2024 release. When Mick Mars stepped back from touring with Mötley Crüe – the band he co- founded more than 40 years ago – following their massive summer 2022 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. On the aptly-titled The Other Side of Mars, fans get that vision in it’s full, multifarious glory. To be sure, there are plenty of characteristically riff-tastic, tough-as-nails hard-rock anthems (the rampaging “Loyal to the Lie,” the deep-in-the-pocket groove-rocker “Ain’t Going Back,” the hooky and melodic “Right Side of Wrong”) to be heard on the record. But The Other Side of Mars also shows the 71-year-old guitarist heading into new and uncharted territory, tearing through caustic, modern metal (“Broken On the Inside”), conjuring gothic-tinged soundscapes (“Undone”), digging into anguished, slow-burning power balladry (“Killing Breed”) and unspooling bluesy, cinematic instrumental workouts (the album-closing guitar showcase, “L.A. Noir”).