Ahead of their biggest UK shows to date, Planet Loud editor Graham Finney had a chat to Jared Leto, frontman for US rockers 30 Seconds To Mars about the tough eighteen months the band have endured to get to this point.

Planet Loud – Hey, how’s it going?
30 Seconds To Mars – Hey man, good thanks.

Planet Loud – You’re in an airport at the moment?
30 Seconds To Mars – Yeah, I’m just about to fly out to Los Angeles.

Planet Loud – Break for Christmas?
30 Seconds To Mars – Not yet, we’ve got a couple more things to do before we take a break?

Planet Loud – 2010 starts pretty well for you as you’re coming over here in February for a massive tour? Are you at the same level of venue in the States?
30 Seconds To Mars – Yeah, pretty much. We start an arena tour in the US in March/April.

Planet Loud – What does it mean playing a venue like Wembley Arena which has a legendary status?
30 Seconds To Mars – Oh, you’re right, it’s legendary. It’s that big. It’s very exciting for us. We’re thrilled at doing out. The tour is virtually sold out and it means a lot to us.

Planet Loud – Considering the size of the venues on this tour, is it going to be a very visual performance?
30 Seconds To Mars – Yeah, we’ve been planning a bit already but we’re going to get into it a lot deeper in January after the break. We’re playing around with a few ideas and we’re looking at forward to implementing a few of them into the performance. It’s going to be a lot of fun and it will give us an opportunity to explore ideas that we haven’t been able to in the past for sure.

Planet Loud – If things had panned out differently though with your labels lawsuit we may not have been having this conversation. How much of a burden was that period of your life on you?
30 Seconds To Mars – Some days it was a burden some days it wasn’t. Some days it was brutal and some days you just had to put it to the back of your mind and try and concentrate on the most important thing to us which was our music and our record.

Planet Loud – How hard was that to do because 30 million dollars isn’t exactly pocket money?
30 Seconds To Mars – It was difficult. It wasn’t easy. It was very really. It wasn’t a press quote, it wasn’t some made up bullshit. It was a tangeable fact that we could fight this lawsuit and they could win and we could owe thirty million dollars to our label and that was hanging over our heads all the time that we were working on this record. That part of the whole experience was not good but the creating of the new record was definitely an inspiring time, it was really rewarding, it was a magical time for us. We were very lucky to work with Flood and Steve and we had the time and space to make the record that we wanted to make and we took our time which was needed to create the record we wanted.

Planet Loud – Do you think the fact that you were able to take your time rather than deal with release dates pressures and the like shaped the way the record sounded?
30 Seconds To Mars – I think everything we were going through at that time affected the way the record sounded. You can hear a sense of conflict and the challenge on the record and, like I said, that whole time was very inspirational when it came to the sound of the new record.

Planet Loud – You talk of conflict, how was your relationship with the rest of the band?
30 Seconds To Mars – That part was great. We were stronger than ever. We were connected pretty close because it was a really tough time for us and, you know, there is nothing like a good fight to rally the troops and, when you’re up against a thirty million dollar lawsuit, it certainly brings you closer together. It was amazing to find what you’re capable of when your backs are up against the wall and we certainly found out what we’re capable of on this record. For us, this record was about survival, it was about us being able to deliver something that redefined who we were. It needed to be a record for us that transcended the past and we’re really proud of the way the album turned out.

Planet Loud – Do you think this album was a discovery of who 30 Seconds To Mars are?
30 Seconds To Mars – Definitely.

Planet Loud – You chose Flood to produce the album, was that because of his work with previous bands who shared a similar epic sound?
30 Seconds To Mars – For sure. I was a huge fan of his work from bands like Nine Inch Nails to PJ Harvey to Depeche Mode. They’re bands I’ve really enjoyed over the years.

Planet Loud – You kept your fanbase involved at various stages of the record. How did that come about?
30 Seconds To Mars – Well, there is a big experiment going on here on this record. There is an interactivity that really is an important part of this record. The involvement of people around the world was a key element on making this record what it is. Now, I’m not saying we’re the first to ever do this and I’m sure many other bands have already done something similar before but I’m not sure bands have done it quite this way before now on this global level.

Planet Loud – Where did the ideas originate from?
30 Seconds To Mars – It came from an idea I had to capture an essence of the live show. I wanted to use technologies to add an interactive element to this record. I was also hugely interested in the sonics of using a large group of people as an instrument on this record and I was curious as to how useful and helpful that would be and how it would elevate the songs to a new level.

