The History and Return of My Chemical Romance
Following their breakup on March 22nd, 2013, fans of My Chemical Romance held onto hope that one day, the band would make a grand return to the music scene. On October 31st of 2019, that hope became a reality for fans when the band announced their long awaited reunion. Preceding this comeback, there were many events leading up to it.
My Chemical Romance was formed in the wake of September 11th, 2001, when lead singer, Gerard Way witnessed the terrorist attacks. The band's original line up consisted of Gerard Way, his brother, Mikey Way on bass, Matt Pelissier on drums, and guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero. They attribute the formation of the band to the tragedy, as a motivation to “make a difference”. These events lead up to them releasing their first album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love on July 23rd, 2002. This album is a clear nod to the September 11th tragedy and is exceptionally dark in nature. This album follows the story of two lovers who are inevitably separated. The instrumental work throughout the album is very raw, fast paced and focuses on portraying emotions, rather than sounding perfect and clean.
Two years after this album was released, the band released their second studio album, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. Gerard Way regards this album as a “pseudo-conceptual horror story” and states that “Revenge is really the band. Bullets is the band trying to find itself. By the time we hit Revenge we had really become My Chemical Romance.” During the writing process of this album, Gerard and Mikey’s grandmother passed away and because of this experience, a lot of the lyrics are rooted in more personal experiences, not only regarding this, but also situations the other members have dealt with.
Arguably their most famous album, The Black Parade was released in October of 2006 and features 14 tracks that follow a very clear story. “The Patient”, as many fans have called him, is the man this story focuses on. This man was fatally diagnosed with cancer and the album follows his journey with death and the afterlife. The song, Dead, features The Patient’s discovery that he has just two weeks left to live. Following this, Welcome to the Black Parade is him being welcomed into the afterlife. The album ends with Famous Last Words which is the final recognition of hope, perseverance, and to live every day like it's your last.
Gerard Way originally did not know what he wanted the album after The Black Parade to be, and this is very evident in the sound, as Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is incredibly different than anything the band had released in the past. While past albums have been extraordinarily dark and heavy, this album is energetic, anthemic, and utilizes a completely different concept. The fictional world this album has created is home to four “Killjoys” who are trying to save the world, both literally and metaphorically and the album follows this story.
The final album they released before their breakup was Conventional Weapons. This album is a compilation of singles that were released between October of 2012 and February of 2013. All of the songs were recorded in 2009.
A month after the final singles from Conventional Weapons were released, My Chemical Romance disbanded. Gerard Way credited the breakup to the fact that it simply wasn’t fun to create anymore within the confines of the band. While fans were very upset about the disbandment, they understood that all good things must come to an end. However, this sadness would come to an end when they arose from their 6 year hiatus on October 31, 2019 to announce their reunion tour. Fans that have been waiting for this for years made their return to the fandom in anticipation of the new tour. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic ensuing shortly after this announcement, they had to postpone the tour. However, when it was safe to do so, they came back with a bang. With shows all over the world, they played each night like they had never left the stage. In the midst of their tour, they released a brand new single titled The Foundations of Decay. Fans were shocked by this release as it had no promotion or any hint to it. This song title itself certainly paints a picture in listeners’ minds and is an ode to the band’s journey and the passing of time.
This band has a very extensive history and absolutely incredible music. I’m hoping that this piece gives you an idea about who this band is, what their music stands for, and their motivation for writing. I’ve loved this band for about 10 years now and I highly recommend listening to their music if you haven’t heard much of it before.
