A Battle of One, A Battle of Billions

An open letter to 30 Seconds to Mars,

On March 14, 2010, a friend and I received the horrible news that someone we had recently met, a soldier in the Canadian Army, had been killed in combat in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The feeling was so horrible--a numbness in my brain, an absolute ache in my chest.
Solace found its way to me in your music. I had been listening to "This Is War" since the release, and this horrible reality suddenly made your music all the more personal to me. Karma threw me another curve ball when I won tickets to your show the next night at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
And so, that next night, my friend and I found ourselves in the second-to-last row at the Greek, checking out Shiny Toy Guns, sipping on some beers. Karma was not finished though! A staff member from the Greek (and if I ever see this man again, I will shower him with thanks anew) came and offered us pit passes. The rest became concert history...I've been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to check out many live shows. Without a doubt, you guys have raised the bar to a seemingly untouchable level!
I found myself five feet away from the stage and sensory overload took over! Seeing the show, hearing the music, feeling the pulse of the crowd...It was the most unforgettable experience ever! Any song I hear now from the show swells my heart and takes me back--every time! And there's more. Though I've been a fan of your music for a while, perhaps this experience solidified my connection to your art, your music, and made me want to do so much more! I'm a little new to the game, but I 'm an extremely proud member of the Echelon now!
I was mistaken to think your music was your greatest gift! Don't misunderstand, it has been my healer--challenging me to overcome the pain of death, the struggle with my father's cancer, the eight years of writer's block (as hopefully evidenced here). But your band has given me an even greater gift--the family, the cult, the Echelon! I laugh more, I think greater, I do more good in my life because of this beautiful reality, this glorious cult!
Before I end this letter, you should also know that your art and talent has given me one more extraordinary benefit. Having always had a passion for the environment, I studied marine biology and have spent almost six years at a local aquarium in Los Angeles, teaching people about marine life and how their actions shape the survival of this earth. I've watched the "A Beautiful Lie" video many times over the years and my opportunity to share it with others has finally arrived. I've been given the chance to develop curriculum on climate change and ocean acidification to middle and high school students. And it all begins with your video! I may have many facts to share, but I could never express myself as beautifully and as creatively as your video allows. So, thank you for offering a medium that will enable me to connect students with the immediacy, the danger of climate change, and the joy in the ability to do something about it. I suppose an additional shout out to Bartholemew Cubbins and Angakok Panipaq for all their hard work and exemplary vision!
And so, as I conclude this letter to 30 Seconds to Mars the unit, and to its individual members, I wish to express my endless gratitude. Your music makes Los Angeles traffic bearable, it focuses me in my education; your craft contributes greatly to my mission to empower others to take a stand in saving this planet; and it has given me the gift of a creative, strong-willed, unstoppable tour de force that is the Echelon!

With all the gratitude in my heart and soul,
Melanie Ani Vartabedian
(@mermaidmelo)

YES THIS IS A CULT.

My name is Rebecca and I am 15 years old. I am from the middle of England. I am a very new member of the Echelon family. I first discovered this AMAZING band we call 30 Seconds To Mars at the end of 2009. I was watching the Scuzz music channel and Kings And Queens came on. I loved what I was hearing and seeing. Kings And Queens was my new favourite song, and I listened to it non-stop. Then I HAD to listen to more of their music. I got all 3 of their albums and learnt every lyric as I listen to them so often. All of the lyrics actually have meaning, unlike most artists out there. They mean the world to me, and really put me in a great mood. When school's depressing me, I'll turn to my 30STM CD's. Jared, Shannon, and Tomo are 3 GENIUS, AMAZING, TALENTED, BEAUTIFUL men who I love so much words can't describe. I love Jared Leto so much it hurts. And is there anything he CAN'T do? He writes songs, he sings, he plays guitar, he acts (he's an AMAZING actor. I've seen 4 of his films so far; Alexander, Panic Room, Urban Legend, and Mr Nobody. Wow. :P), he directs, and he has breath-taking looks, with beautiful hypnotic blue eyes and a cute button nose. :) I love Jared's individuality, and his pomegranate mohawk is amazing. ;D And before I knew it, I was an Echelon. :D

