MetalHammerPresentsMyChemicalRomance3rdEdition2022

school they were less A Clockwork Orange and more MURDER BALLADS
Revenge Of The Nerds.
NEO-GOTH GREATS
“The whole black-and-red thing isn’t a Satanic thing
like some people have said,” grins Gerard. “However, we Love the goth-punk stylings of MCR? Here’s
do have a huge love and respect for The Dark Lord – The Hammer’s Top 10 (well, 11, if you include
Dark Lord being [Alkaline Trio frontman] Matt Skiba. the AFI intro) list of all things dark and
It all kinda came out of a video we were doing actually. downtuned for you to rip or download and burn
We did the video for Helena and, like everything we do, your own gothy compilation album!
we art directed it. And we all really started to like how
we looked in that video. I like the way we look kinda BAND: AFI
uniform. It was important for us because not only had TRACK: Initiation
the band become a gang, we needed to look like a gang TIME: 0:39
too. It wasn’t a calculated thing – it was just one of those TAKEN FROM: The Art Of Drowning [Nitro, 2000]
moments when you take a look at yourself and go, ‘I really
like how we look!’” BAND: Avenged Sevenfold
TRACK:Unholy Confessions
And that is one of the great things about MCR – TIME: 4:43
they’re putting the ‘star’ back into rock star. Like all the TAKENFROM:Waking The Fallen [Hopeless,2003]
rock star greats before them, MCR have a real sense of
showmanship; a sense of mystique that grunge with its BAND: Alkaline Trio
dour dress code, nu metal with its safe and sanitised look, TRACK: Private Eye
and the ‘The’ bands who roll up to a gig wearing exactly TIME: 3:30
the same fucking thing they always wear day in day out, TAKEN FROM: From Here To Infirmary [Vagrant, 2001]
have robbed us of.
BAND: My Chemical Romance
“Well, we, um, actually do wear these kinda clothes TRACK: I’m Not Okay (I Promise)
all the time,” confesses Gerard. “I don’t have any other TIME: 3:08
clothes apart from my pyjamas! Or ‘breakfast pants’ as I TAKEN FROM: Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge
like to call them. The make-up is what we don’t always [Warner Bros., 2004]
wear. It’s a process to get us ready to go on stage. That’s
why it always feels odd getting up first thing in the BAND: Danzig
morning and having to get ready for photo shoots. But TRACK: Mother
yeah, we all make a conscious effort to look like jerk-offs TIME: 3:24
all the time. That’s why we all smell so bad! TAKEN FROM: Danzig [American, 1988]

“When we went to high school we were definitely the BAND: AFI
kids that didn’t fit in. I used to wear a lot of black and TRACK: The Days Of The Phoenix
I got hassled for it. As for a Revenge Of The Nerds kinda TIME: 3:27
vibe, if you look at the kids that came to our shows back TAKEN FROM: The Art Of Drowning [Nitro, 2000]
in the early days, it’s exactly what it was. We’d end up
playing a lot of scenester shows, but you could always BAND: Atreyu
tell who came to see My Chemical Romance because they TRACK: Right Side Of The Bed
didn’t look like anyone else, they didn’t fit in with anyone TIME: 3:42
else and everyone would give them dirty looks. They were TAKEN FROM: The Curse [Victory, 2004]
usually alone too. But now I seem to have been given this
‘cutesy frontman’ tag. Like what the fuck?! I don’t think BAND: Bleeding Through
I’m ‘cute’ in any way, shape or form. I just thought people TRACK: On Wings Of Lead
liked me because I’m a crazy asshole! That’s the weirdest TIME: 5:21
thing – we don’t really understand that at all. So it’s very TAKEN FROM: This Is Love, This Is Murderous [Roadrunner/
strange to us that we’re pin-ups on people’s walls.” Trustkill, 2003]

Frank is a little more philosophical about it all: “Well, BAND: Wednesday 13
if that’s the way it’s gonna happen then it’s fucking TRACK: Buried By Christmas
hilarious! Do you really want photos of us spitting on each TIME: 3:19
other and puking up? If you do, you’re fucking crazy!” TAKEN FROM: Transylvania 90210 [Roadrunner, 2005]

BAND: Eighteen Visions
TRACK: I Let Go
TIME: 3:23
TAKEN FROM: Obsession [Sony/Trustkill, 2004]

BAND: Type O Negative
TRACK: My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend
TIME: 3:43
TAKEN FROM: The Least Worst Of [Roadrunner, 2000]

METALHAMMER.COM 51

THE DISTANCE IN METRES THAT EVERY BLACK MCR ALBUMS SOLD EVERY HOUR
PARADE CD SOLD WOULD STRETCH IF LAID END OVER THE BAND’S INITIAL 12-YEAR CAREER.
TO END. THAT’S 961 EMPIRE STATE BUILDINGS!

VIDEO VIEWS ON THE LIKES ON FACEBOOK. THAT’S AROUND
OFFICIAL MCR YOUTUBE CHANNEL. THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF BELGIUM.

52 METALHAMMER.COM

SHOWS DURING THE BLACK PARADE WORLD TOUR.

PLANETARY LOGO

THERE ARE PLENTY OF WAYS TO WRITE…

FIVE
DRUMMERS
SINCE THE BAND
FIRST FORMED. ONLY
18 FEWER THAN
SPINAL TAP!

METAL HAMMER GOLDEN GODS
AWARDS NOMINATIONS…
…AND COVERS!

MEMBERS ON THE MCRMY FACEBOOK PAGE.

METALHAMMER.COM 53

“THIS BAND IS THE ONLY THING I HAVE GOING
FOR ME. IT’S THE ONLY THING I CAN DO RIGHT”

GERARD KNEW WHERE HIS STRENGTHS LAY

54 METALHAMMER.COM

When Hammer was invited to join Gerard et all on 2005’s incarnation
of the Vans Warped Tour, we could hardly refuse…

WORDS: IAN WINWOOD • PHOTOS: JOHN MCMURTRIE

T he man standing by the side of the road has a Bible so, yes, I guess it is against the word of God.”
look of resigned understanding on his face. It’s Do you think festivals such as this are the same as going
as if he realises that the task he’s up against
today is insurmountable, a tide of opposition to church for the people who attend?
that can neither be held back nor reasoned with. This time it’s My Chemical Romance’s vocalist Gerard
The sun is beating down like a truncheon, remorseless, all
day long. The man stands tall, making a stand. Way who answers the question. The singer is sitting in
the air-conditioned silence in the back lounge of his
A car drives by, its passenger leans from the window and crew’s tour bus. Outside the sun is bearing down like
shouts, “You fucking asshole!” a psychopathic stare. It’s 10 minutes to two, an hour or so
before My Chemical Romance are due to take to the stage
The man’s name is Bob Adams, a suave-looking
gentleman with wavy blond hair and pastel-coloured,
country club clothing. He is standing at the entrance to
the Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater in Atlanta holding a sign
that demands you ‘READ THE HOLY BIBLE DAILY’.

It’s midday on Wednesday August 3. Today is the day
the Vans Warped Tour visits Atlanta, Georgia. Something
like 30,000 southern punk rockers are pulling their cars
onto the grass car parks and heading for the entrances. On
the way, they are driving and walking past Bob Adams.

“Get a life you fucking dick!”
Bob Adams just smiles and waves an arm in friendly
riposte. “I’m just here to talk to people,” he says, by way
of explanation. “To tell them about the word of the Bible.
I’ll have a conversation with anyone who wants to talk.
I don’t mind who they are. I’ll be standing here all day.”
There are some Christians who believe that festivals
such as this one are ungodly. Are you one of them?
“Well…” and here Bob Adams smiles, the smile of
a man well used to questions such as this. “I try not to
be too judgemental. But the word of God is in the Bible,
and anything else runs contrary to the scriptures. The
message these people are getting today is not from the

METALHAMMER.COM 55

for their 40-minute set of high-energy rock’n’roll. “I don’t some 80-odd more – it’s for My Chemical Romance that the
know,” he says, “I’ve never really thought of it like that.” audience reserves its highest reaches of insanity.

Gerard then proceeds to think of it like that. “I know Whereas no more than 5,000 people crowd each of the
it sounds really stupid when bands say things like this, larger stages for other bands (there are four main Warped
but there is definitely a spiritual element to the music for Tour stages, as well as a handful of smaller platforms
us. I know that might sound crap, but we really do put scattered around the site), it seems that every ticket
everything into our performance. The very reason we’re holder here today, at exactly 3pm, heads to a spot where
here is for those moments when we’re on stage. Everything My Chem Rom can be seen. For the following 40 minutes,
else is just crap. I don’t mean to be rude when I say this, it’s all melee and melody, a flurry of faces and limbs in
but talking to you right now is crap. It’s just something the horrible heat; security guards earning their keep,
I do when I’m waiting to get onstage. And so for us there pulling people over the barriers; people getting hurt.
is a kind of devotional quality to playing, yeah.” That kind of thing.

