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	'''My Chemical Romance''' (also shortened to '''My Chem''' or '''MCR''') is an ] ] band. Formed in 2001, the band consists of ] (lead vocals), ] (bass), ] (drums), ] (rhythm guitar) and ] (lead guitar). The band members hail from ] and ], New Jersey, except drummer Bob Bryar, who is from ]. ] Mikey Way coined the band's name from a book entitled '']'', by ].		'''My Chemical Romance''' (also shortened to '''My Chem''' or '''MCR''') is an ] ] band. Formed in 2001, the band consists of ] (lead vocals), ] (bass), ] (drums), ] (rhythm guitar) and ] (lead guitar). The band members hail from ] and ], New Jersey, except drummer Bob Bryar, who is from ]. ] Mikey Way coined the band's name from a book entitled '']'', by ].

			pual is a big gay homo
	==Biography==

	===Early career (2001-2002)===
	]'' (2002), My Chemical Romance's debut album.]]
	The band was formed by frontman ] and ex-drummer ] around a week after ]. Gerard had witnessed the planes crashing into the ]. It influenced his life to the extent that he decided to start a band. Gerard wrote the song "]" to express his feelings about September 11th. Shortly thereafter, ] was called up and asked to join the band because Gerard could sing, but felt he couldn't play the guitar as well as Toro could.<ref name="alt press">{{Cite web\|url=http://www.theimmortalityproject.com/fansite/press/apnov04.html\|title=Art Imitates Life – My Chemical Romance\|accessdate=2006-12-23\|publisher=Alternative Press\|year=2004\|author=Simon, Leslie\|work=Alternative Press Magazine\|format=html}}</ref>

	The first recording sessions were done in Matt's attic, where the songs "]" (then called "Bring More Knives") and "]" were recorded. ], the younger brother of Gerard, loved the demo so much that he decided to join the band.<ref name="alt press"/>

	My Chemical Romance was signed with ] and played in the same room as ] and ]. It was there that the band met ], the lead vocalist and ] for Pencey Prep. After Pencey Prep broke up in 2001 or 2002, Frank became a guitarist for My Chemical Romance, just days before the band's debut album was recorded.<ref name="alt press"/>

	Three months after the formation of the band they recorded their debut album, '']'', subsequently released in 2002 on Eyeball Records. Despite only joining the band a few days before the album recording sessions began, Frank Iero played guitar on two of the tracks, one of them being "]".

	===Major career (2003-2005)===
	]'' (2004). It was the band's ] and their first on a major label.]]
	In 2003, the band signed a deal with ]. Following a tour with ] the band began work on their second album, entitled '']''. Released in 2004, the album went platinum within a year. The band released three singles from the album: "]", "]" and "]".

	It was during this time that the band replaced their drummer, ] with ], after they went to Japan in July 2004. The true nature of Pelissier's departure was due to an argument with band member Ray Toro or as a result of mistakes made by the drummer during live performances.

	At the start of 2005, the band was directly supported on the first ever ] tour, and was also the opening act for ] on the '']'' tour. Later that year MCR co-headlined and headlined their own tour,with ] and ], around the US.

	That same year My Chemical Romance and ] collaborated on a cover of the ] and ] classic "]" that was released as a benefit single on ] and other Internet outlets.

	===''Life on the Murder Scene'' (Summer 2006)===
	On ], ], a 2 ]/1 ] set entitled '']'' was released. It includes one DVD chronicling the band's history, and a second DVD with music videos, the making of their videos and a couple of live performances. An unauthorized biography DVD '']'' was also released, on ], ]. 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.<ref name="Things That Make You Go MMM Product info">{{cite web
	\| url= http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7100253
	\| publisher= cduniverse.com
	\| title= Things That Make You Go MMM Product info}}</ref>

	]'' (2006), the band's third studio album.]]
	The band started recording their third studio album on ], ] with ], producer of many of ]'s albums.<ref name="pauseandplay">{{cite web
	\| url= http://www.pauseandplay.com/upcoming.htm
	\| publisher= Pause & Play
	\| title= Upcoming Albums}}</ref><ref name="punknews">{{cite web
	\| url= http://www.punknews.org/article.php?sid=16269&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
	\| publisher= Punknews.org
	\| title= My Chemical Romance}}</ref>

	It was originally thought to be titled ''The Rise and Fall of My Chemical Romance'', but in an interview with '']'' magazine Gerard Way suggested this was just the album's working title, stating "It was never the title of the album, more a spoof, or joke."<ref name="blackparade">{{cite web
	\| url= http://www.theblackparade.com
	\| publisher= Theblackparade.com
	\| title= The Black Parade}}</ref>

