"Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" is the debut song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Thirty Seconds to Mars Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, pe ...

. The song was released by

Immortal Records Immortal Records was an American independent record label/imprint label based in Los Angeles, California. The company helped launch the careers of such influential acts as Korn, Thirty Seconds To Mars, and Incubus over the years. The label had ...

on July 23, 2002, as the lead single from the band's self-titled debut album. The song was written by

Jared Leto Jared Joseph Leto ( ; born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in a variety of roles, he has received numerous accolades over a career spanning three decades, including an Academy Award and a Golde ...

and was produced by

Bob Ezrin Robert Alan Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. As of 2010, Ezrin' ...

, Brian Virtue and 30 Seconds to Mars. According to Jared Leto, the song is about a desire for renewal. "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" first appearance was on the compilation ''Rock Tune Up #249'' released by The Album Network on April 5, 2002. "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" has been critically appreciated, with reviewers complimenting its

fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

of different genres. The song reached number 31 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'''s

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

and topped the

Heatseekers Songs Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

chart. The accompanying music video takes place in the

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

desert where band is playing in a ditch. It aired on August 6, 2002, and received airplay at

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

, Brand New and

MuchMusic USA Fuse is an American pay television channel launched in 1994 which was originally dedicated to music. After merging with the Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, Fuse shifted its focus to general entertainment and lifestyle programming targeting multic ...

. On November 18, 2002, 30 Seconds to Mars performed "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" for the first time on television on ''

Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with ''Th ...

'', which aired on November 27, 2002.

Background

During an interview of The Album Network,

explained that the song is "less about reinventing yourself and more about finding out who you really are, your true self. That's a pretty important thing. That feeling of if you could just go back, knowing what you know now." Leto said: "In a general sense, it is about a desire for renewal. But I'd rather let people take their own understanding and meaning from the song. I think that is one of the exciting things about music, the interpretation, from individual to individual and how it can change so much."

Release

30 Seconds to Mars released "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" in April 2002 as the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

. The single released in the United Kingdom was pressed with the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

"Phase 1: Fortification". In early 2002, the song was released on the promo ''Songs From 30 Seconds to Mars'', which also included "End of the Beginning". The song was released on the compilation ''Rock Tune Up #249'', the cover of which has 30 Seconds to Mars as the featured artist. The song entered the ''

at number 40 on September 7, and reached the peak position of 31 on October 5, 2002, remaining eight weeks on the chart. The song also reached number one on the

chart. The song peaked at number 12 on the

WNYU-FM WNYU-FM (89.1 FM) is a college radio station owned and operated by New York University. Its offices and studios are located at NYU's campus in lower Manhattan. WNYU's main transmitter is located at University Heights in the Bronx, the former loc ...

chart of April 19, 2002.

Critical reception

"Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" has been given mostly positive reviews from critics. Amber Authier from ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' praised the song, saying "30 Seconds to Mars approaches songs like 'Capricorn (A Brand New Name)' and 'Welcome to the Universe' in a unique way, considering their time." Kenny Hammond of 411mania praised the song, writing that "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" "is a dynamically high energy rock song. This song does not only explore the musical boundaries of 30 Seconds to Mars, but also the vocal range of Leto. 'Capricorn' overall is the strongest track on the CD, the riffs are catchy and the song's post production is above stellar. 'Capricorn' should not only impress rock fans, but also fans of many different musical styles." Smiley Ben of

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commented that "with titles such as 'Capricorn (A Brand New Name)', 'Echelon', and 'Welcome to the Universe', they knowingly push boundaries and produce great music with an edge." Megan O'Toole of ''

The Gazette The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...

'' praised the song, stating that "'Capricorn' launches an arrow of alienation toward the hearts of today's youth; yet, instead of being bleak, the track is poignantly resonant." Jay Gordon praised the song and described it as "an interesting

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

, new wave, synthetics, and hints of popish undertone." He also listed the song as one of the top tracks from the album. Johan Wippsson of

Melodic.net ''Melodic'' is an international daily Internet publication devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on independent music. However, the range of musical genres covered extends to rock, pop, folk, ...

wrote a similar review, saying that "'Capricorn' is a marvelous tune where their mix of styles just presses out energy and edge."

Music video

The music video was directed by Paul Fedor and it premiered on August 6, 2002, on

's show ''Oven Fresh'', which highlights new videos. The video was shot in the

desert. Jared Leto had an idea about kids hearing something from the ground, about mud. Fedor explained that was difficult shot the video, and commented "this video was my hey day.... my apex.... the day I went Erich von Stroheim." The music video features the band members in a desert-mud based set where people are digging in mud pits. The band are playing in a ditch where others are watching them. Near the end of the video, what appears to be a

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

team arrives and begins taking control of the area, hosing down the diggers. The band's logos are shown different times on a stone-based plate. Throughout the video Jared Leto's face is rarely shown, because during the production of the video, Leto was accidentally hit by guitarist

Solon Bixler Solon Ben Wixler (born January 4, 1977) is an American indie rock musician. He was Guitarist for the bands Thirty Seconds to Mars (2001-2003) and Earlimart. He is currently the lead male vocal and guitar player in the band Great Northern. Early ...

in the forehead, causing a huge lump with severe swelling. This can be seen if the video is carefully viewed.

Track listing

;US promo CD single # "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" (Radio Edit) – 3:37 # "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" (Album Version) – 3:52 # "Call Out Hook" – 0:23 ;UK promo CD single # "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" (Radio Edit) – 3:37 # "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" (Album Version) – 3:52 ;UK CD single # "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" (Radio Edit) – 3:37 # "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" (Album Version) – 3:53 # "Phase 1: Fortification" – 4:58 # "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" (Music Video) – 4:05

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from ''30 Seconds to Mars'' album liner notes. * Performed by Thirty Seconds to Mars **

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, programming **

Shannon Leto Shannon Leto (; born March 9, 1970) is an American musician best known as the drummer of rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars. He co-founded the group in 1998 in Los Angeles, California, with his younger brother Jared. Their debut album, ''30 Secon ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Written by Jared Leto * Produced by

with

Brian Virtue Brian Virtue is an American Grammy-nominated music producer, engineer and mixer based in Los Angeles, California. Virtue has worked with artists including Jane's Addiction, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Audioslave, Deftones, Puddle of Mudd, Chevelle, ...

and Thirty Seconds to Mars * Additional synthesizer by

Renn Hawkey Renn McDonnell Hawkey (born March 29, 1974) is an American musician, songwriter, film producer, and occasional actor. He played the synthesizer for the metal band Deadsy, performing on their self-titled debut album (1996) and subsequent releas ...

* Audio engineering by Brian Virtue * Mixed by

Ben Grosse Ben Grosse is an American record producer and mixer, known for his signature sound involving metal and hard rock music. Grosse has mixed and produced numerous albums for popular artists such as Dream Theater, Marilyn Manson, Sevendust, Disturbe ...

at The Mix Room, Burbank, California * Mastered by Tom Baker at Precision Mastering, Hollywood, California

Charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Capricorn (A Brand New Name) 2002 debut singles Thirty Seconds to Mars songs Song recordings produced by Bob Ezrin Songs written by Jared Leto Virgin Records singles