And for the audience? At the end of the set, Gerard Way, as he does each day,
“That’s difficult to say,” he reckons. “We do have walks to the first aid area. Today he’s checking on the
a fanatical element, that’s for sure. I do know that there well-being of a young fan, freshly fitted with a neck brace.
are more problems in terms of safety when we play than Hammer photographer John McMurtrie attempts to take
for any other band on this tour.” a picture of him doing this.
Yeah, you could say that. Despite the depth and breadth
of the Vans Warped Tour – which this year features, among “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” screams
others (deep breath), Avenged Sevenfold, Offspring, a medic.
Dropkick Murphys, Hawthorne Heights, Millencolin,
Transplants, Funeral For A Friend and MxPx, as well as Excuse us?
“I said, what the fuck are you doing?” The man is
clearly blood-red angry. “Do you know the consequences

“THERE ARE MORE SAFETY PROBLEMS FOR US
THAN ANY OTHER BAND ON THIS TOUR”

CODE RED SECURITY IS AT THE READY…

56 METALHAMMER.COM

of publishing a photograph of a first-aid worker without platinum (one million sales) in the United States. The
written permission?” future’s so bright, they’re all wearing black.

No. No, we don’t. “I think one of the reasons [for our success] is the
“Well then, get the fuck out of here!” fact that some of us are a little bit older,” says the band’s
On board one of My Chemical Romance’s two buses singer. “I’m 28 years old and I have failed in other areas
– one is for the band themselves, the other for their of my life, whether that be in personal relationships or in
road crew – things are more serene. In fact, what with looking for a job… things like that. I know what it is to
the extra six feet of space allocated by an extendable fail. So this band is almost the only thing I have going for
living area (pulled out when the bus is parked), you me. It’s almost the only thing I can do right. And I know
could almost imagine that you’re sat in the kitchen of we do it right, and I know that people can see how much
a brightly lit suburban home. this thing means to us.”
Drummer Bob Bryar smokes Marlboro Ultra Lights
and plays an online computer game, something to do What is it that people like about you?
with burning wigwams and slicing up centaurs. Gerard “I think that people can see themselves in us,” believes
strolls in wearing a bulletproof vest, although not so Frank Iero. “But at the same time we’re not just everyday
bulletproof that it’ll actually stop a bullet (“It’s more guys. We are for most of the day, but then when we play
of a general statement,” he reveals, enigmatically). we’re something else entirely. I think that people can see
Guitarist Ray Toro, all wild hair and long limbs, passes the themselves in us, without actually being us. So there is
time, talking small and laughing quietly. Frank Iero and that aspirational element to what we do. I think that has
Mikey Way drift in and out, offering cold drinks and something to do with it.”
casual conversation.
A My Chemical Romance video (Helena) plays on In Atlanta, My Chemical Romance play twice in one
the bus television, live on MTV. The band have been day. On one occasion they play for thousands of
nominated for four Video Music Awards, the posh hyperactive – occasionally homicidal – fans, flailing
ceremony for which is to be held in Miami at the end and thrashing in the punishing heat. Before this, the
of August. In the meantime, Three Cheers For Sweet group practise their entire set before an audience of
Revenge – MCR’s sophomore album – is about to turn one photographer and one journalist at the back of
their bus. This is something they do every day: Gerard
Way sings just one song and then leaves, while his
bandmates practise every number they’re scheduled
to play live in concert.

This is how they do it. Just past the bunks, up at
the rear of the bus are racks of musical and computer
equipment, the kind of high-tech gadgetry that looks
capable of launching a satellite probe. In the middle

METALHAMMER.COM 57

stands a drum kit. The group gather around it playing who work together, a gang who work hard together. Even
their songs, only they’re doing it through headphones, so on a scaffold stage built on the back of a truck, with
each member can hear the other but no one outside of the no lights, in the kind of heat that should come with an
band can hear anything except the strum of unamplified Ennio Morricone soundtrack, it’s impossible not to sense
guitars and the hollow beat of electronic drums. the impact, and this group’s exponential potential.

Gerard Way stands in the middle of the room with his “You know what?” asks the singer. “We’re quite
back turned, singing along to Ghost Of You. Despite there a simple band.”
being no volume and no audience, each note is sung with
passion, in tune. Really? Why’s that?
“Because we don’t spend our money on cocaine or on
Watching My Chemical Romance onstage allows us to get hookers or on booze. We just read a lot of comic books
some sense of what Gerard Way means when he tells you and ride around on our tour bus…”
just what it is his band are about. The charisma of their You boring bunch of bastards!
frontman is truly something to see, a star in the ascendant, “We really are.” Gerard smiles, then he thinks about it
approachable yet unattainable in equal measure. But each and amends his statement. “Apart from when we get up
member has something to offer, both to the ear and to the and play. And then we’re something different. Then we’re
eye. This is a group in a real sense of the word – a gang not boring at all.”

“I KNOW THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE
HOW MUCH THIS THING MEANS TO US.”

THE MCRMY FEELS THE LOVE

58 METALHAMMER.COM

THE VERY BEST OF THE
ULTIMATE METAL MAGAZINE!

Celebrate the best in metal with this collection from the last 12 months of Metal
Hammer. Packed with awesome interviews and behind the scenes with some of the
biggest acts in metal, the last year has been like no other, so what are you waiting for?!

NONOSAWLE

Ordering is easy. Go online at:
Or get it from selected supermarkets & newsagents

With world domination well on the way, Hammer got its biggest taste
yet of the MCRmy’s increasing power when we caught up with the guys

on tour in the UK in late 2005.

WORDS: IAN WINWOOD PHOTOS: NAKI/GETTY

or God’s sake, don’t use my surname,” says Anna. it be? “My Chemical Romance,” the pair reply, without
hesitation and in unison.
F“I’ve been standing out here all afternoon. I should
have been in school – we’ve got an English test Any band, past or present; right here, tonight.
today, and I quite like English – but I’m bunking “I’d pick My Chemical Romance,” says Kimberly.
off. Nothing’s gonna stand in the way of me and My Led Zeppelin.
Chemical Romance. Not a chance.” “No.”
Nirvana?
Why can’t we use your surname? “No!”
“In case my mum reads your magazine, of course!” Why not?!
Next to Anna Whose Surname Cannot Be Used sits “Because,” says Anna, as if speaking to an idiot, as if
Kimberly, Whose Surname Also Cannot Be Used. The pair speaking to a child, “because My Chemical Romance are
of them are friends and schoolmates, the pair of them the best band in the world.”
are on the skive, and the pair of them are sitting under
an arched shelter outside the Portsmouth Guildhall. It’s On the other side of the Guildhall’s plush stone walls
about half past two in the afternoon, four hours until the sit the band themselves. Actually, ‘sit’ might be
doors open for tonight’s sold-out show. There’s no earthly a bit strong. They’re kind of lounging, sprawling,
reason that Anna and Kimberly should be here as early as very much at ease. Gerard Way has yet to powder his face
this, but then try telling them that. Them, and the dozen with make-up and is dressed in civvies. He’s keen to make
others sat in the cold, just out of reach of the pissing rain. sure Hammer has something to drink and somewhere
“It’s My Chemical Romance,” says Kimberly, as if this to sit. Guitarist Frank Iero sits to his right, friendly and
explains everything. immediate, joking and talking as if he’s known you for
There’s not much of a turnout for them so far, though. years. Bassist Mikey Way is sitting directly opposite,
There’s only about 12 of you. thin and gawky, self-deprecating and likeable, funny in
“Yeah, true,” says Kimberly. “But it’s not about who isn’t a ‘quiet brother’ kind of way. Drummer Bob Bryar is sat
here, it’s about who is here.” at the other side of the room. His left hand is in a brace,
In that, she’s right. The people (all young women, by the a condition caused by hitting cymbals and drums night
way) gathered this afternoon, in the wet and in the cold, after night for month after month. He doesn’t say much
look as if they’re very serious about My Chemical Romance. but if you ask him if he’s OK, he’ll smile and say, yeah,
As if they could appear on Mastermind on the subject of My he’s OK. Guitarist Ray Toro, on the other hand, is lying on
Chemical Romance. As if it would take them about as long the floor. Occasionally he’ll raise his head and shake his
as it takes to draw breath to recognise each and every song explosion of curly hair.
the band will play this evening. As if they know every word
and every note of every B-side the band have ever recorded. Throughout this free-for-all of an interview, crew
The only thing that appears to be missing are the tattoos, members and local crew hands will continually bustle in
and that, we’re sure, is just a question of age and legality. and out of the room, bringing bottled water, Coca-Cola,
So, we ask, if you could see any band tonight, who would Diet Coke and Red Bull. Ray will take a Red Bull and hold it

60 METALHAMMER.COM

“WE’RE OUTSIDERS. WE’RE THE KIDS
WHO DIDN’T GET DATES FOR THE PROM”

GERARD WAS ALWAYS READY TO REP FOR THE DISILLUSIONED

METALHAMMER.COM 61

flat against his horizontal chest. “Iron Maiden,” says Frank. “I’d say they’re better than us.”
“Oh, my Red Bull,” he’ll say, as if in love. “I love my Red “And Green Day,” says Gerard. “Green Day at the moment
are in that place that bands only get to if they’re lucky,
Bull. Where would I be without my Red Bull?” once in their career. Where they can say that they are the
First question, then: name three bands who are better best band in the world. So Green Day are better than us.”
“And Danzig,” adds Frank. “Doyle has been joining him
than My Chemical Romance. onstage and singing Misfits songs. That’s just amazing.
“Oh man, that’s a good question,” says Gerard. That’s better than us.”