Planet Loud – Did it work out as expected?
30 Seconds To Mars – Yeah, it really did. It exceeded my expectations. We did the first summit in Los Angeles and about a thousand people turned up from all over the world. It went so well that we held them in eight different countries and was fascinating to be part of that process and to hear the material that was collected from the different countries. I’ve said this before but I got a Twitter message from someone in Iran who couldn’t make one of the global summits and it gave me the idea to do a digital version. When you hear the track Kings And Queens on the new record and songs like Call To Arms, you think you’re hearing a group of people stomping and clapping but what you’re actually hearing is tens of thousands of people from all around the world.

Planet Loud – How did you feel when you heard the end result?
30 Seconds To Mars – You know what, it’s wierd because I was so close to the music and the ideas that the time that had the most impact on me was during the process not listening to it afterwards. Sure, I think all of us were surprised at how well it turned out. I took a lot of time to map things out and made sure every detail was covered so that when we went into these sessions we knew exactly what was expected and what we had to do. I had them pretty much mapped out and written down in the same way someone would write the strings out for their music.

Planet Loud – Was the end product close to your original vision then?
30 Seconds To Mars – Yes it was.

Planet Loud – You have another career as an actor, how did you cope with that, the band and the lawsuit during that time?
30 Seconds To Mars – It was an intense time but we always felt that we were doing the right thing by standing up for ourselves and fighting for what we believed in. It’s an age old story of heart versus commerce and, you know, this is a question for us of really fighting to be treated fairly. There is a time to make war and there is a time to make peace and, fortunately, we’re in a time of peace now.

Planet Loud – Like you said, there is a sense of conflict running through the album, how much of your lyrics was inspired by those events?
30 Seconds To Mars – Well, I think there is a big impact on this record and, it would be difficult not to be inspired by something so life changing as a thirty million dollar lawsuit. The album is called This Is War for a reason but it’s not about that one event. It’s not like we dedicated an entire record to the recording industry of the world but it certainly did inspire elements of the record.

Planet Loud – There are a lot of moments on the record where you seem to be opening up to more personal, non-band related experiences. Is that the case?
30 Seconds To Mars – For sure. This is a very confessional album, it’s a very personal and revealing album.

Planet Loud – Was that something you found difficult to do?
30 Seconds To Mars – Not at all. I’m a very firm believer of putting as much of yourself into your art as possible as I believe it is a fascinating thing to do.

Planet Loud – What do you get out of it?
30 Seconds To Mars – I think what I get out of putting myself into my art changes all the time but I feel compelled to do it. I feel compelled to create art, to write songs, to make films. It’s my life. I’m not so sure sometimes.

Planet Loud – Do you think a lot of your fans can relate to what you’re saying?
30 Seconds To Mars – I hope so. I’m always very curious about what our audience has to say about both my lyrics and our music. I’m very curious to hear what their experiences are of listening to our music. At the end of the day though, it really is none of my business as to what they get out of it. That’s not my experience to have, it’s somebody elses experience.

Planet Loud – Do you think that fans will see the situation you’ve been through and see that things are worth fighting for?
30 Seconds To Mars – I think so. There is a spirit of perseverance running through the record and people will be able to see that. Sure, they probably won’t have had a thirty million dollar lawsuit hanging over their heads from a record company but they will all understand conflict and issues of people trying to dominate them. It could be anything, it could be a fight with someone in authority or someone who thinks they are in authority or positions of authority. I think that is a common theme that everyone can relate no matter what walk of life they’re from.

Planet Loud –
Planet Loud – Hey, how’s it going?
30 Seconds To Mars – Hey man, good thanks.

Planet Loud – You’re in an airport at the moment?
30 Seconds To Mars – Yeah, I’m just about to fly out to Los Angeles.

Planet Loud – Break for Christmas?
30 Seconds To Mars – Not yet, we’ve got a couple more things to do before we take a break?

Planet Loud – 2010 starts pretty well for you as you’re coming over here in February for a massive tour? Are you at the same level of venue in the States?
30 Seconds To Mars – Yeah, pretty much. We start an arena tour in the US in March/April.

Planet Loud – What does it mean playing a venue like Wembley Arena which has a legendary status?
30 Seconds To Mars – Oh, you’re right, it’s legendary. It’s that big. It’s very exciting for us. We’re thrilled at doing out. The tour is virtually sold out and it means a lot to us.

