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My Chemical Romance through the years

A look back at the emo band's rise to fame

Author: Scarlett MartinPublished 7th Feb 2023

My Chemical Romance were the poster boys of the emo movement that took the world by storm during the 2000s. Made up of Gerard Way, Mikey Way, Frank Iero and Ray Toro, the band quickly became one of the biggest on the planet thanks to their theatrical performances, ambitious and oft grandiose sound and their image,

Having reformed in 2019 after six years away with incredible live shows in 2022, we thought we'd take a look back over their interesting career, from their embryonic days on Myspace to the all-conquering 'The Black Parade' and beyond.

My Chemical Romance: Where are they now?

2002: Career beginnings

Vocalist Gerard Way and drummer Matt Pelissier decided they wanted to start a band after witnessing the events of September 11th. The young band, who hail from New Jersey, were soon joined by bass player and Gerard's brother, Mikey Way, lead guitarist, Ray Toro and rhythm guitarist, Frank Iero.

They decided to name the band My Chemical Romance, after being inspired by the book Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance, written by Irvine Welsh, who is well-known for his novel Trainspotting and its subsequent film adaptation.

The band released their debut album, 'I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love', in 2002 through Eyeball Records. They started to offer free downloads of the album on Myspace, where they started to gain a small, yet very loyal fanbase.

2003: ‘Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge’

In 2003, My Chemical Romance signed a record deal with Reprise and after finishing a tour with Avenged Sevenfold, began working on their second album. 'Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge' was released in 2004 and the band released four singles, "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)", "Thank You for the Venom", "Helena", and "The Ghost of You". In its first year, the album went platinum. Just a month after the album's release, drummer Matt Pelissier left the group and was replaced by Bob Bryar.

2005: Opening for Green Day and 'Under Pressure'

In 2005, My Chemical Romance was the opening act for Green Day on their American Idiot tour and co-headlined a US tour with Alkaline Trio and Reggie and the Full Effect. My Chemical Romance did a cover with their close friends The Used, performing a version of the Queen and David Bowie hit 'Under Pressure' which was released as a benefit single to raise money for the Indian Ocean tsunami relief.

2006: 'Welcome To The Black Parade'

My Chemical Romance released their third album 'The Black Parade' on the 20th October 2006. Frontman Gerard Way has often described the album as a 'rock-opera' that centers on a character known as "The Patient". Each song on the album, including 'I don't love you', 'Teenagers', 'Mama' and 'Cancer', tells the story of "The Patient" as he reflects on his life. The album debuted at Number 2 on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart and the title track, 'Welcome to the Black Parade' went on to be the band's first Number 1 single. This is the only studio album to feature drummer Bob Bryar before he decided to leave the band in 2010. He was temporarily replaced by Michael Pedicone as the band went on tour.

Thia album also saw the band create their own alter-ego, known as the The Black Parade, which saw them wear black marching uniforms during all of their performances.

2010: 'Danger Days'

In September 2010, My Chemical Romance released their fourth album 'Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys', which is said to tell the story of a post-apocalyptic California and a group of 'rebellious rogues known as the Killjoys'. In all of the album's music videos and promotional material, the band members are portrayed as their alter-egos: "Party Poison" (Gerard Way), "Jet-Star" (Ray Toro), "Fun Ghoul" (Frank Iero), and "The Kobra Kid" (Mikey Way).

Later that month, the band announced "The World Contamination Tour" with shows in the UK, France, Amsterdam and Germany. With hits such as 'Sing', 'The Kids from Yesterday' and 'Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)', the album reached Number 1 on both the US Billboard Rock Albums and the US Billboard Alternative Albums chart.

2012: 'Conventional Weapons'

In 2012, guitarist Frank Iero announced on the band's official website that My Chemical Romance were working on a new project called 'Conventional Weapons'. This was an album featuring 10 unreleased songs that the band had recorded back in 2009. The band went on to release two songs from the 'Conventional Weapons sessions' every month, starting from October 2012 and ending in February 2013.

2013: My Chemical Romance split

On the 22nd March 2013, My Chemical Romance announced that they would be splitting up via a statement on their website. The band said: "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." While the band has never given a concrete reason for the split, Gerard Way has previously said that being in the band 'stopped being fun'.

2014-2015: The band focus on solo careers

After signing with Warner Bros. Records in 2014, Gerard Way released an advanced single 'Action Cat' to announce that he was now a solo artist. Later that year, he performed his first shows at Reading and Leeds Festivals and released his debut solo album 'Hesitant Alien'.

But Gerard wasn't the only member of the band to pursue new projects in 2014. Frank Iero announced in June 2014 that he was releasing a debut album called 'Stomachaches', under the name frnkiero andthe cellabration. This was followed up with tour dates, including being the support act for Taking Back Sunday and The Used on their co-headline US fall tour, and the release of his debut single, 'Weighted'.

Gerard's brother, bassist Mickey Way formed the band Electric Century with Sleep Station vocalist David Debiak and released their debut single 'I Lied' in February 2014. The duo then went on to debut their self-titled EP on Record Store Day in April 2015.

2016: The Hoax Reunion

On the 20th July 2016, My Chemical Romance fans were convinced a reunion was happening when a video suddenly appeared on the band's official Twitter page. The video featured a white flag with a black symbol blowing in the wind and the opening piano notes of 'Welcome To The Black Parade' playing in the background.

Despite their fans going into meltdown, the band released a statement a few days later explaining that 'we are not touring and there is no reunion planned - only a release for the Black Parade anniversary.'

2017- 2019: My Chemical Romance get back together

Despite denying that a reunion was happening, just a few years earlier My Chemical Romance secretly reunited in 2017. Two years later, on 31st October 2019, the band announced that they would be playing a reunion show at the Los Angeles Shrine Exhibition Hall on 20th December. This was the first live show the band had played together in seven years and they played some of their biggest hits including 'Famous Last Words', 'I'm Not Okay (I Promise)' and 'Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)'.

2020: Comeback tour postponed due to pandemic

After the success of the comeback show, My Chemical Romance announced a 'My Chemical Romance Reunion Tour' for dates in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. This was later followed by a European and North American tour announcement in January 2020. The band revealed they would be playing songs from all of their albums, including 'Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge' and 'Welcome to the Black Parade'.

2021: 'The Black Parade' 15th anniversary

In October 2021, My Chemical Romance celebrated the 15th anniversary of their third studio album 'The Black Parade'. The album includes huge tracks such as 'Welcome to the Black Parade', 'Famous Last Words' and 'Teenagers'. Taking to Instagram, the band wrote: 'We cannot believe it's been 15 years since we released The Black Parade. So much has changed, too much has stayed the same. And still, they'll never take my heart.'

2022: UK shows took place to thunderous applause

My Chemical Romance kicked off the UK & Ireland leg of their tour at the Eden Project in Cornwall in May 2022, performing a total of 10 dates across the countries. It was their first UK concert since they headlined Reading & Leeds Festival way back in August 2011. The 'Reunion Tour' saw the group start out their dates in December 2019 before being postponed due to the pandemic, and will see them wrap up in March 2023.

2023: Punkspring Festival

In October 2022, My Chemical Romance announced that they would be headlining Punkspring Festival, taking place in Japan in March 2023. Also on the line-up are Sum 41, Bad Religion and Simple Plan.