“But that’s really tough.” “So Iron Maiden, Green Day and Danzig when
“Are you serious?” wonders Frank. Doyle joins them for the encore – that’s
Yeah, of course. three bands who are better than us,”
“Well, see, thing is, when we started we kind of got says Gerard.
Not only better – not
ourselves through the difficult times by being a gang and necessarily better – than
believing that we were the best band in the world,” My Chemical Romance,
says the frontman. “And we kind of still believe but also different. Actually,
that we’re the best band in the world. That’s the that should read: My Chemical
kind of belief that keeps us together. And Romance are different from the
even though we’re more popular now and it’s three bands they opted for. My
not so much us against the world, we still Chemical Romance have a quality
believe that. And there really are no bands that’s all their own. Because of this, the
out there who are doing what we do. We’re people gathered outside the venue feel
different to all the other bands out there.”
they know the band, as people. More than
Come on, though, answer the question.
Half an hour later, they finally appear ready
to answer the question.

“WE STILL BELIEVE WE’RE THE BEST
BAND IN THE WORLD”

GERARD HAS NEVER BEEN ONE TO EAT HUMBLE PIE

62 METALHAMMER.COM

that, they feel they own the band, and in some way that by the crowd who had gathered to watch the other acts.
My Chemical Romance own them as well. “That would happen every night,” says Frank. “It was

Onstage, the road crew are assembling the stage set. quite a disheartening time.”
The trusses are done up in the form of a church. This But from tiny, beaten acorns, something was destined
seems apt as it’s from here that in three hours’ time,
Gerard will deliver his sermons in his house of the holy. to grow. And grow. And grow. At the time of writing this,
Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, the band’s second album,
You know when you tell the girls in the crowd not to has been in the Billboard US Top 100 for more than a year
flash their breasts at bands who ask them to? and is about to clock up one million sales. In the UK, the
album has sold an impressive 170,000 copies. Each date
“Yeah.” of the current UK tour is sold out. So that’s 2,500 people
Well, do you ever feel a bit of an idiot doing that? here in Portsmouth. That’s 4,000 people in Manchester.
“I don’t know what you mean.” That’s 9,000 people, over two nights, at the Brixton
Do you ever feel a bit pious? Academy in London. It’s the same in other towns and
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” he says. “And I do worry cities as well. That, whichever way you look at it, adds
about being pious, sure. But it’s also important to me to up to a fair success.
say those kind of things. It’s important to me, to us, that
our audience know that they don’t have to act in that “We still fly economy class!” says Gerard.
stupid way that some rock bands want them to. They don’t Can you explain why people like your band in the
have to flash their tits at the band just because the band way they do?
want them to. They don’t have to act like that. And, more “I can give it a go,” says the singer. “I think what
than that, we don’t want them to act that way.” we offer is an alternative. I know it kind of sounds
If you were to ask the girls in your audience to flash at like bullshit when I say this, but I’m serious – people
you, how many of them do you think would comply? see a different way when they look at us. They can see
Frank smiles and says, “I don’t know. I guess there themselves in us. We’re outsiders. We’re the kids who
would be some of them that would do that. Just because didn’t get dates for the prom. We’re the kids who were
we asked them to.” confused, who didn’t fit in with the cliques, who weren’t
“Yeah, I think some would,” says Mikey. part of the in-crowd. Growing up can be a very frightening
But Gerard has thought of something. And this and confusing time, and I think people look at us and see
something, for him, is worth believing in. that it’s OK to be different. They see that there is a way
“Sure, there’d be those that would do that. We don’t other than what they’re being offered. That you can stand
have complete control over the audience, and neither do out, that you can be creative, that you can be yourself.”
we want complete control over the audience. But what It’s worth pointing out that when Gerard is saying all
I do want is to be able to relate to at least some parts of this, he’s sat around with his bandmates, none of whom
our audience. So while there are people out there who really look like outsiders. They look young, they look
will get their tits out simply because I ask them to – healthy, some of them are good-looking. And in each
simply because I’m some guy in a band – there are also other they clearly have friends. It’s hardly the same
those that’d be really disappointed that I did ask them as ringing 118-118 so they can put you through to the
to. And it’s those people that I’m interested in.” Samaritans, is it?
“No, it might appear to you like that but that’s not how
I t seems amazing to think this, but it was less than it seems to us,” says the singer, agreeably.
two years ago that My Chemical Romance were And how does it appear to you?
playing to just 225 people at the Barfly in Camden “That we’re a victory for the little people. I’m a fuck-
Town. This, with its graffiti-splattered dressing room and up and I’ve fucked up everything in my life that isn’t to
sharp-smelling toilets, was the high life for our subjects. do with music. Yes, we have success now and we have
Elsewhere they’d be touring the US, way down on a a great quality of life; we have a CD with our name on
bill headlined by American Nightmare, a much noisier it and we have videos and all of that stuff. But we’re
proposition than them. They’d be travelling in a van, outcasts. There was a time when all we had was each
sweaty and uncomfortable, counting down the miles other. And there may well be a time to come when all
to their next date with futility. At each show there’d be we have is each other. People might like us, but what
a few people singing their songs, while the rest of the they see in us is themselves. And in that sense, we’re
crowd would be sneering from the back of the room. Later not cool. In that sense, we’re as far away from being cool
that night, MCR would watch as their fans would be beaten as it’s possible to be.”

METALHAMMER.COM 63

ROBERT WELLS/FUTURE You look pretty cool.
“Yeah, but we’re not. We’re just in a privileged place
MASTERS OF right now. And there are more of us, people like us who
CEREMONY are responding to what we do. Suddenly there’s strength
in numbers; there’s a lot of us. But all of this comes from
GERARD’S REQUESTS THAT us being who we really are.”
FANS KEEP THEIR TOPS ON WAS Looking at the four of them sat there, the one of them
A UNIQUE AND WELCOME LIVE laid there, it’s hard to think of a single reason to doubt
TRADEMARK. HERE ARE SOME them, no matter how hard you try. Because the crowds
SLIGHTLY WEIRDER ONES FROM of girls outside are queuing not to make a pass at them,
but just to meet them. To say hello, and to tell them their
THE WORLD OF ROCK’N’ROLL stories; to talk as peacefully as one person can when that
person is simply one out of one-and-a-half-million people
JUMPDAFUCKUP! clambering to say hello.
My Chemical Romance: no groupies, no cocaine, no
Corey Taylor is one of metal’s most masterful vices… apart from Starbucks.
frontmen, and few of his trademarks have been “Man,” says Gerard, “as soon as I go into a Starbucks
adopted/ripped off by more young ’uns than his I take off my sunglasses. I want to be recognised and
penchant for getting everyone to find a seat on the I want free coffee.”
ground and then jump the fuck up into the air. Epic. Obviously you’re joking.
“No,” says Frank, talking in a manner that suggests
THE NEWPORT HELICOPTER he’s sharing an important secret. “For some reason,
[the guys who make the coffee] are really up on their
Ah, Skindred, Skindred, Skindred. It’s not enough music. They usually recognise us and know who we are.”
that you want to make us dance and mosh at the “I went to four Starbucks in Manhattan recently and
same time, but now you have us all waving our I got free coffee in three of them,” says Mikey, as if he’s
shirts above our heads in unified idiocy every telling you of a time he rescued 300 passengers from
time you play? Ludicrous scenes. a burning subway car.
“Wow, that’s cool!” exclaims his brother, as if he’s
GANGNAM STYLE WALL OF DEATH praising him for rescuing 300 passengers from a burning
subway car. “I have a pretty good strike rate too, but it’s
Because even rock fans like Psy, really. This not as impressive as that.”
one was an absolute humdinger of a scene Let me get this straight. You’re a platinum band who
that was brought about by those Bring Me The go about America trying to get free coffee?
Horizon chaps at Vans Warped Tour UK last year. “Yeah,” retorts Mikey, as if it’s obvious.
Silly doesn’t even cover it. “Think about it this way,” offers Frank. “If it weren’t for
that, we’d have no vices at all. If it weren’t for Starbucks,
64 METALHAMMER.COM we’d be perfect!”

S hortly before the doors open, the crowd snaking its
way from the entrance of the Guildhall has grown
by something like 800 legs. But still, our two girls
without surnames remain at the front of the queue. The
daylight has gone and showtime is almost upon them. The
pair are no longer slouched by the wall. Instead, they’re
upright and agitated. Excited seems too small a word to
cover it.

Tell us something, girls.
“What?” wonders Kimberly.
Imagine you were watching My Chemical Romance
tonight, and Gerard Way looked you – you specifically

– right in the eye and asked you to show him your, you would ask us to do something like that. That’s why we love
know, breasts… them. That’s why we’ve been queuing all day out here.”

“No way would he do that!” And with that, the pair of them, laughing at the very
But imagine he did. Would you? idea, turn back towards the doors and wait for their
“No, no way,” she says. “Of course I wouldn’t.” night to start. Because belief is nothing if you’ve got
“But that’s the point,” says Anna, her friend. “He never nothing to believe in.

“FANS DON’T HAVE TO FLASH THEIR TITS
AT THE BAND JUST BECAUSE THE BAND WANTS

THEM TO” GERARD DIDN’T TAKE ANY NOTES FROM STEEL PANTHER

METALHAMMER.COM 65

When Frank Iero gave us the lowdown on the issues behind his ink.

IS THERE A THEME TO YOUR TATTS? ANYTHING LOWER DOWN?

