My Chemical Romance facts for kids

Quick facts for kids My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance in Oklahoma City, 2022. From left to right: Mikey Way, Frank Iero, Gerard Way, Ray Toro, Jarrod Alexander, and Jamie Muhoberac
Background information
Origin	New Jersey, U.S.
Genres	Alternative rock emo pop-punk post-hardcore punk rock hard rock
Years active	2001–2013 2019–present
Labels	Eyeball Reprise Warner
Members	Gerard Way Ray Toro Mikey Way Frank Iero
Past members	Matt Pelissier Bob Bryar James Dewees

My Chemical Romance is an American rock band from New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way. They are considered one of the most influential rock groups of the 2000s and a major act in the pop-punk and emo genres, despite the band rejecting the latter label.

Founded in September 2001 by Gerard, Mikey, Toro, and drummer Matt Pelissier (and later joined by Iero), the band signed with Eyeball Records and released their debut album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, in 2002. They signed with Reprise Records the next year and released their major-label debut, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, in 2004. Shortly after the album's release, Pelissier was replaced by Bob Bryar. The album was a commercial success, attaining platinum status over a year later.

The success of the band's previous albums was eclipsed by that of their 2006 rock opera concept album, The Black Parade. A major commercial success, its lead single "Welcome to the Black Parade" topped the UK singles chart. The album solidified the band's following. The band's fourth studio album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, was released in 2010. Bryar departed the band prior to the release of the album, and in 2012, they added touring keyboardist James Dewees. In 2012 and 2013, the band released a series of singles they had recorded in 2009 under the collective title Conventional Weapons. My Chemical Romance announced its breakup on March 22, 2013. In 2014, a greatest hits album titled May Death Never Stop You was released and a tenth-anniversary reissue of The Black Parade was released in 2016.

On October 31, 2019, the band announced a reunion show, which took place in Los Angeles on December 20, 2019. In January 2020, they announced additional shows and a Reunion Tour, which commenced in 2022 after a two-year postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic and concluded in early 2023.

History

2001–2002: Formation and I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love

Witnessing the September 11 attacks influenced Gerard Way to form My Chemical Romance.

The band was formed by vocalist Gerard Way and drummer Matt Pelissier in New Jersey, soon after the September 11 attacks. Witnessing the World Trade Center towers fall influenced Way's life to the extent that he decided to start a band. Shortly thereafter, Ray Toro was recruited as the band's guitarist because at the time Way could not sing and play the guitar simultaneously. Way has said, "Music was this thing I secretly wanted to do", and later wrote the song "Skylines and Turnstiles" to express his feelings about September 11.

The name of the band was suggested by bass guitarist Mikey Way, younger brother of Gerard. The first recording sessions were undertaken in Pelissier's attic, where the songs "Our Lady of Sorrows" and "Cubicles" were recorded. The band refers to those sessions as "The Attic Demos". After hearing the demo and dropping out of college, Mikey Way decided to join the band. While with Eyeball Records, the band met Frank Iero, the lead vocalist and guitarist for Pencey Prep. Following Pencey Prep's split in 2002, Iero became a member of My Chemical Romance, just days before the recording of the band's debut album. They recorded their debut album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, just three months after the formation of the band and released it in 2002 through Eyeball Records. The album was produced by Thursday frontman Geoff Rickly after the band became friends with him while playing shows in New Jersey. Iero played guitar on two of the tracks, one of which was "Early Sunsets Over Monroeville". During this time, the band was booked at the infamous venue Big Daddy's, where it began to receive more attention. The album produced three singles, "Vampires Will Never Hurt You", "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us", and "Headfirst for Halos".

My Chemical Romance offered free downloads through PureVolume and the social networking website MySpace, where they gained an initial fan base.

2003–2006: Major label signing and Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

On August 31, 2003, the band announced via their website that they had signed a deal with Reprise Records. The band's second album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, was released on June 8, 2004. A month after the album's release, the band replaced Matt Pelissier with Bob Bryar. The band released four singles from the album: "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)", "Thank You for the Venom", "Helena", and "The Ghost of You". The album went platinum in just over a year after its release.

