My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated MCR) was an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey, active from 2001 to 2013. The band's best-known lineup consisted of lead vocalist Gerard Way, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero, bassist Mikey Way, and drummer Bob Bryar, accompanied by keyboardist James Dewees.
The band eclipsed their previous success with their album, The Black Parade, which gained generally favorable reviews among music critics and was certified double platinum in the United States. After the departure of long-time drummer Bob Bryar in March 2010, the band released their fourth studio album. After the addition of touring keyboardist James Dewees in 2012 and the release of Conventional Weapons, a series of singles recorded in 2009, released over the course of five months, the band announced its break-up on March 22, 2013, one month after the final release in the Conventional Weapons series. After the band's split, a greatest hits album entitled May Death Never Stop You was released in March 2014.
The band was formed by frontman Gerard Way and drummer Matt Pelissier in Newark, New Jersey, soon after the Way wrote the September 11 attack. A song "Skylines and Turnstiles" to express his feelings about September 11 and shortly thereafter, Ray Toro was recruited as the band's guitarist because at the time Way could not sing and play the guitar simultaneously. The name of the band was suggested by bass guitarist Mikey Way, younger brother of Gerard, who was working in a Barnes & Noble when he was struck by the title of a book by Irvine Welsh named Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance. 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.
In 2003, the band signed a deal with Reprise Records. Following a tour with Avenged Sevenfold, the band began working on their second album, which was entitled Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, which 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 of its release.
At the beginning of 2005, the band was featured on the first Taste of Chaos tour along with The Used and Killswitch Engagen. 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.
Following Pencey Prep's split in 2002, Iero became a member of My Chemical Romance, just days prior to 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 Rickley 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 they began to receive more attention. My Chemical Romance offered free downloads through PureVolume and the social networking website MySpace, where they gained an initial fan base.
"Welcome to the Black Parade" was released as a single on September 11, 2006. On September 26, 2006, the music video for "Welcome to the Black Parade" was released in the UK, and on September 27 in the US. 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 United Kingdom and on October 24, 2006, in the United States to positive reviews. My Chemical Romance received mixed 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. 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 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 since 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" and in Way's words, "a special way this time. Maybe some sort of event, something fun, something soon."
In September, a trailer video was uploaded to My Chemical Romance's official YouTube page entitled Art is a Weapon, which announced the title of the album: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. The video featured the band wearing strangely coloured outfits and battling unusual characters in a desert surrounding, and featuring a sample of music from the song "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)". The album was released on November 22, 2010.
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, where he confirmed the disbanding of the group but denied that altercations between band members were the reason for the split.