What Chords Do Kings And Queens Thirty Seconds To Mars Use?

There's this rush that hits me whenever the opening guitar and drums of 'Kings and Queens' kick in — it immediately feels bigger than a song, like a shared pulse. The chorus is simple but massive: 'we were the kings and queens' is phrased so everybody can sing it together, and that communal sing-along quality is the core of why it turned into an anthem. Musically it's built for arenas — broad chords, a steady, driving beat, and layered vocals that invite participation rather than quiet listening. On top of that, the timing helped. Coming from the 'This Is War' era, the song landed when people craved catharsis and unity. The lyric imagery is grand without being preachy, so it works as personal motivation or a group chant at shows. Whenever I hear it live, strangers end up singing like old friends, and that feeling—of being part of something larger—has cemented the song as an anthem for me and many others.

I still get a little giddy when I stumble across a remix of 'Kings and Queens'—that drum-heavy, anthemic track really lends itself to reinterpretation. A long, lazy night of YouTube rabbit-holing taught me that yes, there are remixes: some official ones that popped up on singles and promos around the 'This Is War' era, and a whole slew of unofficial club and fan remixes on platforms like SoundCloud and Bandcamp. I’ve heard everything from stripped-down piano takes to electronic dance remixes that push the chorus into festival territory. If you want the most reliable stuff, look for releases tied to the band’s official pages or well-known remix labels; otherwise, searching "'Kings and Queens' remix" on YouTube/Spotify will surface DJ edits and community-made versions. Some remixers even blend the song with other tracks for mashups that surprisingly work. Honestly, my favorite part is how different producers emphasize Jared Leto’s vocals or the marching drums—some versions feel cinematic, others club-ready. If you’re hunting for one to play at a gathering, sample a few and pick the vibe you want; the remix world around that song is delightfully varied and worth exploring.

Watching the 'Kings and Queens' video always makes me want to nerd out about how they pulled it off. From what I dug up and from fan chatter, the clip was directed by Bartholomew Cubbins—Jared Leto’s alias—and shot on location in Europe, with a huge focus on nighttime urban vistas and a massive group of cyclists. The production looks like it used a mix of stabilized long-tracking shots (think Steadicam and car rigs) and some elevated crane or cherry-pick angles to get those sweeping citywide frames. They clearly relied on practical lighting a lot: strong backlights, headlamps on the bikes, and the city’s ambient glow to create silhouettes and dramatic flares. Speed manipulation—slow motion for the pedals and hair, regular speed for the crowd scenes—gives it that dreamlike rhythm. Post-production color grading then drenched everything in that moody, high-contrast tone. It’s the kind of video where choreography, location permits, and careful timing with traffic all had to line up perfectly, so it wasn’t just arty—it was logistically impressive too.

There's this one song that still gives me goosebumps every time the first chords ring out — 'Kings and Queens' by Thirty Seconds to Mars. I was at a cramped venue when it played live for the first time in my town; the room tilted from polite listening to full-throated singing in a single chorus. That moment — phones lifted like tiny lighthouses, strangers holding each other's shoulders, a shouted line turning into a chant — is the clearest example of how it hit fans: it became a communal ritual. Beyond concerts, the song threaded into people's lives in quieter ways. Fans made covers in dorm rooms, parents hummed it to their kids, and people tattooed lyrics that felt like promises. The arena-ready production from 'This Is War' made it cinematic, but the bones of the song are simple enough for anyone to grab a guitar and make it theirs. It turned into a shared language of resilience and hope. What I love most is how it refuses to be just a track on a playlist; it's a moment you step into with other people. If you haven't sung the chorus in public yet, find a crowd — it's worth it.

The way that line hits me still — 'we were the kings and queens of promise' — feels like a sunrise psycho-anthem, and that’s the lens I use when I think about what inspired 'Kings and Queens' by 'Thirty Seconds to Mars'. The song was born in the same creative storm as the rest of the 'This Is War' era: the band was wrestling with outside pressure and legal drama, and they turned that turmoil into something massive and communal. You can hear the grit of struggle but the chorus lifts into this open, hopeful chant, like being handed a flag after a long night. On a more personal note, I always imagine the lyrics drawing from myths and romantic imagery — kings, queens, battles — but repurposed as a metaphor for youth, fleeting glory, and solidarity. Jared’s writing often blends intimate moments with epic scope, and here that contrast becomes a rallying cry: small human lives placed against the backdrop of something grand. Musically, the giant choruses, layered vocals and cinematic production give it that cathedral-meets-arena feeling. So for me, the inspiration is a mix of real-life conflict, the desire to create anthemic community music, and a poetic fascination with heroic imagery. It sounds dramatic on purpose, and that’s exactly why it still gets me when the drums kick in.

I still get chills when that guitar swell hits—funny how production credits can explain why. The single 'Kings and Queens' (from the album 'A Beautiful Lie') was produced by Flood alongside Thirty Seconds to Mars. Flood is the British producer Mark Ellis, and the band are credited as co-producers, which is why the record sounds both expansive and very much like their vision. I love that combo: Flood’s atmospheric textures and the band’s dramatic songwriting. It’s the kind of collaboration where you can hear a producer’s stamp without losing the band’s personality. If you ever dig through the CD booklet or Discogs entry you’ll see those production credits, and it makes listening to the track feel a bit like uncovering why it sounds so cinematic.

I’ve always thought 'Kings and Queens' feels like a modern anthem built from layers, and when I listen closely I can pick out the instruments that give it that huge, cinematic sound. The core is definitely rock: electric guitars (both rhythmic and lead), bass guitar, and strong, epic drums with lots of reverb. Over that you can hear piano or piano-like arpeggios and lush synth pads that create atmosphere. There are also orchestral-sounding string layers—violin/viola-like textures—plus gang-style backing vocals/choirs and handclaps or stomps for that stadium energy. Subtle percussion and programming round it out, and I swear there are ambient effects and processed guitar textures that make the track feel huge. I like imagining the band and producers stacking multiple vocal takes to build that choral vibe; it’s what turns a regular rock song into something that fills arenas. When I play it on the speakers, those layers always make me want to sing along.

I’ve dug through my memories and a bunch of fan chatter, and here’s the practical take: there isn’t a single, universally celebrated “official” live premiere for 'Kings and Queens' that the band themselves widely promoted as the debut. Most of the earliest documented live plays pop up in mid-to-late 2009 as Thirty Seconds to Mars were road-testing material from 'This Is War' on various festival bills and warm-up shows. If you want the exact first gig where they played it, setlist archives like setlist.fm and early YouTube uploads are your best friends. Fans often uploaded clips from small club shows or festival sets, and those timestamps usually reveal the oldest recordings. For me, the hunt through comments and upload dates is half the fun — you get little anecdotal details about crowd reactions and whether Jared changed lyrics or extended the ending. I’d start with setlist.fm and then cross-check the oldest YouTube clip; you’ll probably land on a summer/fall 2009 live debut feel. Happy scavenging — it’s the kind of treasure hunt that keeps fandom lively.