At the beginning of 2005, the band was featured on the first Taste of Chaos tour along with The Used and Killswitch Engage. The band also was the opening act for Green Day on their American Idiot tour. They then co-headlined Warped Tour 2005 with Fall Out Boy and co-headlined a tour with Alkaline Trio and Reggie and the Full Effect around the US. That same year, My Chemical Romance collaborated with The Used for a cover of the Queen and David Bowie song, "Under Pressure", which was released as a benefit single for tsunami relief on iTunes and other Internet outlets.

In March 2006, the album Life on the Murder Scene was released, incorporating a CD and two DVDs. It included one documentary DVD chronicling the band's history, and a second DVD with music videos, the making of their videos and live performances. An unauthorized biography DVD Things That Make You Go MMM! was also released in June 2006. The DVD does not actually feature any My Chemical Romance music clips or performances but contains interviews with those who knew the band before much of their fame. A biography titled Something Incredible This Way Comes was also released, written by Paul Stenning and published in 2006. It features information on their beginnings right through to their third album, The Black Parade.

2006–2009: The Black Parade

Announcement of The Black Parade at London Hammersmith Palais, 22 August 2006

My Chemical Romance started recording their third studio album on April 10, 2006, with Rob Cavallo, producer of many of Green Day's albums.

On August 3, 2006, the band completed shooting the videos for their first two singles from the album, "Welcome to the Black Parade" and although not released until January 2007, "Famous Last Words". Both videos were directed by Samuel Bayer, director of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Green Day's American Idiot videos. During filming for the second video, band members Gerard Way and Bob Bryar were injured. Way suffered torn ligaments in his ankle, and Bryar suffered third-degree burns on his hands and legs. Consequently, the band was forced to cancel a few tour dates.

The band during the Big Day Out in February 2007

On August 22, 2006, the band played a special one-off show at the 1,800-capacity London Hammersmith Palais. The show was sold out in 15 minutes.

"Welcome to the Black Parade" was released as a single on September 11, 2006. A music video for the song, directed by Samuel Bayer and starring Lukas Haas as "The Patient", was released later the same month. The single became the band's first number-one on the UK Singles Chart in October 2006. The Black Parade was released on October 23, 2006. In the US, "Welcome to the Black Parade" reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the band's only top ten hit to date on the chart.

Most of the concerts on The Black Parade World Tour involved the use of pyrotechnics, especially during "Mama" and "Famous Last Words".

The Black Parade World Tour started on February 22, 2007, featuring Rise Against and Muse as support acts. Reggie and the Full Effect frontman James Dewees joined the band to play keyboards and synthesizer from there on. In April 2007, it was announced that Mikey Way would temporarily leave the tour to spend time with his new wife, Alicia Simmons-Way. Way's temporary replacement was Matt Cortez, a friend of the band. During the third leg of the tour, as a support act for Muse, members of My Chemical Romance and their crew, along with members of Muse's crew, suffered food poisoning, and consequently had to cancel shows. The band later featured on Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution tour in 2007, along with Placebo, Mindless Self Indulgence, Saosin, Taking Back Sunday and HIM.

My Chemical Romance received a range of accolades for The Black Parade. Kerrang! rated The Black Parade as the fourth-greatest album of 2006. In Rolling Stone magazine's ranking of the top 50 albums of 2006, The Black Parade was voted the 20th best album of the year, and 361th on their top 500 albums of all time. My Chemical Romance went on to win the award for Best International Band at the 2007 NME Awards, and Gerard Way also won the Hero of the Year award. My Chemical Romance was also nominated for Best Alternative Group at the 2007 American Music Awards.

In 2008, the band released a live DVD/CD collection titled The Black Parade Is Dead!, which includes two concerts from October 2007, the final Black Parade concert in Mexico, and a small show at Maxwell's in New Jersey. The DVD/CD was meant to be released on June 24 in the United States and June 30 in the UK, but was postponed to July 1 because of a technical fault with the Mexico concert. In 2009, an EP of B-sides from The Black Parade was released, titled The Black Parade: The B-Sides. The band then announced that they would be releasing "a collection of nine never-before-seen live videos, straight from the encore set of the Mexico City show from October 2007" during their Black Parade World Tour, titled ¡Venganza!. The release came on a bullet-shaped flash drive. It was released on April 10, 2009.

2009–2011: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys

In February 2009, My Chemical Romance released a new single titled "Desolation Row" (a cover of the Bob Dylan song). It was recorded to feature as the end credit track for the 2009 film Watchmen, an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name.

