video Only)

Areas of Concern:

Violence/Gore:

Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Offensive

Lyrics:

-Some references to war and the like, with a line referring to a "fight to the death" and a moment to "live" and a moment to "die."

Video:

-We see footage depicting war, with explosions and gunfire, people panicking, buildings and vehicles being set on fire, and footage of a soldier firing a flamethrower. 

The video ends with a bunch of military vehicles flying around, crashing on the ground as soldiers fire at them. They eventually collide into each other to create a huge formation of wreckage.

Sex/Nudity:

Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Offensive

Nothing.

Language:

Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Offensive

The song itself doesn't contain any swear words, but the music video contains a very clear singular use of the F-word.

Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking:

Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Offensive 

Nothing.

Spiritual Content:

Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Offensive 

Lyrics: References to a Messiah, Martyr, and the ending states the protagonist doesn't believe in a "God", sin, peace, war or anything else, only the truth, "light" in "ourselves" and our own existence. (Possible atheist overtones. More detail in the Analysis...)

Mood:

Upbeat Somewhat Aggressive Rock: The song features a moderately heavy guitar riff and screaming vocals at certain points. The lyrics are also upbeat, but are clearly aggressive and suggestive of violence.

The Lyritical Analysis:

Before I begin, let me explain what this section is for newcomers: This is where we analyse the selected work for double meanings, symbolism, hidden messages, as well as explore the themes presented within the work.

This section will take a SECOND look at a music video or movie and show you the things that you may have taken for granted or missed upon initial viewing. We will also show you selected symbols and what they really mean.

PS: This section is up to you to believe or dismiss. I accept full responsibility for misinterpretion or hyperbole. If you have even the smallest conspiracy theory allergy, then avoid this section.

PPS: This section is not, and never will be, limited to conspiracy theories. All types of themes are explored. We dig deep and present what we find, no matter what it is.

Peace out, bro.

Right from the start, the video makes itself very clear: It's a WAR song promoting PEACE. Basically, FIGHTING so that there's no more FIGHTING. Yep.

War......War never changes.

After a bit more war-y footage and lyrics, we get a very interesting flash across the screen. This flash occurs several times throughout the video and shows that the ending might not be just a stroke of randomness:

If you can't read past the obnoxious logo placement, the text says:
"Unclassified Analogic Attack"

This flash establishes that the video is an analogy. And based on the chaos towards the second half, it can't be anything else. What is the analogy? Well, let's keep going...

We see a couple of political statements, with JFK depicted as a "truthful" president and George Bush Jr. depicted as being George Bush Jr. We then get a break in the middle where Jared Leto (Lead Singer of 30 Seconds to Mars) gets out of his Humvee to investigate something "weird"...

After walking into the middle of the road, rather foolishly I might add, Jared looks up in the sky and sees a "few" military vehicles flying through the sky over them. Yes, you read that right: Flying. Military. Vehicles. Yes, helicopters too, but tanks and Humvees as well.

Pictured: Your average Battlefield 4 Deathmatch.

When gunfire doesn't stop the huge vehicles from flying over them, the soldiers eventually drop their weapons and watch as the "Instruments of War" all collide together to form a structure. 

Before we get to the end of the video, let me backtrack: Flashes of political figures such Gandhi, Stalin and JFK are seen throughout the video. These flashes are used to show that the message of peace goes into the territory of politics and beyond the war zone.

The video also states it's about peace. How does that peace come about? Well, the lyrics refer to the protagonist believing in the "light" and not in a God or sin. If you look at the lyrics, it's clear that the singer believes that mankind and some kind of "light" will usher in peace. What is the "light"? Let's go back to the video to find out...

The structure is finalised as the soldiers watch on in awe. While the structure forms, we hear the aforementioned references to the "light." When the metal formation reaches it's finalised state, we clearly see what it is. 

A metal castle? An aircraft carrier? A UFO?

Nope. See for yourself:

...All of the above?

A pyramid. Built from the ashes of war, with a new wonder rising from the ashes. (Like the Phoenix?) And after all this mumbo-jumbo about believing in the "light", what could this possibly refer to? 

Ever heard of The Illuminati? (Just say "YES". You know you have...) That secret organisation every slightly insane person rambles on about?

If you don't know what the Illuminati is, it's an alleged group of people who rule the world from the shadows, hiding behind political figures and embedding their symbols in Pop Culture. The symbol of the Illuminati is the One-Eyed Pyramid, which you can find on the back of the US One Dollar bill.

