Why did 30 Seconds to Mars go through an emo phase?

30STM is ALWAYS going through phases!

It has been heavily debated as to whether or not 30STM is Emo, Punk, Goth, alternative or what. So, let's start off by saying this: the one thing you can't do with 30STM music or its band members, is put them in a box an label them. They have never adhered to guidelines, anyone else's fashion ideas, or anyone else's idea of who or what they should do or be. They ALWAYS color a little outside the lines, this is what makes 30STM, well, 30 Seconds To Mars and why we love them so much. I mean, look at the name of their band! If they wanted to be mainstream, they would have named themselves 'The Leto Brothers' or 'J, S, & T'. If they were or are Emo, one does not become Emo to belong to a group, you become Emo to define yourself as an individual, which just happens to be put under the group title of 'Emo'. Also important to know: Goth, Emo, & Punk are all very different genres, calling an Emo a Goth or a Punk an Emo can be insulting to die hard. They are very definitive lifestyles, even though many ideal-isms seem to overlap. People feel the necessity to label these individuals into groups. Something that 30STM is very careful about, is NOT defining themselves. Members have pretty much said that they don't want their band or music they to have any one meaning to any one person. And if you listen to their music and pay attention to their style, you will see that they remain ambiguous. Any one of their songs can have multiple meanings and no one of those meanings is incorrect. For instance, 'The Kill' can be about confronting another person, confronting life, or confronting yourself or all three. When Jared made the video, he chose to approach it from the angle of confronting ones own inner demons and dealing with finding out who you really are. In another song they sing about 'father'; is it a dad? a priest? the holy father, God? You choose. 'This is war'. is it a war within? a war between groups? a war of us against the world? Once again, no answer is absolutely wrong or right.

So, to surmise my answer to your question: Love 30STM for who and what they are. And this who and what - DO NOT try to define it. I don't think they want to be defined. And that's why die-hard fans, like myself, love them so much. They are what you need them to be at that moment, and that can change from day to day. Some days I want to listen to 'The Kill' over and over, another day it's 'A Beautiful Lie, 'The Hurricane' or 'R-Evovle', and sometimes it's all of their songs. I know they did not write their songs specifically for me, but when you listen to their music, it does feel like each song is tailor made for you. I think that's why people are so drawn to them, because, we have a song that is ours yet we can share it with everyone else and feel a part of something bigger.

Go Echelon! Go Mars Army!

Well, first of all it went with the High-schoolish theme of the CD A Beautiful Lie. All about finding yourself, and being aggresive, and learning that some truths are ugly while the lies that covered them were beautiful. Think of the actual songs on that CD and their lyrics. Attack, A Beautiful Lie, The Kill, Was It a Dream, The Fantasy, Savior, From Yesterday, The Story, R-Evolve, A Modern Myth, Battle of One, Hunter. This is the high-schoolers-hitting-puberty anthem CD right here. As for Jared, Shannon, Tomo, and Matt's "emo" styles, not only does it match the sound, but it was also very much in style from 2005-2008 (the CD's reign)

30 STM is such an innovative band and they always dare to try new things. Listen to their songs carefully and you'll find that they're different for each album. And also, look at Jared's hair :P

every band at least once in their pro. career tries changing their style of music or image. like metallica, in their 1996 album load they changed their sound completely.

it was just the look/style they went for back then.

either it appealed to them personally, or they knew kids liked it & they might be able to attract more people by their appearance.

Mid life crises. All of them are in their 40's so they got all emo