While working on the then-upcoming fourth album, the band originally worked with producer Brendan O'Brien, who has worked with AC/DC, Mastodon, and Pearl Jam.

In an interview with NME, Gerard Way said the band's next record would be a rock album, saying, "I think [the next album] will definitely be stripped down. I think the band misses being a rock band." Way also commented that the next release would be less theatrical in scope, stating that "it's not going to be hiding behind a veil of fiction or uniforms and makeup anymore." In an interview with PopEater, Way also stated that the next album will be "full of hate". He also said "over the years that we've been hearing ourselves live and hearing us on records, we kind of prefer the live. There's more of a garage feel and more energy. I'd like to capture some of that, finally. That's the goal for the next one."

On July 31 and August 1, 2009, My Chemical Romance played two "secret" shows at The Roxy Theater in Los Angeles. The shows were the first concerts the band had played since Madison Square Garden in May 2008. The band also premiered several new songs said to be from their upcoming fourth album during the shows, one reportedly titled "Death Before Disco", a song that Way said he was particularly excited about. The song was since renamed "Party Poison" and was included on the new album. Way explained further in a Rolling Stone interview that "it's a completely different sound for the band — it's like an anti-party song that you can party to. I can't wait for people to hear it. It brings back, lyrically, some of that wonderful fiction from the first album."

Gerard Way also said in a November 2009 interview with Rock Sound that the fourth album would be their defining work. "A friend who heard the record recently said he now had no interest in listening to our older work anymore, that we had made all our old material redundant. I took it as a compliment, the next thing you should always make the last thing seem unimportant and I think that will happen when we finally release this album."

On March 3, 2010, Iero announced on their official website that Bob Bryar had left the band, writing:

As of 4 weeks ago, My Chemical Romance and Bob Bryar parted ways. This was a painful decision for all of us to make and was not taken lightly. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors and expect you all to do the same.

In a March 2010 MTV interview about the new album, Way explained, "There's no title yet ... I'm actually kind of excited about that. It's kind of 'anything goes' at this point, but I'm so happy with the songs." Though the band eventually decided on the title of their fourth album, it continued to go unannounced, with various rumors circulating and the band stating on their website that it will be revealed "all in due time".

During the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, Way announced that the band had finished recording the fourth studio album. This was later confirmed by Iero on the band's website, announcing that the album was "done, finished, kaput, in the proverbial can, and being played loudly as we drive way too fast in our respective cars."

In September, a trailer video was uploaded to My Chemical Romance's official YouTube page titled Art is a Weapon, which announced the title of the album: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. On September 22, 2010, the band premiered their song "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)" on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show, and Los Angeles-based radio station KROQ-FM. The song offically release as a single on September 28. The album was released on November 22, 2010. The second single, "The Only Hope for Me Is You", was released on October 12, 2010. Some of the other singles from the album include, "Sing", and "Planetary (Go!)".

Rock Sound had a preview of the album and gave a positive review, commenting "the way they've used everything they learned on The Black Parade and tightened up in certain places feels natural and confident" and that it sees "the creativity of the band taking flight musically, graphically and literally."

My Chemical Romance performing in 2011; from left to right: Frank Iero, Mikey Way, Gerard Way, Michael Pedicone, Ray Toro

Michael Pedicone joined the band as a touring drummer late in 2010, replacing Bryar.

During a performance at Wembley Arena on February 12, 2011, Way announced that the band would be appearing at a UK festival later in the year. They also performed at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Carlisle, England on May 15, 2011.

On September 2, 2011, Frank Iero posted a blog on the band's site stating, "The relationship between My Chemical Romance and Michael Pedicone is over" and explaining Pedicone was sacked because "he was caught red-handed stealing from the band and confessed to police after our show last night in Auburn, Washington." He also mentioned his hope of getting a new drummer in time for their next show and avoiding having to cancel any performances in the process. On September 4, 2011, it was revealed through various sources that Jarrod Alexander will be the new touring drummer for the remainder of the Honda Civic tour.

My Chemical Romance performing at a concert in 2011

2011–2013: Conventional Weapons and break-up

In an interview with Rolling Stone in October 2011, guitarist Frank Iero revealed that new music could be out "by summer".