Yeah, kind of. I guess it’s basically that if I put my life to Actually, I have a lot of personal things tattooed on me,
pictures, it would be my tattoos. They have a lot to do with such as poetry that I’ve written. The newest one I got, that I
my childhood, a lot of images to do with the band, specific really like a lot, is down on my thigh and it says ‘Live every
moments from our career so far and feelings that I have day like it’s your last’.
about things at certain times. I don’t really regret any of
my tattoos because they all symbolise a point in my life. TELL US ABOUT THE ANCHOR?
Whether it was a good time or a bad time, it’s all my life.
Me and three of my friends all had the NJ with the anchor
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST TATTOO? done at the same time. It means always being anchored to
home in New Jersey. It was something we needed to do.
The first tattoo I had done is in the middle of my back. It’s a
jack-o’-lantern. I was born on Halloween so it’s to basically AND YOUR LIP?
symbolise that. We’re all major horror fans in this band, so
it’s also kinda neat, I think. I got it on my 18th birthday, so I had the inside of my lip done with the NJ. I guess it’s
there was no lying to people in tattoo parlours – I tried lots a way of remembering your roots and keeping you honest,
of times to get one when I was younger but they didn’t buy it! true to yourself and down to earth.

WHAT WAS THE NEXT TATTOO YOU HAD DONE? WHY EXACTLY DID YOU GO AND GET YOUR NECK
TATTOOED?
The next tattoo I got was this band on my left arm which
says ‘Loyalty, Respect, Honesty’. I got that because they’re I did it because I didn’t want to get a proper job – no
the only kind of people I want in my life. And after that one’s gonna give you a regular job if you’ve got your neck
I think I got my Black Flag bars, and then I decided to get my tattooed, right? It was a way of forcing myself to be in this
back done. I really like the chainsaw that’s around my left band by getting it done. The band actually paid for it! We
bicep. I’m not sure how much of a bicep it is, but the tattoo were out on tour one day and I woke up in the venue and
came out really well! The chainsaw came from The Texas Chain said to the guys, “I want to get it done,” and they’re like,
Saw Massacre, which is one of my favourite movies of all time. “Well, if you really are gonna do it, we’ll all chip in.”
It also represents a revenge theme to me: the balance of
power, or rather redressing the balance of power. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE TATTOO?

I don’t know – I’ve got so many!

“I THINK TATTOOS SHOULD SYMBOLISE A POINT
IN YOUR LIFE – WHETHER IT WAS A GOOD TIME

OR A BAD TIME” FRANK’S TATT-DOS & DON’TS

66 METALHAMMER.COM

FUTURE

METALHAMMER.COM 67

68 METALHAMMER.COM

With The Black Parade about to drop, we headed to the 2006 Reading
Festival to find a band in somewhat morbid mood.

WORDS: KATIE PARSONS PICTURES: CHAPMAN BAEHLER/MCR PRESS

T he backstage field at the Reading Festival overshadow My Chemical Romance wherever they go.
is a hive of activity. The guest area is awash “We actually tried to stay away from death,” says the
in drunken squeals and bloated, beered-up
bodies. The occasional ‘funny hat’ lurches by, permanently sullen singer. “We just couldn’t do it.”
and the multitude of dancing ladies in the warm Gerard and the band are chatting to Hammer about
light have suntanned ankles clamped into bright floral
rubber boots. It may only be mid-morning but the party is their upcoming new release The Black Parade – the highly
already well underway. anticipated follow-up to the group’s 2004 release Three
Cheers For Sweet Revenge and 2002’s I Brought You My
Take two steps to the right, however, past a stern- Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. Thrust into global
looking security guard, and the green trailer sheltering stardom following a series of massive hit singles and
New Jersey superstars My Chemical Romance houses an the adoration of a globe-spanning fanbase, My Chemical
entirely different scene. “A friend of mine killed himself Romance may see the The Black Parade becoming their
by standing in front of a train,” someone whispers from biggest and most important album to date.
the corner. “He was 15 years old.”
“This is the most theatrical record we have ever
Donned in black from tip to toe (barring his new blond made,” says Gerard quietly. “It really is the record of our
locks), Gerard Way and his four accompanying musicians dreams. Just like the other two, it’s a concept album,
(guitarists Frank Iero and Ray Toro, bassist Mikey Way but it’s the tightest of all three. While the last record
and drummer Bob Bryar) are slouched on a couch, sipping was an examination of immortality, this new one looks
sticky cups of brown soya milk from the small selection at mortality. Yes, we have written about death again, but
of food provided for their pleasure. They’ll be clambering in a much more mature way.”
onto the hulking main stage at Reading in 30 minutes’
time. It’s the biggest show they’ve ever played in the Why can’t MCR avoid such morbid thoughts?
UK. Given the cheery excitement just metres away, and “Everybody is afraid of death. It’s just that maybe we’re
the potential exhilaration awaiting them up in front a little more afraid of death than most people,” explains
of the gathered thousands, the last thing you’d expect Mikey. “Everyone is going to die. That’s the one thing that
to be talking about is suicide. But darkness seems to absolutely everyone has in common. It’s universal. Death
is kind of like the unknown, and I think, as a band, and
on this record, we are influenced by the unknown.”

“WHEN NOBODY PAYS ANY ATTENTION TO YOU,
YOU REALISE HOW MORTAL YOU ARE”

GERARD ON THE DARK SIDE OF LIFE

METALHAMMER.COM 69

The album’s concept tracks the experiences of song,” notes Gerard. “My current favourite of our arsenal
a character called The Patient, a narrator who My is the new song Cancer. I think it’s the most emotionally
Chemical Romance use to help weave their shadowy powerful song that we’ve ever written. It’s direct, it’s
ideas, lyrics, melodies and musical visions. honest, it’s ugly, it’s beautiful, it’s the truth. We played
it a few days ago and the response was immediate.
“At the very beginning of the record, The Patient is People were so affected, it was like they weren’t able
dying tragically young in a hospital,” explains Gerard. to speak for two minutes.”
“Death then comes to him in the form of a parade, because
his strongest memory of childhood is of his father taking The lyrics may be written by their enigmatic
him to a parade. From that point on in the record, he frontman, but the sentiment of the album directly
examines his life, and he meets other characters in the reflects all of the band members’ urge to give a
parade that talk about their lives, and by the end, he is voice to their fans; a voice for those who might find
someone that chooses to live, as opposed to die.” themselves in a situation where they may be choosing
between death and carrying on with life.
Sitting in the confines of the small trailer, the four
other members nod in agreement. “It’s about making a difference,” says Gerard. “It’s
about giving those kids a representative.”
“I think that one of our main goals in this band has
always been to write songs from the heart,” says Ray. It transpires that from the very beginning of their

“For me, it’s like a constant quest to write the perfect

“IF GERARD HAD TO TAKE ALL THE
PRESSURE OF THIS BAND ALONE, HE WOULD
RUN TO AN ISLAND AND CHANGE HIS NAME”

MIKEY ON SHARING THE BURDEN

70 METALHAMMER.COM

careers, the group have felt a responsibility to give THREE CHEERS
a voice to those who dwell in the ‘dark side’ a little FOR
more than others.
SWEET RELIEF
“We were originally united as a group because we
ourselves were obvious outsiders,” explains Gerard about WHEN MCR’S WORK HAS
the band’s dark beginnings. “We were pretty much FLIRTED WITH DEATH
invisible and insignificant. When nobody pays any
attention to you, you realise how mortal you are. That’s Gerard Way was inspired to form My Chemical
why teenagers that are troubled or are seen as outcasts Romance on September 11, 2001. He was
are drawn to death. You have a lot of time to examine working in New York at the time. The band’s
that subject when you’re all alone.” first song, Skylines And Turnstiles, off 2002’s
debut I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought
Gerard and his bandmates are now in the lucky position Me Your Love, is about the events of the day.
where they can turn their own ‘outcast’ experiences into
guidance and relief for others. Gerard and Mikey Way grew up in Belleville,
New Jersey, a crime-ridden town bordered by
“We were people that were able to rise above those the Hudson River – infamous for the frequent
feelings,” he explains, “and with our help, others will discovery of bodies in its waters.
be able to rise above that too. That’s why we have such
a strong relationship with our fans. We can understand.” 2002’s I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought
Me Your Love is the story of two estranged
Were you shocked into taking action by those that lovers who get back together upon the
didn’t survive? discovery that their home town has been
invaded by vampires. She gets bitten and
“The suicide of my friend was something that really staked, he does himself in to be with her.
changed my life,” he agrees. “There was a really strange Thank you, Bill Shakespeare.
wake where there were all these kids from high school
there, all of his classmates – kids. That was strange. 2004’s Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge has
That set me on the path of wanting to escape that kind the same guy in hell, asking the Devil to
of life in New Jersey, the feeling of being depressed return his and his bird’s soul in return for the
and insignificant.” souls of a thousand do-badders.

Come summer 2006, the band are about as far removed Helena, that
from insignificance as it’s possible to imagine, and album’s first
the main stage at Reading is about as big at it gets for single, was about
any band. As for being depressed? It’s hard to accuse Way’s deceased
Frank, Gerard, Ray and Bob of laughing too much. But grandmother of
Gerard’s little brother Mikey seems slightly more fragile. the same name,
Throughout the interview, his hands are visibly shaking. the one who
His conversation is slow and considered. taught him
to sing.
“I am not going to diagnose myself, but I probably
have ADD. I do have ADD, ’cos I am constantly wandering,” METALHAMMER.COM 71
says the bassist.

“Mikey is the eternal kid brother of the band,” says
Gerard, smiling at his brother. “He has a lot of heart and is
just a bit shy and awkward. We’re very protective of him.”