What does Illuminati mean? "Enlightened." 

Light = Enlightened? By believing in the Light, does he mean believing in the Illuminati?

In a Nutshell: The video depicts the end of war creating a new "Wonder" of the modern age, built from the wreckage of war after peace is ushered in. The pyramid can be seen as a reference to the Great Pyramid of Giza, which just so happens to be a "Wonder" of the ancient world.

So the whole song can be interpreted as a new dawn after the darkest of nights. Order from the Chaos. A New Order created from the wreckage of the Old Order. Ushered in by the "light" of civilization. (The Illuminati?) As to what the light is, well, we can only speculate.

Review of Song:

Right from the start, things are different. As opposed to bringing in the "big guns" from the start with loud Rock and Roll, 30 Seconds to Mars choose instead to begin the song in a rather subdued tone, with Jared Leto almost whispering the lyrics.

As the song moves on from the hushed intro, the song heats up and brings in almost robotic vocals to imply that this is indeed war. The guitars heat up as Jared Leto screams that it's time to "fight", at which point the song breaks out into Rock and Roll, but with reserved energy, as the singer warns everybody that they will "fight to the death."

The song goes quiet after the rather loud section, but with more emotion than the last quiet part, the echoes of the preceding lyrics reminding us of this. We hear more whispered vocals, but with increasing "urgency" this time. The chords of the instruments reflect this.

After this, the song declares it's time to "fight" once again, and seemingly repeats the loud section we heard just a bit earlier, but this time it segues into a triumphant, military march. The singer whispers again, but this time he tells us that the war is won.

The song crescendos with chanting backing vocals, before breaking into another repeated rock section, which ends with yet another triumphant section, with the song screaming that the war is won, the climax victorious and uplifting.

At this point, the song tones itself down once again, ending on a rather "peaceful" note.

My Thoughts: It took me a while to warm up to this song with it's Progressive Rock style, which is the usual for me with just about all kinds of music. (Coldplay in particular, which has since become my favourite band.) 

But after listening to it about 5-10 times, I can safely say that the song is very well-made and presents it's message with style and elegance. It may not be my absolute favourite song, but it does stick out in my mind a lot.

For me, it's never "love at first sight" when it comes to music. It takes a while to warm up to new genres and sounds. But once I do, it's a strong "love" indeed. And it's a "love" that never fades...

...Yes, I'll save you a seat at the wedding.

Quality Verdict: Great (B+)

A smart rock and roll song which goes beyond "noise" to create a thinking man's song, even if the song is not particularly groundbreaking or innovative.

Conclusion:

Now that I've finished the review of the song, let's just take some time to consider the video: Yes, the Illuminati seems like a "crazy" concept. I won't lie, it does seem crazy......to the average person.

If you don't want to believe that the video can be interpreted as promoting the Illuminati or even alluding to it, then that's your business. However, do take into consideration that there are things we aren't aware of. Many conspiracy theories have been brought forth which seemed crazy and then later turned out to be true.

Before you dismiss things, make sure to be a sceptic. A true sceptic is not a "denier" of anything. He or she takes the evidence with a grain of salt, goes over it and after careful consideration, accepts or dismisses it, yet keeping a door open just in case it turns out to be true.

It's easy to deny, it's hard to investigate and prove something to be false. If you want to be a true sceptic, do the latter. And if you made it this far into the review, take note that this is our Modus Operandi in regards to conspiracy theories and everything else:

Question Everything. Deny Nothing. (Yes, yes, that's a hard thing to do. But we aim to make it our goal to never dismiss nor believe everything put on the table before us.)

Content Verdict:

For Mature Themes and Brief Strong Language (Music Video Only)

Outro: Annnnnnnnnd that's it! The first ever review on Lyriticus is done. Well, there might still be some fine-tuning-of-details along the way, but this should be pretty close to what you guys can expect every week.

Conspiracy theories, content rundowns, deep analyses, short and to the point reviews, a breezy tone and an overall sense of fun, this is how the site will be.

In any case, I'll see you guys next Sunday (July 20th) with some more Lyritical goodness! Oh and don't forget to check back next Monday for updates. Not tomorrow, the next Monday. (July 21st)

Peace out!

...Just don't fight to make the peace happen, okay?