30 Seconds to Mars

Hoots and cynical sneers could be heard the length and breadth of Hollywood Boulevard when movie star Jared Leto (Fight Club, American Psycho, Girl Interrupted) first announced that he was starting a band with his brother Shannon. But soon even the most grizzled metallers were converted. Refusing to play venues that used Jared's name to promote the gig, the band went in search of credibility as they released their self-titled debut album in 2002. Theatrical and anthemic, the hard rocking emo crowd were impressed and follow-up album A Beautiful Lie (2005) broke them across the US and Europe. Support slots with Linkin Park, a place on the Warped Tour and festival slots at Download and Roskilde festivals further charmed hard rock fans but a legal row with record company Virgin delayed further material. Third album This War (2009) featured 2,000 different album covers - each a photograph submitted by a different fan - and drew on prog rock, synths and the glam pop ambition of The Killers to create a huge, melodic, gothic cacophony.