On April 28, 2011, US broadcaster Glenn Beck labelled the My Chemical Romance song "Sing" as "propaganda" after it was featured and covered on the US musical drama TV series Glee in February 2011. Beck stated "It's an anthem saying 'Join us'. How can you and I possibly win against that?" The lyrics that Beck pointed out were: "Cleaned up corporation progress, dying in the process / Children that can talk about it living on the railways [sic] / People moving sideways / Sell it till your last days / Buy yourself the motivation / Generation nothing / Nothing but a dead scene / Product of a white dream". Gerard Way responded to the accusation on the band's official website, writing, "I think the word Glenn Beck was looking for was 'subversion' not 'propaganda', because I don't know what it would be considered propaganda for—truth? Sentiment?" He also said that he was "shocked that no actual fact-checking was done on the lyrics". Bassist Mikey Way told the BBC, "If we're getting reaction from people like that we're doing something right."

On December 18, 2011, the band appeared on Nick Jr. Channel's Yo Gabba Gabba!, and performed a song called "Every Snowflake Is Different (Just Like You)". This was part of a Christmas special for the show. The special includes other famous guest appearances such as Tony Hawk and Tori Spelling.

Gerard Way at the festival Big Day Out in February 2012 in Australia

In February 2012, members of My Chemical Romance revealed that they had been building a studio in Los Angeles to record music for the band's fifth album under the working title MCR5, now with touring keyboardist James Dewees as an official member. The band worked with engineer Doug McKean, who previously worked on The Black Parade and Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. In September 2012, the band announced a new project titled Conventional Weapons. The project revolved around 10 unreleased songs that were recorded in 2009, prior to the making of Danger Days. The band released two songs each month for five months from the Conventional Weapons sessions, starting in October 2012 and finishing in February 2013. According to the October 2012 issue of Q Magazine, Frank Iero reported early sessions for MCR's next album with the new drummer Jarrod Alexander were progressing well. "Jarrod is a rad guy and a fantastic player. It's been really fun making music with him these past few months," Iero commented.

On March 22, 2013, the band announced their break-up on their official website, issuing this statement:

Being in this band for the past 12 years has been a true blessing. We've gotten to go places we never knew we would. We've been able to see and experience things we never imagined possible. We've shared the stage with people we admire, people we look up to, and best of all, our friends. And now, like all great things, it has come time for it to end. Thanks for all of your support, and for being part of the adventure.

Gerard Way posted an extended tweet on his Twitter account two days after the website announcement, in which he confirmed the disbanding of the group but denied that altercations between band members were the reason for the split.

2013–2019: May Death Never Stop You and post-breakup

On March 25, 2014, the band released a greatest hits collection, titled May Death Never Stop You, containing material spreading their entire career, as well a single unreleased track. The track "Fake Your Death" was made available digitally on February 17. It is the only song in MCR's discography having James Dewees playing on keyboards.

Following the band's breakup, the members of the band continued to pursue music. Lead vocalist Gerard Way announced his debut solo album Hesitant Alien with the release of an advance-single, "Action Cat". Hesitant Alien was released on September 29, 2014, in the UK, and a day later in the U.S. Hesitant Alien was a moderate commercial success, topping the US Billboard Alternative Albums chart and reaching No. 16 on the US Billboard 200. Hesitant Alien also topped the "Ten Essential Albums Of 2014" list in Alternative Press.

Rhythm guitarist Frank Iero sporadically collaborated with My Chemical Romance keyboardist James Dewees, forming Death Spells and performing in Reggie and the Full Effect (alongside Ray Toro), releasing No Country for Old Musicians on November 19, 2013. Afterwards, he announced via his official website that he signed to Staple Records and would be releasing a full-length solo album titled Stomachaches under the moniker of "frnkiero andthe cellabration". The album featured former My Chemical Romance touring drummer Jarrod Alexander. Stomachaches was released worldwide on August 25, 2014.

Bassist Mikey Way formed Electric Century along with Sleep Station vocalist David Debiak in 2014 and released their debut single "I Lied" in February 2014. The duo announced their debut self-titled EP on March 10, 2015, and it was released on Record Store Day on April 18, 2015.

Lead guitarist Ray Toro released a song titled "Isn't That Something" on May 24, 2013. On January 1, 2015, he posted a new song, titled "For the Lost and Brave", on his website.