Planet Loud – Considering the size of the venues on this tour, is it going to be a very visual performance?
30 Seconds To Mars – Yeah, we’ve been planning a bit already but we’re going to get into it a lot deeper in January after the break. We’re playing around with a few ideas and we’re looking at forward to implementing a few of them into the performance. It’s going to be a lot of fun and it will give us an opportunity to explore ideas that we haven’t been able to in the past for sure.

Planet Loud – If things had panned out differently though with your labels lawsuit we may not have been having this conversation. How much of a burden was that period of your life on you?
30 Seconds To Mars – Some days it was a burden some days it wasn’t. Some days it was brutal and some days you just had to put it to the back of your mind and try and concentrate on the most important thing to us which was our music and our record.

Planet Loud – How hard was that to do because 30 million dollars isn’t exactly pocket money?
30 Seconds To Mars – It was difficult. It wasn’t easy. It was very really. It wasn’t a press quote, it wasn’t some made up bullshit. It was a tangeable fact that we could fight this lawsuit and they could win and we could owe thirty million dollars to our label and that was hanging over our heads all the time that we were working on this record. That part of the whole experience was not good but the creating of the new record was definitely an inspiring time, it was really rewarding, it was a magical time for us. We were very lucky to work with Flood and Steve and we had the time and space to make the record that we wanted to make and we took our time which was needed to create the record we wanted.

Planet Loud – Do you think the fact that you were able to take your time rather than deal with release dates pressures and the like shaped the way the record sounded?
30 Seconds To Mars – I think everything we were going through at that time affected the way the record sounded. You can hear a sense of conflict and the challenge on the record and, like I said, that whole time was very inspirational when it came to the sound of the new record.

Planet Loud – You talk of conflict, how was your relationship with the rest of the band?
30 Seconds To Mars – That part was great. We were stronger than ever. We were connected pretty close because it was a really tough time for us and, you know, there is nothing like a good fight to rally the troops and, when you’re up against a thirty million dollar lawsuit, it certainly brings you closer together. It was amazing to find what you’re capable of when your backs are up against the wall and we certainly found out what we’re capable of on this record. For us, this record was about survival, it was about us being able to deliver something that redefined who we were. It needed to be a record for us that transcended the past and we’re really proud of the way the album turned out.

Planet Loud – Do you think this album was a discovery of who 30 Seconds To Mars are?
30 Seconds To Mars – Definitely.

Planet Loud – You chose Flood to produce the album, was that because of his work with previous bands who shared a similar epic sound?
30 Seconds To Mars – For sure. I was a huge fan of his work from bands like Nine Inch Nails to PJ Harvey to Depeche Mode. They’re bands I’ve really enjoyed over the years.

Planet Loud – You kept your fanbase involved at various stages of the record. How did that come about?
30 Seconds To Mars – Well, there is a big experiment going on here on this record. There is an interactivity that really is an important part of this record. The involvement of people around the world was a key element on making this record what it is. Now, I’m not saying we’re the first to ever do this and I’m sure many other bands have already done something similar before but I’m not sure bands have done it quite this way before now on this global level.

Planet Loud – Where did the ideas originate from?
30 Seconds To Mars – It came from an idea I had to capture an essence of the live show. I wanted to use technologies to add an interactive element to this record. I was also hugely interested in the sonics of using a large group of people as an instrument on this record and I was curious as to how useful and helpful that would be and how it would elevate the songs to a new level.

Planet Loud – Did it work out as expected?
30 Seconds To Mars – Yeah, it really did. It exceeded my expectations. We did the first summit in Los Angeles and about a thousand people turned up from all over the world. It went so well that we held them in eight different countries and was fascinating to be part of that process and to hear the material that was collected from the different countries. I’ve said this before but I got a Twitter message from someone in Iran who couldn’t make one of the global summits and it gave me the idea to do a digital version. When you hear the track Kings And Queens on the new record and songs like Call To Arms, you think you’re hearing a group of people stomping and clapping but what you’re actually hearing is tens of thousands of people from all around the world.

Planet Loud – How did you feel when you heard the end result?
30 Seconds To Mars – You know what, it’s wierd because I was so close to the music and the ideas that the time that had the most impact on me was during the process not listening to it afterwards. Sure, I think all of us were surprised at how well it turned out. I took a lot of time to map things out and made sure every detail was covered so that when we went into these sessions we knew exactly what was expected and what we had to do. I had them pretty much mapped out and written down in the same way someone would write the strings out for their music.

