My Chemical Romance

Formed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Gerard Way and his bandmates – Ray Toro (lead guitar), Mikey Way (bass), and Matt Pelissier (drums) - were classic high school outsiders with a love of comic books and rock music. With the addition of rhythm guitarist Frank Iero and the release of their debut album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love in 2002, My Chemical Romance came roaring out of the US East Coast underground scene in a blaze of soaring pop metal. Alongside Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco, they became poster boys of the growing emo (emotional rock) scene, capturing a mainstream audience with heartfelt lyrics, melodic hooks, and theatrical rock anthems. I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love dealt with tragedy, despair and thrashing gothic punk guitars, drawing comparisons with Thursday and quickly helping to build a cult following. Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004) further enhanced their reputation before the vampiric rock opera/concept album The Black Parade (2006) sent them global. Like a gothic, stadium-rocking Ziggy Stardust, the band drew on the ambition of classic ‘70s rock acts like Queen and produced the smash hit “Welcome to the Black Parade.” The band began working on new material, some of which was temporarily abandoned before the group emerged with the 2010 release Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. After touring to support the album, the band began working on what was to be their fifth album. In 2012, they began releasing a series of singles featuring songs that had been recorded in 2009 but were set aside in favor of the subsequent recordings that made up the Danger Days album. In 2013, those five singles were compiled in a box set and released as Conventional Weapons. That same year, the band officially announced their break-up. Each band member pursued their own projects including Gerard Way’s solo career and slight detour into the comic book world. In March 2014, My Chemical Romance released a ‘greatest hits’ collection entitled May Death Never Stop You. Much to their fans’ surprise, they announced their reunion in December 2019 and played several reunion shows to celebrate their return. Unfortunately, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic forced the band to cancel their 2020 tour and postpone it until the following year. The pandemic then forced them to scrap those plans and reschedule the tour yet again for 2022 and 2023. On May 2022, the band released their first new song since 2014, "The Foundations of Decay", and then appearing at the When We Were Young Festival in 2024. Former drummer from 2004 to 2010, Bob Bryar was found dead at home on November 24, 2024.

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