Thirty Seconds To Mars send animals running in their "The Race" lyric video.

While Thirty Seconds To Mars literally shot for the moon on their last celestial lyric video, "Conquistador," on this follow-up, "The Race," also from their upcoming LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS (out May 21), they bring the focus a little bit closer to Earth. But don't worry, just because the band has returned to their home planet doesn't mean that "The Race"'s lyric video is any less majestic, haunting, or packed with Jared Leto's grandiose ambition.

Watch Thirty Seconds To Mars' "The Race" lyric video after the jump.

"You saved my life, through blood and through sacrifice," Jared Leto whispers over drums that pulse like a heartbeat and gradually building synths, as the words unfold over images of animals in the wild. And speaking of blood, the video's stars just so happen to be a ravenous-looking cheetah, an ominous hawk, and a flock of bats exploding into the night.

"I'm not running, no, not running, no, not running," Leto repeats over the song's middle passage, and the combination of the words, and the animals, including zebras and stampeding wildebeests that are, in fact, running very fast for their lives, is a disorienting contrast. Things don't look too good for the wildebeests for a minute there, until, SURPRISE TWIST! Not running takes on a literal meaning; the song, as the images imply, is about turning around and standing up for yourself. It's about fighting your pursuers. And that's a lesson we could all learn from.

+ Check out Thirty Seconds To Mars' "The Race" lyric video, and watch Thirty Seconds To Mars discuss LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS.

Photo credit: Virgin Records