Planet Loud – Was the end product close to your original vision then?
30 Seconds To Mars – Yes it was.

Planet Loud – You have another career as an actor, how did you cope with that, the band and the lawsuit during that time?
30 Seconds To Mars – It was an intense time but we always felt that we were doing the right thing by standing up for ourselves and fighting for what we believed in. It’s an age old story of heart versus commerce and, you know, this is a question for us of really fighting to be treated fairly. There is a time to make war and there is a time to make peace and, fortunately, we’re in a time of peace now.

Planet Loud – Like you said, there is a sense of conflict running through the album, how much of your lyrics was inspired by those events?
30 Seconds To Mars – Well, I think there is a big impact on this record and, it would be difficult not to be inspired by something so life changing as a thirty million dollar lawsuit. The album is called This Is War for a reason but it’s not about that one event. It’s not like we dedicated an entire record to the recording industry of the world but it certainly did inspire elements of the record.

Planet Loud – There are a lot of moments on the record where you seem to be opening up to more personal, non-band related experiences. Is that the case?
30 Seconds To Mars – For sure. This is a very confessional album, it’s a very personal and revealing album.

Planet Loud – Was that something you found difficult to do?
30 Seconds To Mars – Not at all. I’m a very firm believer of putting as much of yourself into your art as possible as I believe it is a fascinating thing to do.

Planet Loud – What do you get out of it?
30 Seconds To Mars – I think what I get out of putting myself into my art changes all the time but I feel compelled to do it. I feel compelled to create art, to write songs, to make films. It’s my life. I’m not so sure sometimes.

Planet Loud – Do you think a lot of your fans can relate to what you’re saying?
30 Seconds To Mars – I hope so. I’m always very curious about what our audience has to say about both my lyrics and our music. I’m very curious to hear what their experiences are of listening to our music. At the end of the day though, it really is none of my business as to what they get out of it. That’s not my experience to have, it’s somebody elses experience.

Planet Loud – Do you think that fans will see the situation you’ve been through and see that things are worth fighting for?
30 Seconds To Mars – I think so. There is a spirit of perseverance running through the record and people will be able to see that. Sure, they probably won’t have had a thirty million dollar lawsuit hanging over their heads from a record company but they will all understand conflict and issues of people trying to dominate them. It could be anything, it could be a fight with someone in authority or someone who thinks they are in authority or positions of authority. I think that is a common theme that everyone can relate no matter what walk of life they’re from.

Planet Loud – You’ve been fairly open in the press that your childhood wasn’t a normal one. What did you learn from your experiences?
30 Seconds To Mars – I definitely learned that change is possible and that you can make your dream come true, if you do something about it and that I think you can hear a sense of that on this record. Sometimes you have to fight for what you believe in.

Planet Loud – Kids use their imagination as a way of escaping certain situations. Is that something you do with acting?
30 Seconds To Mars – Not as such. It’s not like I’m transforming or changing into someone else whether it is acting or writing music. It is more a way of looking at who I am and my life around me. There are some creative moments and some serialistic ones and imaginative moments but they’re all coming from a deep personal place within me.

Planet Loud – In one interview you said that you hoped that fans would compare listening to this record as if they had seen an epic movie. Is there a movie you would compare it to?
30 Seconds To Mars – I don’t think I would. I guess I wanted it to be a very emotive experience. I like songs and music that evokes a sense of time and place. The sort of bands I’m talking about that make that kind of music are bands like Pink Floyd who I grew up as a kid listening to, the kind of bands who have atmospherics in their music and a sense of dynamics. They’re all epic sounding bands.

Planet Loud – Like we’ve talked about, this album has been a massive experience for you. Do you feel you have changed as a person over the course of it?
30 Seconds To Mars – Definitely. It’s taught us a lot about ourselves, about life, about art, about business. It’s been a great educator for us as conflict often is. There was an opportunity to learn on this record and we took full advantage of that.

Planet Loud – What has been the one lasting lesson you’ve learned?
30 Seconds To Mars – That sometimes you have to stand up and fight for what you believe in and, even though it may seem impossible or difficult, it’s important to do that. I think that it is a good reminder for all of us that we should stand up and fight for our beliefs.

Interview by Graham Finney