30 Seconds To Mars give me the feeling that I actually belong somewhere and have a purpose in life. Before I came across them, I got depressed and thought "What is the point? Why am I even here??" But Mars taught me that you should follow your dreams and always fight for what you believe in no matter what. I realised I can get through this, it's not that hard. They help me, and give me the courage to do so. Jared's lyrics to Alibi "I fell apart but got back up again" showed me that you will fall and have problems in your life, but you've always got to have the strength to get back up again and do what's got to be done. Jared's lyrics speak to me. 30STM have been through so much to get to where they are today, and they got there by not giving up. I've always been the quiet one who is has serious confidence issues and has trouble believing in myself, but I know I've got to believe in myself, just as they did. You won't get anywhere if you don't believe in yourself, no matter how hard it is.

It was my 15th birthday on the 10th February, and it honestly was my best birthday ever. I was lucky enough to go and see 30 Seconds To Mars live for the first time ever on the 19th at Nottingham Trent FM Arena. I bought my This Is War t-shirt from the official merchandise stand and wore it with pride. I wasn't standing unfortunately, but I was in the tiered seating. We waited ages for them to come on, but it was so worth the wait! The atmosphere was absolutely amazing, and I really felt like I belonged there, amongst the Echelon. I've never made so much noise in my entire life, and honestly don't know how I still had my voice when I woke up the following morning. That was the best night of my life, and 30STM are amazing live! They certainly know a thing or two about showmanship! They don't just stand there singing like most artists do; they put so much effort and hard work into their shows. Mars return to the UK in December, and I plan on seeing them again! I'm struggling for money at the moment, but I WILL get there one way or another! And I'll hopefully be standing (on the front row preferably! ;)) and I'll have a good view of them!!

I know none of the Echelon personally, but I have many Echelon friends online. Thank god for the internet, right? I wouldn't have met any of the amazing people I've become friends with. And they're not just my friends, their my family. All of you. I love you all. If it weren't for Mars we wouldn't have this amazing family and group of people. I wish we had our own Echelon Country. That'd be awesome. I live in a town where their are no Echelon. I am living in the wrong place altogether. I feel like I don't belong here at all. They all think I'm a freak, but I don't care. I'm proud to be an Echelon and forever will be. And like I said, thank god I can escape to the internet.

I try to be the best Echelon I can possibly be. I do as much as I can to promote them; I wear my t-shirt everywhere with pride (people will be thinking I haven't got anything else to wear! lol), I tell my friends of new Mars releases, I even introduced my email friend from Sweden to them. And I will continue to do this.

I recently watched 30STM's most recent music video for Closer To The Edge. Wow, what a song, and what a video. For starters, the song is genius, legendary, and in my opinion one of the best on This Is War (although I love every track). I've been listening to it alot lately, and I can't stop watching the music video. Wow. It made me emotional. I cried. It took my breath away. Simply amazing.

Music is my escape. Especially Mars. I was born to be an Echelon. I just wish I'd discovered them sooner. But at least I have now. :) They have brightened my life, made it feel worth living. My biggest dream is to meet the Mars men and tell them how much their songs mean to me, and how much I love and care for them. I want to thank them for everything. I really do appreciate them, just as much as I appreciate my second family.

Thank you so much to every single Echelon out there.
YES THIS IS A CULT. ECHELON TILL I DIE. PROVEHITO IN ALTUM.

I found tomorrow in today

I can’t think of when I discovered 30 Seconds To Mars. If I really try and remember, it actually feels as though they’ve been a constant in my life since my first minutes of coherence. Those three faces have become so familiar to me, I feel I’ve seen them on the street hundreds of times.

The self-titled album became for me an escape. Songs like ‘Capricorn’ and ‘Edge of the Earth’ helped me retreat into myself and discover whole new sides of my personality that I never knew existed. When EOTE launches into “Stand out, on the edge, of the earth”, I can feel my skin prickling as I delve into my deeper states of consciousness. ‘The Mission’ courses through my veins, as if I were in some strange army situation, defending my spirit against countless enemies.

