My Chemical Romance

My Chemical Romance is arguably one of the most influential bands of the early 2000s, garnering a gigantic loyal fanbase over the years who do everything from following their tours to supporting their causes in public demonstrations.

When the native New Jersey band disbanded back in 2013, followers believed it was the end of an era, but that proved untrue with a powerhouse reunion in 2019. And now, the long wait for more dates is over as Way, along with his brother Mikey and bandmates Ray Toro and Frank Iero are back with a vengeance.

My Chemical Romance started as the brainchild of lead singer Gerard Way. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attack, the vocalist was inspired to write about the event and start a band with guitarist Toro, his brother Mikey on bass, Iero on rhythm guitar, and original drummer Matt Pelissier.

My Chemical Romance released its first album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, in 2002. While it wasn’t a major hit, it used the music to cultivate a fan base following via MySpace. These efforts plus solid touring performances led the band to sign with Reprise Records in 2003.

In 2004, MCR’s second studio album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, climbed to a respectable position on the Billboard charts, peaking at #28, and went platinum within the year. Pelissier departed soon after the record’s release, so Bob Bryar took over behind the drum kit.

Over the next two years, My Chemical Romance opened for bands like Green Day on the American Idiot Tour and Fall Out Boy on the Warped Tour. With a robust following, the band was ready to amp things up.

In 2007, the band released its magnum opus concept album, The Black Parade. This rock opera centers around a central character dying of cancer. The band staged powerful events like a hosting live gig using a pseudonym that almost resulted in the audience revolting and a releasing faux parade of black-robed marchers.

Not only did The Black Parade solidify My Chemical Romance’s burgeoning cult following, it was a huge commercial success. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts and went on to go triple platinum in both the US and UK.

Mistreated and misunderstood by some media outlets, Gerard Way and his band had to overcome controversies generated by misinterpretation of MCR’s lyrics. After releasing their fourth album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, in 2010, the band would release a series of singles over the next two years compiled as the Conventional Weapons album.

Then, almost without warning, My Chemical Romance amicably broke up. But by 2019, a surprise show in LA signaled a reunion tour. COVID-19 postponed it in 2020, but now the boys are back and ready to take the world by storm.

The San Diego siblings formed the band in 2007 and with the support of their old label Equal Vision recorded an album’s worth of tracks just between the two of them. That album became ‘A Flair For The Dramatic’ and, after adding new members Tony Perry and Jamie Preciado, they began to build their profile with relentless touring.

They played shows throughout 2007, 2008 and some of 2009 including high profile dates on The Warped Tour and with the likes of ‘A Day To Remember’ and ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ amongst others.

Vic and Mike somehow found the time within all that touring to partner up with the likes Craig Owens and Johnny Craig to form supergroup ‘Isles & Glaciers’ however the group disbanded soon after their only release, 2010’s ‘The Hearts of Lonely People’ – some things are too good to last.

2010 also saw the band back in the studio recording what would become ‘Selfish Machines’ which went to number one on the Billboard Heatseekers Charts. And what would they do next? Well a load more touring of course!

This next wave of touring carried them through into 2012 when they released ‘Collide With The Sky’ and saw the band reach new highs of popularity. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number 12 and went on to over 100,000 copies. After winning RockSound’s band of the year in 2013, the band’s popularity continues to grow as they are really a testament to what can occur when siblings get on!