“Gerard needs protecting though too,” adds Mikey
slowly. “If you look through history, most of the people
that died tragically or imploded or went crazy were the
head men of the band. It’s not a coincidence.” He pauses.
“It’s obvious that they didn’t have enough support around
them. If Gerard had to take all the pressure of this band
alone, he would run to an island and change his name.”

That certainly contradicts the view that MCR is just
another name for ‘Gerard’s band’. Though he has taken on
most of the answers to the questions we have posed the

group, it was made quite clear to Metal Hammer that the LIVE AFTER DEATH
singer does not do interviews alone.
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED
“We don’t want the emphasis to just be on one person. WHEN MCR TOOK TO
Bands are much more exciting than individuals,” laughs
Gerard. “That’s why you start a band! And if you always THE STAGE SOON AFTER...
keep that in your head, it’s that kind of unity that makes
you stronger. When you just have one individual, that’s As far as musical differences go, you couldn’t
when people get depressed, people off themselves, and get a wider void than Slayer and following act
then you have one person carrying this intense weight My Chemical Romance. The band are adored by
on them and they’re this huge celebrity. They don’t the front half of the crowd and despised by the
have enough strength on their own; they need others. back. Rather than ignore the influx of bottles
That’s the point of a band, of this band – we need each and mud, vocalist Gerard Way yells back at
other. I think everyone in this group wants to carry our the abusers, encouraging them to keep up
responsibility together.” their attack. “Thank you for the bottles, thank
you for the piss,” he screams, “and thank you
T here is no time that this belief is more apparent for the venom…” – leading nicely into the
than when the five members of My Chemical track of the same name. Clever. The two new
Romance get up on stage. Sure, Gerard is the tunes slot well into the set, all fans breathing
‘frontman’, the spokesman, the voice for the masses, but a sigh of relief that the upcoming new release
without the intense musical backdrop of his friends, he won’t disappoint. One song later, the band
could be mistaken for just another madman on a rant. are done, and Gerard and co exit stage right.
An eventful end to a long weekend. Phew.
“There is a degree of leadership that needs to be there
on stage,” says Gerard, “and although it is one voice, it’s GETTY/ SCOTT GRIES
all of our voices speaking together. The music speaks for
itself. The chemistry we have together is the real voice.”

To think there was ever a time when Gerard and the
band were outcasts is hard to believe. Up in front of
the gathered thousands, they’re worshipped like gods.
Each carries the audience in the palm of their hands,
through their individual appeals and characters. There
are banners being waved, and every word is sung back
at the band with full force. Far from being insignificant,
they are now the most notorious young men to ever come
out of Newark, New Jersey.

“It was never about notoriety, never about fame,”
insists Gerard not long after MCR step off the stage,
drenched in their own sweat and bathing in the
adoration of their fans. “However, we do seek a certain
glory and victory in all this. There’s something really
amazing about being able to get up on a stage like this
and do this kind of thing.”

And who is this victory over? Is it hitting back at the
bullies of your past?

“It’s less about the bullies and more about the victory
of giving people like us a voice,” Gerard smiles. “And
anyway,” he adds, “the bully is usually the guy that
stays in the town, lives in the town, fucks in the town,
drinks in the town, dies in the town. Whereas,” he grins,
spreading his arms wide across the Reading field, “it’s
usually the kid whose wearing black in the corner that
ends up doing something significant.”

72 METALHAMMER.COM

THE FULL UNCENSORED STORY
OF METAL’S MOST ICONIC BAND

Exclusive interviews with all the key band members, the inside story of
their landmark albums, and access-all-areas reports from classic live shows –

the complete, maggot-friendly history of Slipknot

NONOSAWLE

Ordering is easy. Go online at:
Or get it from selected supermarkets & newsagents

PRESS

74 METALHAMMER.COM

Punk rock, goth schlock and a touch of flamboyance collided
on MCR’s era-defining breakthrough.

WORDS: STEPHEN HILL

A vant-garde and daring, Three Cheers… may and undaunted approach across all aspects of being in
be their greatest collection of songs but it’s a band. Their image changed drastically as they shifted
the fearless approach to song, storytelling and from the vampire-punk guise of Three Cheers… to a look
imagery on The Black Parade that transformed that amalgamated the gothic chic of Tim Burton and
My Chemical Romance from being just a band the military look of Sgt. Pepper; a look that was copied
that write great songs to becoming a global phenomenon. the world over to the point that you couldn’t walk down
your local high street without seeing a representative
In an era where artists are concerned by the of The Black Parade. Gerard Way’s hair was bleached
constraints of their scene or what their fanbase expect blond to give the appearance of a sick patient receiving
from them, My Chemical Romance embraced a gallant

METALHAMMER.COM 75

chemotherapy, which fitted perfectly into the conceptual THE SONG
narrative of the album itself.
WELCOME TO
The story surrounds the afterlife of a character named THE BLACK PARADE
‘The Patient’ and how, after his death, he is whisked back
to the biggest event of his life, in this case The Black When you think about the endless realms
Parade (visually depicted beautifully by Samuel Bayer in of mindless diarrhoea that occupy the
the video for Welcome To The Black Parade – see the next Number One slot on the UK singles chart,
page). It harks back to the epic storytelling of Pink Floyd’s it’s miraculous that a song as unique and timeless
masterpiece The Wall and the chimeric, otherworldly as Welcome To The Black Parade reached the pop
excellence of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders music summit (made slightly more heroic by
From Mars. knocking the über-shit Razorlight from the top
spot). Opening with a delicate piano line, subtle
Despite the high concept, however, it was musically that leads and a military drumbeat before giving way to
My Chemical Romance made their gutsiest leaps of all. the greatest lead Brian May never wrote, Welcome
From the obvious influence of Queen to more left-field To The Black Parade is a song that encompasses
leanings like the anarchic swing of House Of Wolves everything that’s great about MCR.
and the appearance of Liza Minnelli on Mama, it was
a visionary artistic Hiroshima that put them continents Pacey and punk rock with the sharpest of
ahead of their peers. The balladry on I Don’t Love You and teeth, it has a flamboyant yet passionate and
the spectacularly melancholic Cancer remain truly moving, sincere vocal showing from Gerard Way. The
This Is How I Disappear and Dead! are as propulsive and song’s bells and whistles include a spectacular
powerful as they are expansive and experimental, and horn section and, vitally, a glamour that eluded
Welcome To The Black Parade (a Number One single in every single one of their counterparts. It was the
the UK, no less) contains more ideas in one magnum opus anthem of a generation and the closest thing
than most bands manage in a career. Hell, there really modern rock has had to the sonic bombast and
isn’t a moment on the whole album that isn’t captivating. unpredictability of Bohemian Rhapsody.

The lyrical couplets throughout the album are
something else. From the defiance of ‘I’m going to show
my scars’ on WTTBP to the powerful ‘I am not afraid to
keep on living/I am not afraid to walk this world alone’
on Famous Last Words, Gerard empowered the outsider and
galvanized personal strength and courage to overcome
the trials of life. It was a theme embraced by an entire
generation and that was hammered home further in
their forthcoming rally against the misguided Daily Mail.

The Black Parade became much more than just an album.
It became a way of life that changed the cultural landscape
of the world. Fashion, public psyche and mainstream
understanding of alternative culture were altered forever
but, despite all of this, the legacy of The Black Parade will
always be the outstanding music.

WHAT WE SAID
“The Black Parade is an album full of ambition
that falls ever so slightly short of its high mark.
It will make MCR bigger than anyone thought

possible”
– ALEXANDER MILAS

76 METALHAMMER.COM

THE VIDEOS

WORDS: TERRY BEZER

WELCOME TO THE BLACK PARADE I DON’T LOVE YOU

Perfectly visualizing the overall narrative of The Set entirely in black and white, the I Don’t Love You video is
Black Parade album, it’s a video masterclass that best defined by a striking performance from Gerard
resembles the majesty of The Smashing Pumpkins’ Way. Spent mainly in close-up, it’s this gut-wrenching, heart-
iconic Tonight Tonight clip. The band look like tugging visual of the frontman poring over his yearning
gothic superheroes atop a parade float, the gathered lyrics that steals the show from a storyline surrounding
throng’s Victorian appearance and Voorhees-esque two lovers’ eventual split beneath falling leaves and
masks are unforgettable and the exploits of The Patient, a bare, crooked-branched tree, and the group’s exploding
Mother War, Fear and Regret are acted out before your instruments.
eyes. The level of detail and scale of the video has more
in common with a Hollywood epic than it does the The video also saw the band appearing out of their
average music promo, with the stunning gothic-noir Black Parade uniform for the first time on the album
costume designs coming courtesy of Oscar-winning run, alongside the return of Three Cheers… era director
long-time Tim Burton collaborator ,Colleen Atwood, Marc Webb and a comeback for Gerard’s jet-black hair.
with superb, elegant direction from Sam Bayer.
TEENAGERS
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
Teenagers pumping the air in unison like they’re members
Unquestionably MCR’s darkest video ever, it depicts the of the Third Reich, cheerleaders donning gas masks while
downfall of the parade in the WTTBP video, with the sexually and violently wielding batons, and a full-scale
float the band rode on fire. They’re surrounded by raging riot. My Chemical Romance are never going to be a band
flames, and the performance from the members of MCR that just do a performance video in a field. Going along
is both sinister and rabid. The fire would land Bob Bryar with the theme of the song’s lyrics, the members of the
in hospital with second- and third-degree burns on his band are objectified to the point of not being treated as
legs (and later gangrene), and Gerard with a torn muscle human and are attacked without any regard for their
in his leg from Frank tackling him on set. It was the last safety at the video’s climax.
time MCR used Sam Bayer as a video director. Perhaps
they knew he was going on to direct the woeful 2010 Tellingly, again using their success for the greater good,
A Nightmare On Elm Street remake… the video ends with an endorsement for National Save, a
US organisation that aims to unite all students against acts
of violence.

