In a recent episode of SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” aired yesterday (Tuesday, October 31), MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s guitarist Mick Mars was asked about his decision to exclude the tracks he recorded in 2016 with ex-MÖTLEY CRÜE vocalist John Corabi from his forthcoming debut solo album, The Other Side Of Mars.
“I felt the songs were just a little — not strong enough,” Mars responded. “And there is a certain person that kind of interfered with that. And I’m not gonna say his name, but he kind of like messed some things up. The songs were wrong, parts in there that shouldn’t be there and blah blah blah. It isn’t a long story, but it was kind of like, ‘That ain’t gonna fly.’ So I shelved it.”
When asked about the third party who got involved in a project, Mars said: “[I was] kind of duped — that’s all I have to say — by a third party. And that’s it. That’s all. I got rid of him and went on and searched for other people. I mean, look, I found [producer] Michael Wagener after a while. He lives just down the street.”
The Other Side Of Mars is slated for release on February 23, 2024. The album is available in various editions, including a 180g LP and CD, with both signed and unsigned options. Mars will release The Other Side Of Mars through his private label, 1313, LLC, in collaboration with MRI.
When Mars stepped back from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE — the band he co-founded more than 40 years ago — following their massive summer 2022 “The Stadium Tour”, it seemed like the end of an era. Really, it was the beginning of a new one.
The legendary guitarist, whose riffs, solos and overall devastatingly heavy sound powered the L.A. icons through four decades of world-conquering, multi-platinum sonic mayhem is, as he demonstrates on his debut solo effort, still a serious force to be reckoned with. Only now, listeners are reckoning with more Mars than ever before. “When it comes to my playing, there’s the MÖTLEY side and the Mars side,” the guitarist says. “Either way, I always have a very clear vision of what I want to do.”
On the aptly titled “The Other Side of Mars”, fans get that vision in its full, multifarious glory. To be sure, there are plenty of characteristically riff-tastic, tough-as-nails hard-rock anthems. The album also presents the guitarist heading into new and uncharted territory, tearing through caustic, modern metal, conjuring gothic-tinged soundscapes, and digging into anguished, slow-burning power balladry alongside unspooling bluesy, cinematic instrumental workouts. The music throughout the collection is otherwise studded with slide guitars, violins, violas, keyboards, glitchy freak-outs and all manner of sonic surprises.
“There’s a lot of ideas that I have that, I don’t want to call them ‘left,’ but they are, you know what I mean?” Mars says. Regarding those stylistic turns, he continues, “My feeling has always been, I might gain some fans, I might lose some fans. But what they’re hearing, it’s all me.”
The Other Side of Mars track listing:
01. Loyal To The Lie
02. Broken On The Inside
03. Alone
04. Killing Breed
05. Memories
06. Right Side Of Wrong
07. Ready To Roll
08. Undone
09. Ain’t Going Back
10. LA Noir
