Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Alternative Addiction
Billboard	favorable
Kerrang!
Melodic
Revolver	4/5
Rock Sound	6/10
Rolling Stone
San Francisco Chronicle
Sputnikmusic	3.5/5

A Beautiful Lie is the second album by American alternative rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars. It was released on August 30, 2005 through Virgin Records and was produced by Josh Abraham. The album produced four singles, "Attack," "The Kill," "From Yesterday," and "A Beautiful Lie"; of which three of those four singles managed to chart within the top 30 on the U.S. Modern Rock chart, with "The Kill" and "From Yesterday" entering the top three. A Beautiful Lie received positive reviews from music critics, many praising the album for the band's new sound from their debut album. The success of the album had helped the band receive accolades for their singles such as "The Kill" and "From Yesterday".

A Beautiful Lie differs notably from the band's self-titled debut album, both musically and lyrically. Whereas the eponymous concept album's lyrics focus on human struggle and astronomical themes, A Beautiful Lie's lyrics are "personal and less cerebral".

A Beautiful Lie was recorded on four different continents in five different countries over a three-year period to accommodate lead singer Jared Leto's acting career. The album's title track, as well as three other songs, were composed in Cape Town, South Africa, where Leto was later met by his bandmates to work on the tracks. It was during this time that Leto conceived the album's title. Prior to this, the album was tentatively to be released under the title Battle of One. It was leaked onto peer-to-peer file sharing networks almost five months before its scheduled release; the version of the album that leaked was unmastered. Because of this, the band was forced to set back the album's release date.

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Wikipedia