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30 Seconds to Mars went to war.

And won.

This is War is 30 Seconds to Mars’ third full length studio album.  After hitting the scene in 2005 with A Beautiful Lie, the band cultivated a reputation for creativity and the ability to offer their fans something different.  It took the band four years to write, record and release This is War. It was worth the wait.

The album opens with “Escape,” a track with a heavy, frenzied drumbeat and little vocals.  Instead of feeling empty or overpowering, the track is the perfect build of anticipation for the rest of the album.  Just as the song reaches its highest point of frenzy, the band slams into “Night of the Hunter.”  This song, along with many others on the album, features the typical 30 Seconds to Mars with quietly sung verses and massive, intense choruses with front man Jared Leto belting out his lyrics – “Honest to God I will break your heart / Tear you to pieces / And rip you apart” is sung so hauntingly and beautifully that it’ll leave any fan with goosebumps.

This is War ties together 2005’s A Beautiful Lie and 30 Seconds to Mars from 2002.  The differences in the two albums are masterfully brought together in the band’s latest release.  Toe-tapping choruses and beautiful, bizarre instrumentals come together on the album to make it different, but very intriguing.

“I guess I operate from a place of creative instinct and we followed that as a band,” Leto said in an interview with EW.com.  “We feel really proud of the work that we’ve done.”

And 30 Seconds to Mars should be proud.  “Kings and Queen,” the third track and first single from the album is nowhere near the best track of the album, but still beautiful with Leto’s strong vocals and powerful instrumentals that feel more than epic.

In addition to producing an intriguing album, 30 Seconds to Mars used fan involvement to round out the albums vocals and overall album look.  Hundred’s of fans that attended special album previews were recorded for a massive chorus, which is heard on several of the tracks.  Instead of feeling messy, the huge choir makes songs even more epic.  “100 Suns,” the shortest track on the album (1:58) is a beautiful little acoustic tune with soft, chanting vocals and the fan driven choir that sounds so perfectly placed it’s almost hard to believe.

“Vox Populi” is another song with the fan choir.  The track begins with a futuristic sounding melody that leads into fans singing “This is a call to us / Gather soldiers / Time to go to war / This is a battle song / Brothers and sisters / Time to go to war.” Vocals by Leto are again flawless in this track, fully backed with the choir.  Again, epic sounding.

Rounding off the album’s epic feeling is an epic look – a competition also allowed 2,000 fans to have their photos taken and used as album art.

The album is exactly one hour in length but surprisingly, it never starts to drag.  From the beautiful opening to the instrumental “L490” as the closing track, 30 Seconds to Mars truly one the battle with an album that will once again thrust them into the spotlight for their creativity and uniqueness. 

Before Brit-rocker Alex Turner had even turned 20 years old, he had figured out how to strike musical gold: write short songs about your crappy life, pair them with catchy, perfectly mastered instrumentals and give away your music until the fans are hooked.

And then Arctic Monkeys were born.

In 2005, Turner and the band signed with record label Domino and released their first single, “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor,” which immediately shot to no. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.  There was no looking back – single number two, “When The Sun Goes Down” sold over 35,000 copies and got no. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.

Arctic Monkeys first album Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not (Jan. 2006) became the fastest selling debut album in UK history after selling 363,735 copies in a single week.  In the US, it was the second fastest selling debut indie rock album.

In April 2007 Arctic Monkeys released Favourite Worst Nightmare was released and the band was named Best New Artist in the United States at the PLUG Independent Music Awards, won Album of The Year in Japan, Ireland and the US and Best British Band at the 2008 BRIT Awards.

Favorite Worst Nightmare charted at no. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, but more impressively all 12 tracks made the Top 200 of the UK Singles Chart.

These Monkeys must be made of gold – Humbug, released in Aug 2009 charted at no. 1 in Ireland and the UK, no. 2 in Australia, France and the Neatherlands, no. 3 in New Zealand and Japan and no. 15 on the US Billboard 200.  The ace third album is packed with Turner’s snide observations about human behavior.

Humbug’s first fine moment is with “Cornerstone,” a mock ballad where turner staggers from pub to pub and cannot stop running into girl after girl that reminds him of the one he’s trying to forget.  Though the song still sounds like early Arctic Monkeys, it’s mature and bittersweet – “She was close, and she held me very tightly / Till I asked awfully politely, please / Can I call you her name?”

The album’s first single “Crying Lightning” is filled with bizarre guitar riffs and even sharp drum-rolls, with subtle soft verses and a powerful chorus.  The song sounds like earlier Arctic Monkey tunes, though Turner’s new deep voice expands the range of the song and many other.  “Pretty Visitors” is punk-charged and full of speed and muscle.

“Pretty Visitors,” hits lyrical genius with Turner’s lyrics – “All the pretty visitors came / And waved their arms / And cast the shadow of a snake pit on the wall” and combines them with a death-march beat and the use of tom-toms.   Again, Turner flexes his vocals, this time along with an organ to accompany the song.

The band refuses to quit .  Arctic Monkeys  are touring throughout Dec., Jan. and Feb.  Humbug is available for purchase on itunes and arcticmonkeys.com.

On Nov 3, Weezer released their seventh full-studio effort – Raditude. The album, named by comedian and actor Rainn Wilson, gives Weezer fans plenty to love.

