The brothers opened up about their new album, 'It's the End of the World But It's a Beautiful Day,' coming out Sept. 15.
Thirty Seconds to Mars is gearing up for the release of their forthcoming sixth album, and they're particularly proud of this project.
ET's Rachel Smith chatted with brothers Jared and Shannon Leto on the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards pink carpet on Tuesday, where they shared details on what fans can expect with It's the End of the World But It's a Beautiful Day.
"We are celebrating three days until the album comes out, and we couldn't be happier," Jared says, with Shannon adding that fans will discover "a lot of changes, a lot of growth and a lot of maturity" in the new record.
"It's been five years, you know, a lot's happened, the world had a little bit of a hiccup," Jared continues. "We all had a little time in those early days of COVID to think about our lives and the future. But for us... this is our sixth album, and we're just struck with gratitude that we get to make music for people, we get to tour the world [and] we get to continue to make music with each other."
Jared previously shared with ET that the album -- which comes out Sept. 15 -- has a significant sonic difference from much of their past work, which he said was influenced by both the darkness and isolation of the pandemic lockdowns, as well as the hope and joy of the world returning to some semblance of normal again.
"This album was born into the early days of COVID, after my brother and I wrote, you know, a dozen songs about isolation and those darker days," Leto recalled. "And as we started to come out of that period, the album reflected that too. That optimism, that hope, that celebration."
"But I think that time was probably the first period in our lives where we ever were in the same place for that length of time," he added.
He confessed that the most challenging part wasn't creating new material, but cutting down and selecting what songs would make the final track list of the album, and which would be cut.
"My brother and I had about a couple hundred songs and the majority of the songs kind of fall to the side, and that part is pretty easy," Leto said of the selection process. "It gets a little harder when you start to narrow it down to 20 or 30."
"But some songs, you know, they share similar territory, they might share a similar melody or lyrically there's not enough variety, so you really look to the songs you're most excited about," he shared. "And of course, you start asking the people around you."
Shannon tells ET that the duo are very "proud" of the final product, as well as the VMA nominations they've secured this year, especially since their relationship with the network hasn't always been the best.
Back in 2010, the band released a 13-minute video for its song, "Hurricane," to MTV only to be informed that the video would not be suitable for airing. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jared took to the band's blog to address the grievances MTV had with the video, posting "one of several" letters the band had received from television networks explaining why the "Hurricane" clip was too graphic to be played on television.
Now, the brothers are vying for Best Alternative Video for their "Stuck" music video.
"[We've gone] from uninvited guests to permanent guest list," Jared quips. "We'll take it -- we got to know each other, and we'll take it."
The 2023 MTV Video Music Awards is coming to you live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV. Follow along at ETonline.com for full coverage of this year's VMAs, including the complete list of the nominees and the night's big winners.
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