My Chemical Romance are one of the biggest bands around at the moment – loved and hated in equal measures, their songs about drug abuse, lost love and homosexuality have attracted attention worldwide. They are widely said to be emo… although they’ve gone on record as to say they hate being called that!
My Chemical Romance (or MCR as they’re more commonly known) are from New Jersey and are Gerard Way (Vocals), Mikey Way (Bass), Ray Toro (Guitar), Frank Iero (Guitar) and Bob Bryar (Drums). They formed in 2001 after the September 11th attacks in New York as they felt that the event had such a profound effect on them (Skylines and Turnstiles was written about it) Their name came from an Irvine Welsh novel.
They were quickly signed up by Eyeball Records and a year later they released their first album I Brought you my bullets, you brought me your love.
In 2004, after being signed up by Warner Brothers Records they released Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, the album that helped them hit the big time. They supported Green Day on their American Idiot tour and later headlined the famous Warped Tour with Fall Out Boy.
In 2006 they released their most recent album – The Black Parade (although at one point it was joked the name of the album would be The Rise and Fall of My Chemical Romance). This album was celebrated by a change of image, which included Gerard’s bleached blonde hair and the now famous Drummer Jackets as seen in the Welcome to the Black Parade video. The Album was voted the 4th best album of 2006 by Kerrang.
In 2007 the Band went on tour, obtaining the ultimate coup by getting Muse to support them. They also toured with Linkin Park and HIM in Projekt Revolution – in a tour where a controversial snog was shared onstage between Gerard Way and Frank Iero.
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