METALHAMMER.COM 77

78 METALHAMMER.COM

Gerard Way may have been the focal point, but it was Ray Toro’s
influence-mashing guitar work that gave MCR their musical soul.

WORDS: JAMES GILL PICTURE: FONTAINE/PHOTOSHOT

Guitarist Ray Toro is one of the founding ambition of his, and his love of gaming firmly underpins
members of My Chemical Romance, and while his role as a devout geek – and he’s hardly in bad
MCR’s imagery comes predominantly from company, given his bandmates’ passion for comic books,
Gerard Way’s head, much of the band’s sound horror films and, y’know, big, sprawling concept albums.
is straight out of Ray’s axe.
Until My Chemical Romance formed, the young six- Appropriate for a man in a band like MCR, Ray has a big
stringer, of Puerto Rican and Portuguese heritage, was heart, being the driving force behind the #SINGItForJapan
in a band called The Rodneys, and it was their singer, project, dedicated to supporting those affected by the
Shawn Dillon, who introduced Ray to Gerard. 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The band’s first album, I Brought You My Bullets, The guitarist cites Brian May and Randy Rhoads as
You Brought Me Your Love, is seminal in many respects, being his biggest influences, and his talents can best be
but it wouldn’t be unfair to say that Gerard’s rough vocal heard on The Black Parade, where his developing musical
performance would stop it from being as accessible as tastes are showcased all over the album’s 13 tracks.
all subsequent forays. What’s clear from that first release, While less of the thrashing gallop and insistent metallic
however, is that the band had a clear talent in Ray. soloing is in evidence, Ray aped Queen’s Brian May, Green
Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and even Pink Floyd’s Dave
From the Hispanic music that he doubtless grew Gilmour to great effect.
up being exposed to, to the full spectrum of rock and
metal styles he later embraced, Ray injected a breadth As well as his playing, his songwriting was becoming
of influences into MCR’s signature post-hardcore punk more developed as well. “I usually go on first instinct,”
rock sound. That first album includes everything from Ray said of his songwriting style. “It’s just like when
melancholic picked Spanish guitar and Thin Lizzy- you’re tracking in the studio – the first one or two or
esque twin harmonies (with second guitarist Frank three times that you lay down a part is usually the best.”
Iero) to galloping Maiden-esque runs and open-chord,
three-chord punk. Maybe it was the distraction of videogames that meant
the guitarist felt less drawn than other MCR members
As a character, Ray always felt less enigmatic, eerie to pursue extra-curricular musical projects, as it was
and, some would argue, interesting than some of his only in 2013 that his first solo material appeared. And
bandmates. As such, he seemed to avoid the emo while the guitar was far from the star, the song, Isn’t That
mudslinging that the other members often suffered. Something, again displayed his musicality.
Despite their immense profile, however, fame clearly
never created a monster in Ray, with the axeman In 2016, Ray unveiled his debut solo album, the
noting to Ultimate Guitar in 2007: “I don’t know why 80s-pop influenced Remember The Laughter. In 2018, he
people call me a guitar hero, but it makes me feel reunited with Gerard Way to co-write the latter’s solo
great! For us, it kind of feels like a dream we’re all single Getting Down The Germs, and played on a pair of
living right now.” 60s covers, Hazy Shade Of Winter and Happy Together,
recorded for The Umbrella Academy soundtrack, the
He admitted that being in a band was never a real following year – proving that the bond of MCR could
never be broken.

“I DON’T KNOW WHY PEOPLE CALL
ME A GUITAR HERO!”

METALHAMMER.COM 79

80 METALHAMMER.COM

WORDS: ALEXANDER MILAS • PHOTOS: JUSTIN BORUCKI

Six months after The Black Parade made them
the biggest band on the planet, we endeavoured
to find out if that success had become a poisoned

chalice in our biggest MCR cover story yet…

METALHAMMER.COM 81

T here’s little point belabouring what’s now an fast. They can hardly believe it themselves. “I almost forgot
undeniable truth: My Chemical Romance, we were in Japan,” chuckles drummer Bob Bryar.
erstwhile New Jersey nobodies with a dream, are
fucking huge. But if you think their follow-up to HOW IS JAPAN?
2004’s already rapturously received Three Cheers
For Sweet Revenge is merely a commercially minded cash GERARD WAY: “I love Japan. It’s amazing. I’m just really
grab then think again. It’s a big, fuck-off concept album excited to be back on tour again. That’s just, you know…
that more happily sits in a peer group born in the 70s. But, I’ve been looking forward to starting this tour for quite
as even they acknowledge, the making of The Black Parade some time.”
was no split-second decision. BOB BRYAR: “It’s going really well. We’ve played the
new record everywhere now and it’s going well wherever
Fraught with fears about its reception and their own we go. It’s just weird to see. It’s awesome. It was kind of
ability to even achieve such lofty artistic heights, their time a risk putting this out!”
in the studio was a jumping-off point into a chasm that may
just have been an abyss. Instead, they found themselves at WERE THERE POINTS WHERE YOU
the top of the charts, and – judging by how hard it is to get DOUBTED HOW THE BLACK PARADE
hold of them these days – it’s been a softer landing than WOULD BE RECEIVED?
even they expected. Hammer first tried to catch up with
them in LA, then New York and finally settled on Japan – all GERARD: “I had these Frankenstein moments like that
in the span of a few days. Life, for them, is moving pretty once or twice a week, where I was asking myself, ‘Am
I nuts?’ I needed confirmation from somebody that had

“PEOPLE WILL BITCH AND COMPLAIN ABOUT US”

GERARD EXPECTED SOME HATERS

82 METALHAMMER.COM

showered in maybe a week that could tell me I’m OK, MCR’S LITTLE
and that we’re doing the right thing, and that we’re not
fucking crazy… that I wasn’t driving us into the sun!” BLACK BOOK
BOB: “Yeah, we definitely hit a point. We were just out to do
something to make us happy. I knew that I liked it and we If you think the words ‘special’ and ‘edition’
knew it would be special to us, but I didn’t want people to go, simply mean a few bonus tracks and some
‘What are these dudes doing?!’ Luckily that didn’t happen.” spare minutes of live footage thrown in as
RAY TORO: “While we were in the studio it was all about a so-called ‘bonus’, My Chemical Romance’s
having fun. The more insane or wacky the idea was, the special edition Black Parade release blew all
more likely we were to try it. You tell yourself you don’t care competition out of the water. With a 64-
but you really do. Of course you want people to like it.” page booklet featuring Gerard Way’s own
GERARD: “When it was done, I knew that we’d created haunting illustrations tying the story concept
a monster.” of The Black Parade to images that bespeak
the singer’s vast but morbid imagination,
A MONSTER RECORD OR this was truly something special. The same
SOMETHING MONSTROUS? way the album tells the story of a character
known only as The Patient facing a potentially
GERARD: “Definitely a monster in a good way, but at the untimely death, the booklet also tells the
same time it’s such a personal monster. This was a really story of MCR’s own journey in the studio.
personal record; this is us laying it out there. It changed
things. It’s not so much that as when I was doing Helena “Making a record is a lot like surgery
though. That was a lot tougher because I wasn’t really without anesthetic,” writes Gerard. “You
ready to deal with my grandmother’s death so head-on, first need to cut yourself up the middle. Then
and then when we put the record out it was, ‘OK, you’re you have to rip out every single organ, every
going to be dealing with this for the next eight months.’ single part and lay them on a table.”
There was no death that spawned this record.”
BOB: “It was definitely a challenge to make this. We It isn’t all so grim, but it candidly
were grouped with a lot of other bands and this album documents the lows and highs that are the
blindsided a lot of people. It made them re-evaluate us. backdrop to My Chemical Romance’s biggest
This is the defining record. This is who we are. We took album to date. With stories of exhaustion,
everything that we had – every idea, every emotion doubt and a creative birthing process – one
– and we took it to a place that we hadn’t been. We that began in the extravagant surroundings
cornered ourselves. It’s going to be hard to beat this. It’ll of the Paramour mansion in LA – it charts the
be a whole new idea… maybe stripped down and raw?” creation of every song in exquisite detail.

CONCEPT ALBUMS AREN’T VERY COMMON “I’m glad we actually finished it and I can’t
THESE DAYS. wait to tour and play it live,” closes Gerard,
having just finished MCR’s magnum opus.
GERARD: “Setting ourselves apart came naturally. People “This is the best and craziest thing that has
say, ‘You worked really hard to distance yourself.’ No, happened to me and I thank the other four
we just worked to do something really special and crazy dudes for that. I owe them.”
and nuts. But it came more honestly and organically.
We weren’t thinking, ‘We can’t do it like such-and-such A long way from the operating table indeed.
band.’ It was, ‘We need to do something that’s going to
blow people’s minds.’” METALHAMMER.COM 83
RAY: “We’ve always tried to mix it up, to change. We’ve
always worried about everything sounding the same.
It’s the records that stand out that really excite us.”
BOB: “You can tell some bands were in the studio going,
‘OK, here’s our single, now let’s fill out the rest of the
record.’ And there’s bands putting out records they’re
calling concept records but there’s no concept there. Our
record has everything.”