Or hate.

Longtime fans that fell in love with classic Weezer songs such as “Buddy Holly,” “Undone (The Sweater Song),” and “Say It Ain’t So” off the 1994 album, The Blue Album may feel let down by Raditude, which is excellent by its own standards, but subpar compared to previous Weezer efforts. Raditude also lacks the classic sounds of Weezer from the 1996 album, Pinkerton, which is still considered to be a defining album of the emo genre. Fan-favorites off Pinkerton like “The Good Life,” and original lyrics like “I asked her to go to the Green Day concert / You said you never heard of them / How cool is that?” have seemed to vanish from Weezer’s last few albums. Weezer’s two previous albums Make Believe and The Red Album released in 2005 and 2008, respectively, have failed to impress fans. Front man Rivers Cuomo was accused by fans of writing shallow lyrics and insipid melodies. Even further, Make Believe’s first single “Beverley Hills” left fans feeling betrayed the band that had cultivated a reputation as the average, awkward loser – the band of men that could never get the girl. Fans were disgusted when Cuomo sang about his longing for Beverley Hills, a far cry from what the average Weezer fan knows. The Red Album bode no better – online film and music webzine, Tiny Mix Tapes, went so far as to call the album “a sad portrait of a band that has been totally destroyed by fame and the pressures that come along with it.”

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“Cop Killer” was released by Ice-T and his heavy metal band, Body Count, in 1992 on their self-titled album.  “Cop Killer” lyrics were sung in first person, and told the story of an individual outraged by police brutality.  The individual then decides to take the law into his own hands by killing corrupt, violent police officers.   Though the song was written two years before and had been sung live by the band on tours prior to its legitimate availability, it was met with tenacious opposition upon its official release.

Then-Vice President Dan Quayle labeled “Cop Killer” as being “obscene,” and then-President George H.W. Bush publicly discredited any record company that would release it.  The Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT) launched a campaign to impel Warner Brothers Records to withdraw the album completely.  CLEAT was joined by police forces across the United States within a week. 

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It seems like the popularity of female fronted bands has increased at a quick rate. Bands like No Doubt have been doing it for decades, and before No Doubt there was Blondie. A new generation of female fronted bands is on the rise, but which of them actually stand out?

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Out of the many selections chosen for 2009’s Sundance film festival, there is one film in particular that attracted a boatload of attention and hype. This film is a horror flick by the name of ‘GRACE’. The movie poster alone is intriguing, and hearing the various claims that reporters, as well as viewers, had fainted during the first few screenings is enough to make even the most weak-stomached individual curious about the film’s plot. Although GRACE is based upon the 2006 short film with an identical moniker (and the same director), Paul Solet’s now full-length directorial debut has a specific formula that aspires to leave an imprint on the conscience of its viewers, and it succeeds tremendously in doing just that.

Set in modern times, the back-story of GRACE is one that many mothers have been subjected to during the course of their lives. The film’s main character, Madeleine (Jordan Ladd) is in quite a frazzled state because two of her previous births have failed, and she is now riddled with her third pregnancy. Faced with the fact that this pregnancy might also yield an unsuccessful result, she must deal with her husband Michael’s (Stephen Park) overprotective mother-in-law Vivian (Gabrielle Rose) and her constant nitpicking about Madeleine’s lack of trust in government health institutions, specifically hospitals, and takes immense pride in denouncing the choice Madeleine has made in staying a vegan throughout her pregnancy, and even after. Determined that she has her wants and needs figured out regardless of Vivian’s wishes, the mother-to-be selects her own avenue of childbirth — a kind and skilled holistic midwife named Patricia (Samantha Ferris). Everything seems to be going just peachy until a whirlwind of events, including the death of her husband in a car accident, shatters the hope that Madeleine might give birth to a healthy baby girl … or does it?

In the calming, serene setting her midwife created for her childbirth, Madeleine gives birth to a baby girl, who seems to have passed away in the womb. This causes the already heartbroken mother to become absolutely destitute for the child she had carried for those groundbreaking nine months. However, after cooing to the baby, and allowing the child to suck at her breast, the small infant lets out her first cry of life — the previously deceased child had now been resurrected, in a sense. Then, Madeleine triumphantly announces to her midwife that the tiny girl’s name is Grace. The first few weeks with the tiny baby seemed to be running extremely smooth. Madeleine gives it her all to keep the child satisfied and safe within the barriers of her home. It all goes downhill from there though, and a defining moment exists when Madeleine truthfully realizes that there is something wrong with Grace.

A harrowing tale filled with plenty of twists and turns, GRACE is a film that is unlikely to disappoint even the most seasoned horror film buff. Although the urge to faint may not be as strong as was described at the Sundance festival, there are plenty of moments that leave the viewers cringing and peeking between the gaps of their fingers, dreading the next onslaught of blood. Though the movie is not necessarily scary, it gathers a hold on the human conscience with its unsettling images of childbirth and the integral developmental weeks to follow, added on to a mother desperate for any means to keep her child satiated. Paul Solet’s GRACE could be described as satisfying, yet disturbing; a movie that leaves a lasting mark on the definition of what it means to be a mother, and how far an individual would be willing to go for his or her own flesh and blood.

MPAA Rating: R

Runtime: 85 minutes