While its members pursued solo careers after the band’s separation, the alternative rock band announced a reunion concert.
My Chemical Romance announced on Oct. 31 that they will be having a reunion concert in LA on Dec. 20. The band, which split up in 2013, has been a favorite of emo kids all around the world, and this news shocked millions. Tickets went on sale on Nov. 1 and sold out almost immediately. Though the band has yet to announce any additional shows within North America, they have confirmed they will be playing Download Festival in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia as well as shows in New Zealand and Japan.
My Chemical Romance’s main drummer during the height of their popularity, Bob Bryar, will not be joining them again. Instead it has been confirmed that Jarrod Alexander, who played with the band in September 2011 will be coming on as the drummer for the reunion.
Since the announcement of their reunion, the band has since found their way back on the charts. Billboard’s Lyric Find Chart, which tracks the number of times a lyric is searched, found “Welcome to the Black Parade” hitting no. 5 with a 376 percent increase in the past week with “Helena” reaching no. 10 and a 257 percent increase in searches. MCR also made an appearance in Billboard’s social chart for the first time since 2016 debuting at no. 41.
Some old MCR fans are concerned about the reunion, worried that the band they loved as a kid will disappoint or not hold up to old standards, while others are ecstatic to have them back. No matter how you feel though, this is a momentous occasion for emo kids everywhere, and it’s good to feel a little nostalgic and celebrate the anthems of misunderstood teenagers everywhere.
Since My Chemical Romance’s hiatus, the members of the band have all kept themselves busy. Each member of the band has released an album of their own, among other things.
Gerard Way, the lead singer, released his first solo album, “Hesitant Alien,” in 2014. He has also released multiple singles throughout the years. Last year, he released “Dasher,” “Getting Down the Germs” and “Baby You’re a Haunted House.”
All the members have stayed connected through the years by working on songs together and meeting for barbeques. “Getting Down the Germs” was a collaboration with Ray Toro, the lead guitarist of My Chemical Romance. “Baby You’re a Haunted House” features Mikey Way on bass, Gerard’s brother and bass guitar player of My Chemical Romance.
He has also released two singles this year. “Happy Together” and “Hazy Shade of Winter” are both songs he covered for the soundtrack of the “Umbrella Academy” television show. Way has also been heavily involved with DC comics as he was a co-creator of the “Young Animals” imprint. He is also the writer for the “Umbrella Academy” comic series.
“The Umbrella Academy” has recently been adapted into a Netflix television show.
The first season was released early this year, and the second season is already in production. The cast includes Mary J. Blige, Ellen Page and Robert Sheehan, among others.
It was also recently announced that Way would be composing the soundtrack for the upcoming “Clerks 3” film, which is the third film in this series. “Clerks 3” follows the character Randal as he recovers from a heart attack, which is inspired by the director’s, Kevin Smith, own recovery after a heart attack in 2018.
Ray Toro also released a solo album since the band’s break. The album was titled, “Remember the Laughter,” and released in 2016. It was made entirely in his house. He wrote, produced, mixed, engineered and played most of the things on the album.
Before this, he released a single titled, “For the Lost and Brave.” He dedicated this song to the memory of Leelah Alcorn. Leelah Alcorn was a transgender woman who committed suicide because her family did not accept her.
Mikey Way has also been busy since the band’s hiatus. In 2016, he and David Debiak released the first album for their band, Electric Century. The album was titled, “For the Night to Control.”
He has been involved with a few other bands, recording as their bass player. He contributed to Andy Black’s first solo album, “The Shadow Side” and to Waterparks EP, “Cluster.”
In addition to music, he has also recently started releasing “Collapser” with Shaun Simon. “Collapser” is published by DC Comics under the Young Animals imprint. Both Way brothers are now working together on Young Animals for DC comics.
Perhaps the busiest member of My Chemical Romance has been Frank Iero, the rhythm guitarist. He first released songs on his own in 2013. The first release of his was a two song cover album titled, “For Jamia.” In this album, he covers “Walk the Line” and “Be My Baby.” He dedicated the album to Jamia, his wife.
Next, he released a single that was co-written by his daughter, Lilly. In the single, Lilly and Cherry, his other daughter, are featured as backing vocalists. They were three years old when this song was written and performed.
After this, Iero announced his formation of his new band, frnkiero andthe cellabration. FIATC released their first, and only, album in 2014. The album was titled, “Stomachaches.” Iero played every instrument on the album, except for the drums.
In 2016, he and James Dewees released an album under the name of Death Spells. The album was titled, “Nothing Above, Nothing Below.” Death Spells was a band before My Chemical Romance’s break, but they never officially released an album until after the hiatus.
Iero also released an album in 2016. He changed his band’s name to Frank Iero and the Patience and released “Parachutes.” While doing promotion for the album, Iero and the members of his band were in a horrible accident. A city bus hit him and the other members of his band as they were unloading their van. Iero was dragged 10 feet along the curb by the bus.
Evan Nestor and Paul Clegg were also injured in this accident. In an interview with MTV, he said, “ I ended up underneath the bumper of this massive vehicle. From my vantage point, I could only see Evan, and I could hear Paul. I thought whoever I couldn’t see or hear had to be dead, and if they weren’t dead yet, then we all would be soon.”
After the accident, the band took a break from touring for awhile to recover, but they soon came back with a vengeance. In 2017, they released a four-song EP titled, “Keep the Coffins Coming.” This was the last album released with the Patience.
In 2019, Iero changed the members of his band and started a new band called Frank Iero and the Future Violents. Their album, “Barriers,” released earlier this year. In this album, there is a song titled, “Six Feet Down Under.” This song is about the accident him and his band members had in 2016.
It is very safe to say that all the members of My Chemical Romance truly love what they do as they haven’t stopped making music. This may be the first time fans have publically seen the members together; however, they have still remained very close friends throughout the year. If you’re looking for some new music to listen to, give some of these albums a listen.