	On ], ], the band finished shooting the videos for their first two singles from the album, "]" and "]", to be released on ], ].<ref name="Billboard">http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/discography/index.jsp?pid=489806&aid=812296</ref> The video was directed by ], director of ]'s "]" and ]'s '']'' videos.<ref name="videostatic">{{cite web
	\| url= http://www.videostatic.com/vs/2006/week30/index.html#entry-11878537
	\| publisher= VideoStatic
	\| title= My Chemical Romance}}</ref>

	During the shoot for "Famous Last Words", band members Gerard Way and Bob Bryar were injured. Way suffered torn ligaments in his ankle and Bryar a burn to the leg which caused a severe staph infection that needed constant monitoring in hospital. Consequently the band was forced to cancel a few tour dates. While these injuries were reported by several news agencies to have been the result of a car accident, a statement released by the band on their website and ] page has confirmed that these injuries occurred on the set of the video.<ref name="mychemicalromance">{{cite web
	\| url= http://www.mychemicalromance.com/flashsite.php
	\| publisher= Mychemicalromance.com
	\| title= My Chemical Romance News}}</ref>

	===''The Black Parade'' (August 2006-present)===
	]
	On ], ], the band played a special one-off show at the 1800-capacity ] ]. The show sold out in 15 minutes prompting tickets being sold on ] well over the tickets' face value. The name of the album they promoted was announced and 20 people dressed in black capes with their faces obscured paraded around Hammersmith, followed by a large group of fans and street team members with signs saying "The Black Parade". Later during the show the album title and the ] release date were confirmed. Prior to the band taking the stage it was announced that "My Chemical Romance" were unable to play, but they would be replaced by "The Black Parade". After initial crowd hostility it became clear the band were simply performing under a pseudonym in keeping with the theme of the album. When the set began, the backdrop art displayed the words "The Black Parade".

	On ], ], My Chemical Romance posted "]" on their Myspace page and their purevolume page. It can also be heard on the official website.<ref name="mychemicalromance">{{cite web
	\| url= http://www.mychemicalromance.com
	\| publisher= Mychemicalromance.com
	\| title= My Chemical Romance}}</ref> "Welcome to the Black Parade" had its first radio airing on ], ]. On ], ] the "Welcome to the Black Parade" music video was released in the UK, and on ] in the US.<ref name="blackparade"/>

	]

	On ], ], My Chemical Romance made a rare in-store performance to 500 fans at ] on London's ]. In order to get wristbands for the event, many fans slept outside the shop the previous night. British band ] caused trouble at the event when the Towers guitarist, Dirk Tourette, allegedly flicked a cigarette butt at Bob Bryar while he was performing.<ref name="nme">{{cite web
	\| url= http://www.nme.com/news/my-chemical-romance/24700
	\| publisher= nme
	\| title= My Chemical Romance News}}</ref>

	"Welcome to the Black Parade" reached number one on ], ], on the ], giving them their first number one.

	], ] marked their first appearance on '']'' as the musical guests where they played "Welcome to the Black Parade" and "Cancer".

	'']'' was released on ], ] in the ] and on ] in the ].

	My Chemical Romance is playing six dates from ] to ], ] in the world renowned ] festival in ] and ]. They are billed alongside ], ], ], and ].

	Gerard Way commented that the band would be returning ] at ], ] in Auckland

	In '']'' magazine, issue 1138, My Chemical Romance won the following categories in the 2006 poll: Best Band, Worst Band, Best Album (''The Black Parade''), Worst Album (''The Black Parade''), Best Track ("Welcome to the Black Parade"), Best Video ("Welcome to the Black Parade"), Best Live Show, Best Thing About 2006, Worst Thing About 2006, Hero of 2006 (Gerard Way), Villain of 2006 (Gerard Way), and Sexiest Male (Gerard Way). In issue 1139, ''Kerrang!'' rated ''The Black Parade'' as the 4th Greatest Album of 2006.

	Recently, My Chemical Romance performed Famous Last Words on top of the ] Building on ] New Years Special. Another notable detail from this performance is Gerard Way's newly dyed black hair.

	The band has planned a 2007 arena tour with support from ] for the first leg of the tour and will be supported by ] for the second leg.<ref name="2007UStourdates">http://www.alternativepress.com/news/archive/page_7.htm</ref> They will tour the UK with ] at the end of March.

	In May, My Chemical Romance is scheduled to headline the first day of New Jersey's annual rock festival, ].<ref name="MTV News">{{cite web
	\| url= http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1546364/20061121/linkin_park.jhtml
	\| publisher= MTV News
	\| title= Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Surprise 'Idol' To Rock Bamboozle '07}}</ref> The band has headlined the festival in past years.

