Mick Mars releases video for surprisingly heavy debut solo single Loyal To The Lie

(Image credit: Kevin Winter)

Former Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars has released a video for his debut solo single. Loyal To The Lie is the first track to emerge from Mars' first solo album, The Other Side Of Mars, which will be released on February 23 next year via the guitarist's own label. 1313 LLC.

“I wanted to do something that was just big and mean,” says Mars. "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.

"When it comes to my playing, there’s the Mötley side and the Mars side. Either way, I always have a very clear vision of what I want to do."

Musicians on the upcoming album include Winger and former Alice Cooper keyboardist Paul Taylor, vocalist Jacob Bunton, Korn drummer Ray Luzier and bassist Chris Collier, while singer Brion Gamboa contributes to two tracks.

Production duties on the album were handled by Michael Wagener, who engineered and mixed Mötley Crüe's debut album Too Fast For Love in 1981. Wagener has also worked with the likes of Stryper, Poison, Alice Cooper, Extreme, Megadeth, Ozzy Osbourne, Dokken, Metallica, White Lion and Skid Row.

"I had known him for a long time, and I actually brought him to Mötley," says Mars. "He had such an understanding of where I wanted to go with the material. And he never said ‘Hey, do this,’ or tried to change my mind or anything like that. He was just really adamant about recording what I wanted to record, and making sure we recorded it right."

According to a statement accompanying news of the album's release, The Other Side Of Mars will find 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" and is "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?” says Mars. "My feeling has always been, I might gain some fans, I might lose some fans. But what they’re hearing, it’s all me."

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.