On July 20, 2016, the band posted on their official Twitter and Facebook pages a video with the piano intro from "Welcome to the Black Parade", ending with a cryptic date, "9/23/16". The video was also published on the band's YouTube channel with the video titled "MCRX". This led to numerous rumors and reports on the band's possible reunion until it was revealed to be a reissue of The Black Parade with unreleased demos. The reissue, titled The Black Parade/Living with Ghosts, includes 11 demos and live tracks. Two months before its release, an early version of "Welcome to the Black Parade", titled "The Five of Us Are Dying", was made available for streaming.

In a discussion of his work on the comic book Doom Patrol, Gerard Way told Billboard, "I wouldn't count (a reunion) out, but at the same time everybody's doing stuff in their lives now that they're really enjoying."

2019–present: Reunion and new material

My Chemical Romance performing at their 2019 reunion show

On October 31, 2019, the band announced they would be reuniting in Los Angeles on December 20 and a new merchandise line. The announcement was accompanied by the captions "Return" and "Like Phantoms Forever...". The show sold out almost immediately. Believed initially to be a one-off show, almost a week later, the band announced more dates in Australia, Japan and New Zealand for 2020. They later revealed that they had first regrouped in 2017 and had been working together since then, before the official 2019 announcement. The concert grossed $1,451,745, with an attendance of 5,113.

In January 2020, the group announced plans to present one, then two, then three concerts at Stadium MK (Milton Keynes, England), on June 18, 20 and 21, 2020, as tickets for each day sold out within minutes. Later in the month, the group premiered a cryptic video on YouTube which ended by announcing a North American tour. The North American shows went on sale on January 31, 2020, and sold out in less than six hours. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all of the shows on the tour that were set to begin in 2020 were postponed to 2021, including the North American leg. These tour dates were later rescheduled again to 2022. The tour commenced on May 16, 2022 at the Eden Project, and concluded on March 26, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan.

On May 12, 2022, the band released "The Foundations of Decay", their first new song since 2014.

My Chemical Romance headlined When We Were Young Festival 2024 in Las Vegas alongside Fall Out Boy. The band performed their 2006 album The Black Parade in its entirety. Following the festival performance, the band later announced Long Live The Black Parade, a North American stadium tour in 2025, in which they are set to perform The Black Parade in its entirety.

In November 2024, the band's former drummer, Bob Bryar, was found dead at his home.

Musical style and influences

Style and classification

My Chemical Romance are primarily known for their "goth-tinged" aesthetic, theatrical vocals, and "introspective, confessional lyrics". The band's music has mostly been categorized as alternative rock, emo, pop-punk, post-hardcore, punk rock, and hard rock. The band has also released songs that have been described as emo pop, hardcore punk, gothic rock, pop rock, arena rock, glam rock, progressive rock, heavy metal, pop, screamo, and garage punk.

The band's debut album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love exhibits a raw sound featuring fast guitar riffs, highly energetic vocals and occasional screaming. The album has been compared to the works of Thursday and has been described as emo, post-hardcore, screamo, punk rock, gothic rock, pop punk, and garage punk, with influences from hardcore punk and heavy metal. The band's following album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge features "hyper" instrumentation and "furious immediacy", and was described as alternative rock, emo, pop punk, post-hardcore, punk rock, and pop rock.

The band's third album, The Black Parade, has been called an "old-fashioned concept album", featuring "pummeling riffs and soaring guitar solos". It has been "described as alternative rock, emo, pop punk, progressive rock, post-hardcore, punk rock, and hard rock, with influences from 1970s classic rock, glam rock, pop, and gothic rock. The band's fourth album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, integrated elements of power pop, psychedelic rock, proto-punk, pop rock, and electronic rock into their sound.

Influences

My Chemical Romance have cited Queen (top) and Misfits (bottom) as key influences.

Gerard Way said to Rolling Stone, "we love bands like Queen, where it's huge and majestic, but also bands like Black Flag and the Misfits, who would go absolutely crazy." Way has stated that the band is heavily influenced by Queen, Iron Maiden, Misfits, Black Flag, At the Gates, Descendents, Pantera, Van Halen, the Cure, Joy Division, Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Smiths, Morrissey, and Thursday. The Smashing Pumpkins also impacted the band's trajectory. My Chemical Romance's other influences include the Stooges, Ramones, Sex Pistols, the Clash, Minor Threat, Nirvana, and Operation Ivy. They also have noted that their lives, childhoods, books they've read and movies they've seen have influenced their music.

Band members

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

• I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love (2002)
• Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004)
• The Black Parade (2006)
• Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (2010)

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: My Chemical Romance para niños