	==Genre disputes and influences==		==Genre disputes and influences==

Revision as of 16:53, 8 February 2007

My Chemical Romance

Musical artist

My Chemical Romance (also shortened to My Chem or MCR) is an American Alternative rock band. Formed in 2001, the band consists of Gerard Way (lead vocals), Mikey Way (bass), Bob Bryar (drums), Frank Iero (rhythm guitar) and Ray Toro (lead guitar). The band members hail from Belleville and Kearny, New Jersey, except drummer Bob Bryar, who is from Chicago, Illinois. Bassist Mikey Way coined the band's name from a book entitled Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance, by Irvine Welsh.

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Genre disputes and influences

The band's music has been described variously by the media as "alternative rock", "emo", "emocore", "nu-punk", "pop punk", "post-hardcore" and "punk revival". The band themselves described their music as simply "rock" or "violent, dangerous pop" on their official website, as well as rejecting the term "emo" to describe their style. But another source quotes Gerard stating they are "What-else-ya-got-emo".

My Chemical Romance cite their main influences as Queen, Thursday, Iron Maiden, The Misfits, Pink Floyd, and Morrissey/The Smiths. Geoff Rickly, the lead singer of Thursday, has also compared them to Ink & Dagger. Growing up, they were also very influenced by horror films and comic books, and therefore their music, lyrics, and image all have overt elements of fantasy, storytelling, horror, and theatricality.

Criticism

Fanbase

My Chemical Romance was initially lauded as a band with a strong "grassroots" or "cult" following. It was among the first bands to achieve prominence by offering free downloads through PureVolume and the "social networking" site MySpace, where MCR gathered its first few thousand fans. The band has clearly grown well beyond those initial numbers, expanding their fan base beyond the typical fans of their musical style and direction, partially helped by the more mainstream sound of their 2004 album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. MCR are sometimes maligned by the "grassroots" fans for the expanded fan base, due to attracting fans they claim are "teeny boppers", after the release of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. Due to the increased amount of new fans, some of the old fanbase considers the band a "sellout" and the new MCR fans "posers and fags". The fans are particularly vocal on online forums.

Fan fiction about MCR has become common online on fansites, LiveJournal groups, fan fiction sites, and Quizilla. These stories are often about the band members having some connection with the underworld or Hell, or dealing with various parts of life. However some, if not most, of these stories promote the band as sex symbols. These stories usually portray the band having sexual relations, or relations in general, with either original characters, bandmates, or other celebrities, most often The Used. The band has thus become prominent in real person slash fiction. However, some fans feel these stories were inappropriate, which led to a large feud among users of Iconator. The feud on Iconator was based on the fact that "the members of My Chemical Romance do not deserve to be treated like 'sex icons', and do deserve to be treated like normal people, because that's what they are."

Image

File:MCRNEW.jpg

Current Image To The New Album The Black Parade

File:MCRLOGO1.png

New Logo To The Black Parade

My Chemical Romance's current image shows them in many of their promotional photos, music videos and live performances wearing a uniform, which often varies. Drummer Bob Bryar has a larger, more coat-like version, whilst the rest of the band all wear a shorter jacket. These jackets are available for purchase at various band merchandise websites and stores. The band have also become 'less dark', although The Black Parade is a concept album about death, their image has become more cheerful, and 'mature', with frontman Gerard Way bleaching his hair blonde, and having it cut short, this is meant to portray the patient's image, as he has said in an interview released prior to the album. He has since dyed his hair black again. Mikey Way no longer wears his 'Emo' (Thick Rimmed) glasses, after laser eye surgery.

File:MCROLDIMAGE.jpg

The Former Image Of The Band, From Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, and I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love

Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge Former Logo

Much of My Chemical Romance's music is 'horror film' based. Due to this, MCR are often criticized for their appearance being emo.

The band Guttermouth was supposedly removed from the 2004 Warped Tour for insulting My Chemical Romance, stating that the band were more concerned about their clothing and making money, rather than the artistic merits of the music they make. This is denied by Guttermouth, who claim they left of their own accord and not due to a complaint by My Chemical Romance.

In October 2006, the British Indie Rock band Kasabian criticized My Chemical Romance, labelling them "clowns" and "emo kids" who "don't have anything positive to say" and "should get out more and try and have a good time instead."

In a January 31st, 2007 interview with NME magazine, Brandon Flowers (lead singer of The Killers) speculated My Chemical Romance to be the 'dark horses' of the year's NME awards, saying "...probably My Chemical Romance. I'm going to sign up for The Black Parade."