IT SOUNDS LIKE AN EXHAUSTING guys, of avoiding really conventional things like those LA
PROCESS. WOULD YOU DO IT AGAIN? parties. We don’t really mix well with those things so we
don’t go to them. I feel pretty normal still. When I come off
GERARD: “That’s a good question! I actually don’t know if tour it takes me a good three or four days, but then three
I’d be able to do it again. It was totally draining and painful. or four days go by and I don’t even remember I’m in the
I mean, it was super fun but physically it was the hardest band. It’s really strange. Actually, the weirdest thing that
thing I’ve ever had to do. Going to bed at 6am, waking happened was after the last tour when I went to Portland,
up four hours later and doing it all again. That was every Oregon for about a week and just holed up in a hotel room.
day. I was constantly obsessing over the record, not just I did a bunch of writing – this is just before Christmas
musically but all the visual stuff that went along with it. – and about four or five days in I felt completely back to
That stuff took so long because we could never just bang out normal. Almost as if My Chemical Romance was a total
a record, put a collection of songs out. We can’t just do that.” dream and I wasn’t even sure it had happened.”
BOB: “We’re not going out to big parties to judge other
SUCCESS OFTEN BREEDS CONCEIT. HOW people, that kind of bullshit. The only time where this all
HAVE YOU STAYED ROOTED? feels like too much is when people pry into our personal lives.
People go, ‘Oh, I found this picture of you in grade school…’”
RAY: “You have that core group of friends – your parents,
your best friend, your girlfriend – and nothing changes HAS THAT HAPPENED?
with them. Just because you’re doing well, they treat you
the same and I love that. You still get shit. I love that too! BOB: “Yeah, we’ve all had it. People will find our yearbooks.
If I come home late, I want to get shit from my girlfriend. Gerard and Mikey have had people outside of their house.
Or I want to get yelled at by my mom because I haven’t I’ve had kids outside my house. We did a signing in Chicago
called in a couple of days. That’s what keeps you normal.” one time and a few kids came by with pictures they took
GERARD: “I’ve made it a habit, along with the other of my house and asked me to sign them. I was like, ‘Why

“WHEN IT WAS DONE, WE KNEW WE’D CREATED
A MONSTER”MCR WERE PLAYING FRANKENSTEIN

84 METALHAMMER.COM

would you show this to me? This is weird.’ My mom is here’s an inherent defensiveness in these bandmates’
a waitress, and they somehow found that out and they’ll tone that suggests they’ve already taken more than their
go eat and request her. That’s going a little bit too far.” share of abuse, but it’s hard to imagine that being any
real surprise to a group that owes more to classic rock acts
DO YOU MISS YOUR ANONYMITY? like Queen these days than anything you’re likely to hear
from more recently hatched musicians. There’s a candour
GERARD: “Yeah. But you get an interview like this and to Gerard that can’t be mistaken for anything other than
it makes it easier because it’s stuff I want to talk about. genuine self-belief, though to some it may seem like
And there’s a few guys who we’ve built a relationship arrogance. It may fit into standard clichés about new-
with. That’s not anything to bitch about – that people found stardom, but perhaps My Chemical Romance really
want to read what I say. But my hair has nothing to were just having their fun in the studio and inadvertently
do with what I want to say. It’s the needless fucking wrote a hit.
celebrity bullshit that make it a grind.”

BUT YOU’RE APPROACHING WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE CRITICAL
CELEBRITY STATUS YOURSELF. REACTION TO THE BLACK PARADE? DESPITE
THE SALES, NOT EVERYBODY ‘GOT’ WHAT
GERARD: “It’s funny, I was seeing somebody who called YOU WERE DOING...
me the most confident person with the least amount of
self-esteem ever. I’m extremely confident, I believe in GERARD: “The critical reaction was just cynicism. I read
myself, but I’m also self-deprecating to the point of humour. something saying, ‘This is some major label thing and
If I was saying, ‘Yeah, my shit don’t stink,’ that’d be faking you can tell that the label directs them, yadda yadda
it, and there’s so many people faking it out there. There’s yadda.’ It’s like, what label in the world would dress us
a suspension of disbelief you’re supposed to have with these like that? Have you seen what we look like lately? Who
people but I don’t buy into it. I don’t mind being extremely the hell would dress us like that?! We had people at the
extraordinary onstage, but I’m not going to bullshit people.” label fucking terrified of the way we looked!

METALHAMMER.COM 85

86 METALHAMMER.COM

“Of course there’s jealousy and resentment, but for eight years and nothing has happened,’ well, that’s not
we’re really lucky and we’re really blessed. I mean, shit our fault. But bands that are bigger than us aren’t saying
happened real fast. It’s crazy. We can’t stop it. We didn’t that. Like Green Day. You’d think they would be impossible
sell ourselves up the river. We stayed true to our morals to be around but they were the nicest band we ever met.”
and our integrity and we still got huge.”
WHEN DID YOU MEET THEM?
ARE YOU EMBARRASSED BY YOUR GOOD
FORTUNE? BOB: “We did a radio Christmas show about two years ago,
I think. They said hi and all of a sudden we got an offer
GERARD: “Yeah, it’s really surreal. It’s not that it’s to do their tour. The first day we got there I thought they
embarrassment of it, but it’s like, boom! Shit, man! were going to just throw our shit up on the stage and kick
Especially when people really feel passionately pissed off us off at the end and give us a closet to live in. But that
at you for achieving so much so fast. We’re like, ‘Man, shit totally wasn’t what happened. I was sitting in our dressing
wasn’t my fault! We just worked our fucking asses off!’ The room and Billie [Joe Armstrong, frontman] came in and
way I always saw it is that any resentment or being pissed sat down next to me and said, ‘Hey, how you doing?’ He
off with us for achieving so much so fast or for having the introduced himself like I didn’t know who he was!”
amount of growth that we’ve had… it’s like, ‘How can you
get pissed off with that?’ What have we done wrong?” DID THAT SET AN EXAMPLE TO YOU?
RAY: “We just got very lucky. You can’t fault people for
getting lucky. We would still be doing this if we were still BOB: “Yeah. Because people will go, ‘Wow, I can’t believe
in a van. We worked our asses off. We haven’t stopped in we’re hanging out with you, you guys seem like complete
five years. If we’re lucky because kids got turned on to it, dicks.’ I’ve seen so many bands that get mildly successful
that’s not our fault. We’ve always stuck to our guns, we’ve and they do turn into the biggest dicks so I can’t blame
never exploited our fans. It isn’t how long it takes, it’s [those people for thinking that about us].”
how we got here, and I know we got here the right way.”
GERARD, YOU ONCE TOLD US ABOUT
HAVE YOU HAD A LOT OF ABUSE? BUMPING INTO IRON MAIDEN’S BRUCE
DICKINSON IN NEW YORK...
GERARD: “I’ll listen to most records and I’d think, ‘When
was the last time you took a risk?’ A lot of people will GERARD: “Yeah! That dude was completely normal. He
bitch and complain about us… ‘Dude you’re still making wasn’t trying to uphold this bullshit illusion, and meeting
the same fucking pop-punk record you’ve been making people like that on the way up was good for me to see
for 20 years’ – what do you fucking expect? Are you that because it let me know I was doing things the right way.
surprised? Are you that bitter about the fact we’ve done I can’t fathom why people see me like I see him, though.”
something really sincere and really honest and it’s worked BOB: “We’re really nice to fans but as soon as you fuck with
out? Isn’t that weird? We did the right thing!” us then we are the biggest dicks you’ve ever seen.”

SOME PEOPLE MIGHT BEGRUDGE IS THAT WHAT HAPPENED WHEN BERT
YOU YOUR SUCCESSES. MCCRACKEN TOLD PEOPLE AT THE WARPED
TOUR NOT TO WATCH YOU?
BOB: “That’s just something that people do. It’s just
jealousy. Put yourselves in our shoes – we’re playing songs BOB: “Yeah, pretty much! But you’ve got to take that dude
we love. What else should we do? Our music connects with with a grain of salt. You just can’t take him seriously. Our
people. Any band that wants to go, ‘We’ve been touring reaction to that was getting on the stage and blowing his
band completely away.”

