Thirty Seconds to Mars are known for their energetic live performances and their fusion of different genres. Although they found modest success with their eponymous debut, it was their second album, "A Beautiful Lie", which announced them as bona fide rock and roll superstars. Released in 2005, the platinum-selling album broadened the band's sound and garnered them frequent spots on MTV while also spawning top-10 modern rock hits. They Kill set a record for the most weeks on the US Modern Rock Chart and the album's success opened the doors to numerous successful tours and spots at major rock festivals, such as Roskilde, Pinkpop and Download.
The band's third album, "This is War", released in 2009 garnered them another three top-10 singles, the first two of which peaked at the number one spot on the US Alternative Songs chart. Additionally, Closer to the Edge was the fastest selling rock single in the UK and topped the UK rock chart for eight consecutive weeks. The subsequent tour set a "Guinness World Record for the longest concert tour by a rock band" and helped to establish Thirty Seconds to Mars' reputation as one of the hardest working rock bands.
This period also serves as source material for their documentary, Artifact, which documents the band's struggle to renegotiate their recording contract with record label Virgin/EMI. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival where it won the People's Choice Documentary award.
"Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams", the band's fourth studio album marked an evolution in their distinctive sound and was positively received both critically and commercially. The album reached the top 10 in 15 different countries and the first single, Up In The Air, peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks.