Bottled

My Chemical Romance played the main stage at the 2006 Reading and Leeds Festival—this was the largest show they have ever played in the UK. According to issue 221 of Alternative Press, they followed Slayer and were not received warmly by the crowd at Reading, as the band was subjected to heavy bottling. Large sections of the audience threw bacon, tangerines, golf balls, and bottles filled with urine at the group as they played. This reportedly upset frontman Way, who then introduced the song "Thank You For the Venom" saying:

"This song is called Thanks for All the Bottles, Thanks for All the Piss, Thanks for All the Golf Balls, Thanks for All the Apples and Thanks for All the Sticky Shit."

Relationship with The Used

The Used is known to have both a personal and a professional relationship with My Chemical Romance. My Chemical Romance and The Used have covered "Under Pressure" (originally by David Bowie and Queen) in concert on multiple occasions. Bert also sings on the track "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison," off of My Chemical Romance's Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. Critics, however, have often criticized this relationship saying that My Chemical Romance used their relationship with The Used to gain a more international and wider audience. However, on My Chemical Romance's DVD, Life On The Murder Scene, the band's manager, Brian Schecter, stated that he introduced the two bands to each other, as he had once been The Used's tour manager.

In recent months, however, the two lead singers of both bands seem to have had a fallout due to disagreements over the addition of "Under Pressure" to In Love and Death.

In an interview with Blender, Way talks about the last time he and Bert McCracken crossed paths, during the San Diego stop of Warped Tour 2005. "It was really unfortunate," says Way. "We were about to take the stage and he was standing with a megaphone trying to get kids not to watch us. We just hit the feedback and drowned him out."

Discography

Main article: My Chemical Romance discography

Albums

Album Cover	Date of Release	Title	Label	US Billboard Peak	US sales
File:MCRBroughtYouMyBullets.jpg	June 23, 2002	I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love	Eyeball Records
File:MCRThreeCheers.jpg	June 8, 2004	Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge	Reprise Records	#28	Double-Platinum
File:Life on the murder scene.jpg	March 21, 2006	Life on the Murder Scene	Reprise Records	#30	Gold
	October 23, 2006 (International) October 24, 2006 (US) October 28, 2006 (Australia)	The Black Parade	Reprise Records	#2	Gold

References

http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1540817/09132006/my_chemical_romance.jhtml
^ "My Chemical Romance on Rockdetector.com". Rockdetector.com.
"The Black Parade on Metacritic.com". Metacritic.com.
"The Black Parade review on ukmusic.com". ukmusic.com.
^ "My Chemical Romance". All Music Guide.
Official website's band biography, accessed September 15, 2006.
""I don't think Emo ever fit us ... even in the beginning ... maybe geographically but at that time, when we would play VFW halls...we were always odd man out"". music.aol.com.
^ Cite error: The named reference alt press was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Rocksound
"My Chemical Romance Bio". ArtistDirect.com.
"Music fans reach for the stars". USA Today. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
"Bands Embrace Social Networking". Wired Magazine. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
"A Mixed Set to a Mixed Crowd". Punknews.org.
"My Chemical Romance". My Chemical Slash, an MCR LiveJournal community.
"My Chemical Romance Fiction Section". Fandomination.net.
"Fan fiction". Quizilla.
"Kasabian slam My Chemical Romance". NME.com.
"Week 92 : Day 3 : RMM premiere, The Lair, NME Awards interview, NME RMM review". Live Journal.
"My Chemical Romance shelled by crowd". NME.com.
Greenwald, Andy (2006). "My Chemical Romance: Kings of Pain". Blender. Dennis Digital, Inc. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
^ "My Chemical Romance Artist Chart History" (JSP). Billboard. Retrieved 2007-01-30.

External links

My Chemical Romance Official Website

v t e My Chemical Romance
Gerard Way Ray Toro Mikey Way Frank Iero Bob Bryar James Dewees
Studio albums	I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge The Black Parade Living with Ghosts Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
Compilation albums	Conventional Weapons May Death Never Stop You
Video albums	Life on the Murder Scene The Black Parade Is Dead! ¡Venganza!
EPs	The Mad Gear and Missile Kid
Singles	"Vampires Will Never Hurt You" "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us" "Headfirst for Halos" "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" "Thank You for the Venom" "Helena" "Under Pressure" "The Ghost of You" "Welcome to the Black Parade" "Famous Last Words" "I Don't Love You" "Teenagers" "Desolation Row" "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)" "The Only Hope for Me Is You" "Sing" "Planetary (Go!)" "The Foundations of Decay"
Other songs	"Cancer" "Dead!" "Disenchanted" "Mama" "Skylines and Turnstiles"
Tours	Projekt Revolution The World Contamination Tour 10th Annual Honda Civic Tour Reunion Tour Long Live The Black Parade
Related articles	Discography List of songs Awards and nominations Pencey Prep Leathermouth Death Spells The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
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