“Yeah I’ve been to Jupiter, and I’ve fallen through the air. I used to live out on the moon, but now I’m back here down on Earth. Why are you here? Are you listening? Can you here what, I am saying?” These lyrics were such a huge deal to me when I first heard them. As I listened, I was reading over the CD booklet, and I spied the mission set for us - “Find the Argus Apocraphex” - and I truly believe I found my answer in that instant. I’m still ‘searching’ now, but every day I feel that step closer to fully discovering myself.

Having been a Buddhist for over 8 years now has really, weirdly, taught me more about the music than anything else. So much ties in, makes perfect sense, and I feel a deeper connection with the lyrics through my faith.

The second album, ‘A Beautiful Lie’, signalled the dwindling in my faith. Despite some amazingly profound tracks hidden away on the CD, such as ‘From Yesterday’ (still one of my favourite music videos by far), ‘Battle of One’ and ‘Was It a Dream?’, this marked their ‘sell-out’ for me. ‘The Kill’ upset me, made me angry, and ‘A Beautiful Lie’, whilst being an unbelievable song, melted into one horrible mess with ‘The Fantasy’, also grossly overplayed. I tried hard to keep my love alive, and my faith in the band - ‘Attack’ was a great song and video, and I really loved the first three aforementioned tracks to death. Especially with ‘The Kill’, I saw people all around me trying to claim "rights" to the band, but they didn’t even know what ‘Echelon’ meant. All those awards and accolades fell on my deaf ears, and I almost lost conviction altogether.

However, I stuck with them. They were, are, have always been, my favourite band, and I couldn’t just leave them by the wayside because of one (in my opinion) poor album. I listened to other stuff, tried out new genres, and slowly forgot the pain the second album had brought. After a while, I went back to it; I fell in love. I rediscovered that tingle on my skin, that kick in my stomach, that feeling that makes us Echelon. It’s safe to say I never looked back.

Their third and current album has “reinstalled” in me that sense of belonging. I really feel a part of the Echelon when I listen to it. Songs like ‘Kings and Queens’ fill me with jubilance, and ‘This is War’ makes me want to scream to the world about Mars. I feel that personally for me, "the war" so often referenced to is against their second album, and what they became in that era. They didn't seem like themselves to me, and this album seems like their 'f*** you', to all that 'emo hype' and stereotyping. I can't get enough of it. This album makes me feel so alive within myself.

My feelings are still arising with regards to the third album, and it’s currently in my car being played every time I drive. I feel, as I go through songs one to twelve, as though I’m on a journey - like if I lay down on my bed, with headphones in, and listened intently all the way through the album, that I’d feel awakened and refreshed afterwards, with new insight into a new me.

There’ve been tough times where the music has helped me, but I wouldn’t say there were too many - mainly because since I discovered Mars, my life has changed - they have forced me to rediscover, (r)evolve, alter my (misguided) perceptions and seek the true ‘me’. I won’t ever say something as naïve as ‘this band changed my life’, because it was more indirect than that - their lyrics spoke to me in a way that helped me realise, opened my eyes to things I’d never seen.

As you can see, it’s hard for me to tell my Mars story in a short form. I’m sorry this gone on so long; this wasn’t what I was planning on!

In as little as I can: 30 Seconds To Mars have managed to re-define me as a person, to help me ‘launch forth’ into the depths of my human awareness and realise what goes on around, and within, me. Without them, and their music, a lot of things may have overcome me, and I might not be the person I am today. All I have to say is one great big thank you. To the band. To the music. To the lyrics. TO THE ECHELON.

THE FIGHT IS DONE, THE WAR IS WON. YOU GUYS ARE MY FAMILY, AND I THINK OF EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU WITH LOVE AND RESPECT.

Writing this has been amazing. I hope you can get a sense of what I was trying to convey - my life, my learning, my experiences, me. I LOVE YOU.

@emibd
₪ ø lll ·o.