One must be a very patient individual when it comes to being a Thirty Seconds to Mars fan. In 2005 the once-quartet-band had hits like “The Kill”, “From Yesterday” and “A Beautiful Lie”. Then in 2009 the now trio released “This Is War”, claiming a mammoth amount of popularity with the band’s new, more mature sound.

Now the band has released its fourth studio titled “LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS”. With the album kicking off with the intro titled “Birth”, there is an immediate fresh feel to it. The song is filled with drums, a brass and strings section, and of course Jared Leto serenading listeners with his voice. The song comes to a climatic stop and transitions smoothly into the second track, “Conquistador”.

The band released the album single “Up In the Air” earlier this year letting fans and listeners know that the album was going to have a more “electronic feel” to it. With some fans not being open to the idea of the once hard rock band taking on this persona, the sound actually works very well with the direction Tomo Milicevic and Jared and Shannon Leto take it.

Thirty Seconds to Mars is still Thirty Seconds to Mars on this album. That’s the most important thing when it comes to making music. Making sure you’re still with the same roots you got your fanbase from. The lyrics are still the same, the drums are still on point, and the guitar riffs are still as catchy as ever.

The strings in this album help build the intensity like I’ve never heard before. In “The Race”, the strings open the track which immediately catches the listener’s ear. Milicevic’s guitar riffs come in at certain parts of the album, almost surprisingly. “The Race” takes a sudden drop of silence until Milicevic comes in and let’s the listener know that Thirty Seconds to Mars still know the rock & roll sound their fans love.

One particular thing that is missing from this album: that sound that Thirty Seconds to Mars had in their past albums. The guitar riffs that gave the fans chills. That being said, listeners still find that here, just not as much as they would like.

All in all, the album still holds up to what I wanted and expected. Which is good sound, a little bit of experimenting and an all around fun album.