30 Seconds to Mars is the debut studio album by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars. It was first released on August 27, 2002, by Immortal Records and distributed by Virgin Records. The album was produced by Bob Ezrin, Brian Virtue, and Thirty Seconds to Mars, and was recorded in rural Wyoming during 2001 and early 2002. It had been in the works for a couple of years, with lead vocalist Jared Leto writing the majority of the songs. 30 Seconds to Mars was described as a concept album centering on human struggle and self-determination, characterized by personal lyrics that use otherworldly elements and conceptual ideas to illustrate a truthful personal situation. The album incorporates progressive sounds with influences and elements from new wave, space rock, and electronica. Upon release, 30 Seconds to Mars received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who commended the album's lyrical content and the band's musicianship, which has been compared to the works of Pink Floyd, Tool, and Brian Eno. The album debuted at number 107 on the Billboard 200 and number one on the US Top Heatseekers. It was a slow-burning success that eventually sold two million copies worldwide. It produced two singles, "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" and "Edge of the Earth". Thirty Seconds to Mars promoted the album by opening concerts for bands such as Puddle of Mudd, Incubus, Sevendust, and Chevelle. Background and recording By 1998, Thirty Seconds to Mars was performing gigs at small American venues and clubs. When they first started, lead vocalist Jared Leto did not allow his vocation as a Hollywood actor to be used in promotion of the band. They played their first concerts under different names, before finally settling on the name "Thirty Seconds to Mars", which was taken from a rare manuscript titled Argus Apocraphex. During this period, the band recorded demo tracks such as "Valhalla" and "Revolution", or "Jupiter" and "Hero", which later appeared on the debut album as "Fallen" and "Year Zero" respectively, but also "Buddha for Mary". Their work led to a number of record labels being interested in signing Thirty Seconds to Mars, which eventually signed to Immortal Records. In 1999, Virgin Records entered into the contract. The work of Thirty Seconds to Mars generated the interest of record producer Bob Ezrin, who had previously worked on several groundbreaking projects, including The Wall by Pink Floyd, Love It to