Mick Mars, the founding and former guitarist of Mötley Crüe, has announced his debut solo album, The Other Side of Mars, arriving February 23rd. The video for “Loyal to the Lie,” the lead single from the LP, can be streamed now.
“When it comes to my playing, there’s the Mötley side and the Mars side,” the guitarist said of his upcoming album, and “Loyal to the Lie” showcases the latter.
Crüe fans might be taken aback by the song’s more alt-metal/industrial slant, with singer Jacob Bunton providing impassioned vocals over Mars’ axework — which sounds as sharp and technically proficient as ever. While the Mötley Crüe camp raised questions about Mars’ physical ability to play amid the nasty exchanges that followed Mars’ retirement from touring with the band, this song testifies to the fact that he’s still got it.
“I wanted to do something that was just big and mean,” Mars said of the song. “People are going to hear my tone — my sound. I am what I am. Nobody else can do it. And like everyone, I’ve got a limited number of years. So, I’m gonna do all I can to do a lot of stuff.”
The album was produced by Michael Wagener, who was the engineer on Mötley Crüe’s 1981 debut Too Fast for Love. Mars co-wrote most of the songs with keyboardist Paul Taylor (Alice Cooper, Winger). The rest of the band is rounded out by Bunton and Brion Gamboa on lead vocals (the latter sings two songs), Korn drummer Ray Luzier, and bassist Chris Collier.
“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 said of the album’s stylistic direction. “My feeling has always been, I might gain some fans, I might lose some fans. But what they’re hearing, it’s all me.”
You can pre-order The Other Side of Mars on vinyl and CD from the guitarist’s online store. Stream “Loyal to the Lie” and see the album art and tracklist below.
The Other Side of Mars Artwork:
The Other Side of Mars Tracklist:
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