“I WAS ASKING MYSELF, ‘AM I NUTS?’
I NEEDED CONFIRMATION WE WERE DOING THE

RIGHT THING” EVEN GERARD KNEW THIS WAS A BOLD ADVENTURE

METALHAMMER.COM 87

DEAN KARR/PRESS YOU RE-SHOT THE VIDEO FOR I’M NOT
OKAY, WHICH ORIGINALLY PORTRAYED
CONCEPTUALLY YOUR LIFE ON THE ROAD IN THE EARLY
SPEAKING DAYS. ARE YOU NOSTALGIC FOR THOSE
MORE INNOCENT TIMES?
THE STORY OF THE BLACK PARADE IS THAT
OF A CHARACTER, THE PATIENT, WHO’S GERARD: “There was definitely an innocence period,
FACING AN UNTIMELY DEATH. SO WITH THAT and that [time in the original video] was about it. Even
IN MIND, HERE’S ANOTHER TRIO OF CLASSIC with Helena, though, that was still there. But the more
CONCEPT ALBUMS YOU SHOULD ‘CHECK music we make, the more we’ve actually started to find
OUT’ (SEE WHAT WE DID THERE?) more magic in the creation of it. We’ve gotten more into
it, and that’s where you start to find the real innocence.
QUEENSRŸCHE OPERATION If you keep that really pure, it’ll stay there and there’s
MINDCRIME (EMI, 1988) nothing that’ll touch it, that’ll touch the making of the
music. Especially if you’re never making records to make
The story of an ex-heroin money and you’re not motivated by mortgages or… we all
addict, Nikki, who falls live really humble lives. It’ll never affect our music.”
under the hypnotic control of BOB: “We’ve done vans for a long fucking time, and been
Dr. X, a member of a cult-like in positions where we had to hitch rides and sleep on
anti-government conspiracy people’s floors. We’ve experienced it. Maybe not as much
aiming to eradicate society’s corrupt leaders – as some bands have, but it’s not like we’re out there
and who intend to use Nikki as their assassin. acting like the biggest rock stars in the world.”
RAY: “We’re still the same group of guys we were five
IRON MAIDEN SEVENTH SON years ago. But then you think about the places that we
OF A SEVENTH SON (EMI, 1987) used to play compared to now, and that’s pretty fucking
wild. When you sit down and think about it, you get
Inspired by sci-fi great these, ‘Holy fuck!’ moments. Like, ‘Holy shit, I can’t
Orson Scott Card’s novel believe we’re in Japan playing to loads of kids!’ Those
Seventh, about a child whose quiet moments of reflection, where we think, ‘Man,
magical powers make him we’ve done it. We’re living the dream.’”
the target of evil forces, this
Maiden masterpiece is really all about very real SO WHAT DID HAPPEN TO THE BEATEN-UP
mythology that’s found in cultures around the OLD VAN THAT YOU USED TO GO ON
world concerning the supposed mystical powers TOUR IN?
of seventh sons of seventh sons.
RAY: “I think it’s parked on the lawn of one of our old
PINK FLOYD THE WALL (EMI, 1979) tour managers’ house. The first day we got our tour bus,
the van was on its deathbed. It was slowly dying – as
The big daddy of them were we, because the exhaust system was fucked up
all. The surreal story of a so it was shooting noxious gas into the cabin! We were
disadvantaged misfit named passing out and hallucinating. It actually caught fire
Pink who builds a metaphorical once while we were driving up to the Warped tour. That
wall around himself to defend was the day we got our bus, ’cos we’d put a lot of miles on
against the ills of society – including his own that van!”
eventual rock-star lifestyle – The Wall is a proper
rock opera and essential listening. And with that, My Chemical Romance are off to
soundcheck at Tokyo’s sold-out Club Citta. It’s a fair
guess they won’t be taking a van to get there, but
whether the road ahead of them really stretches as far
as they can see is impossible to say. But the enthusiasm
and confidence in their voices as they embark on the
rest of the biggest tour of their lives seems to suggest
that they’d walk if they had to.

88 METALHAMMER.COM

ROCK ON WITH OUR
MUSIC BOOKAZINES

Discover the origins of legendary songs, relive iconic performances
and meet the pioneers behind some of music’s greatest names

Follow us on Instagram @futurebookazines

www.magazinesdirect.com

When Gerard Way created The Umbrella Academy, he imagined it
becoming a hit TV series. And that’s exactly what happened.

WORDS: DAVE EVERLEY

f Gerard Way hadn’t founded My Chemical Romance when he was 16 (he would be credited as Garry Way). Only
two issues hit the shelves before it was cancelled – copies
I and gone on to be an icon for millions of outsiders of both currently sell on ebay for upwards of £350.00.
around the world, there’s every chance he would
have carved out an equally successful career in the He continued to write as MCR got off the ground in the
world of comic books. early 2000s, though it wasn’t until the success of The Black
As it is, he managed both. His first major comic book Parade gave him some serious artistic clout that he got a
series, The Umbrella Academy, emerged in 2007, at the chance to put one of his creations out in the world once
height of MCR’s post-Black Parade fame. A decade and more.
three volumes later, it made the successful leap from page
to screen when streaming giant Netflix turned it into a The Umbrella Academy had been gestating for a few
hugely successful TV show. years, and after a brief online tease in 2006 and a Comic
Book Day giveaway in 2007, the first volume of The
Comics were an artistic outlet for Gerard long before Umbrella Academy was finally published in September
music. He began writing his own stories as a kid – his 2007. Written by Gerard and drawn by artist Gerald Ba,
first proper series was On Raven’s Wings, published in 1996 the six-issue story centred around a dysfunctional family

90 METALHAMMER.COM

“BEING IN A BAND
IS LIKE BEING

IN A DYSFUNCTIONAL
FAMILY – ALL

THESE DISTINCT
PERSONALITIES”

GERARD ON THE PARALLELS BETWEEN

MCR AND THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY

of superheroes – The Monocle, Spaceboy, The Kraken, star Tom Hopper as Spaceboy and R&B superstar NETFLIX/PRESS
The Rumor, The Seance, Number Five, The Horror and The Mary J Blige as Commission agent Cha Cha. A
White Violin – who banded together to solve the riddle of second series followed in 2020, while the show also
their father’s mysterious death. saw Gerard reuniting with MCR bandmate Ray Toro
for covers of 60s classics Happy Together and Hazy
It was influenced by the comics he’d grown up reading Shade Of Winter - something which undoubtedly
– notably X-Men and Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol – but it precipitated the band’s reunion.
had a left-field flavour all its own. This was partly down to
the fact that The Umbrella Academy was Gerard’s reaction Gerard had put the original comic book series
to his experiences in My Chemical Romance. on ice after the second series, focussing instead
The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys, a tie-in
“Being in a band is like being in a dysfunctional with MCR‘s fourth and apparently final album,
family,” Gerard told Rolling Stone. “And all these Danger Days. But in 2018, he resurrected it
personalities are really distinct and really big - not just for a third volume, Hotel Oblivion. MCR’s live
the people in your band, but the people you meet on the comeback in 2019 looked to have sidelined it again,
road or the crew that you work with. We were in a big but in 2020 the singer announced he was working
pressure cooker of fame and notoriety and the characters on a fourth series, Sparrow Academy. It seems that
experience that.” whatever Gerard Way’s future holds, The Umbrella
Academy is part of it.
Following the success of the first series, a follow-up,
The Umbrella Academy: Dallas, followed in 2009, by which
time there was already talk of turning it into a TV series
or a full-length movie.

That process would take several years. There were
false starts and dead ends - Universal optioned a full-
length movie, only for it to languish in development hell.
Eventually Netflix rode to the rescue, commissioning The
Umbrella Academy series in 2015.

While critics were sniffy, the show was a hit with
viewers and comic book fans alike when it hit the screen
in 2019. Vividly bringing Gerard’s creations to life, it
starred Juno actor Elliott Page as The White Violin, Merlin

METALHAMMER.COM 91

GERARD WAY’S TOP 10
COMIC BOOKS

Gerard Way is more than just MCR’s singer – he’s a comic book
aficionado. And this is his ultimate reading list.

WORDS: TOM BRYANT

DOOM PATROL – GRANT WATCHMEN – ALAN MOORE
MORRISON
“This has to be on the list, it’s so full
”Doom Patrol is the moment that of breakthroughs. It looked like it was
Grant Morrison started breaking going to be a superhero comic but, in
moulds. He took pre-existing the way it’s told, it’s nothing like a
characters that nobody really superhero comic. There are so many
cared about, which gave him free things happening psychologically on
reign to do what he wanted with each page that it’s the kind of book
them. He ended up making some you read over and over again.
very post-modern work – and it was very different
from anything else because it didn’t feel like a “It was both an honour and
superhero comic anymore. It was basically a superhero terrifying for My Chemical Romance be asked to
comic that didn’t feel like a superhero comic. contribute a song to the soundtrack of the film they
“Grant has been a big influence on me and I’ve made of it. The comic has a strong fanbase who didn’t
become his friend over the years, which is kind want the film made, so I knew there was a good chance
of interesting. I never expected to get so close to they weren’t going to give much support to a band like
someone who is such a hero of mine – but he, I and us being involved. On top of everything, were covering
his wife just gel as human beings. It’s nice to know a Bob Dylan song [Desolation Row].
somebody who is at the top of his game – he shows
me work that is light years ahead of everything else “I probably bummed quite a few people out. But I
that is going on. And he does it all the time. I’m in was damned if another band were going to do it. My
awe of him.” thinking was: no matter how the film is perceived,
people are going to watch it in 20 years and it’s going
THE INVISIBLES – GRANT to be my band on it. I was happy to take any bullet
MORRISON because I feel strongly about Watchmen.”

“This one is a lot more abstract. AKIRA – KATSUHIRO OTOMO
It’s a very heavy read and it’s long
– it went on for years. I would say “This is the closest thing to an epic
it’s a combination of a fictional masterpiece that comics have ever had.
autobiography, a conspiracy There are six volumes and they’re all the
theory and a spy-action comic. size of phonebooks. Loosely, it’s about the
Grant went on a personal, atomic bomb being dropped on Japan, the
psychological journey at a certain fallout from it and its rebuilding. The art
period in his life and he was basically trying to explain is gorgeous – not a single page is phoned
the journey in the comic. It’s also about control and in. The architecture he creates in the city
it’s a very important work.” alone is mind-boggling. It’s incredible
that anyone could draw all that. To me, it is the
masterpiece of comics.”

92 METALHAMMER.COM

MARSHAL LAW – PAT HELLBOY – MIKE MIGNOLA GETTY/ RICHARD ECCLESTONE
MILLS AND KEVIN
O’NEILL “Mike Mignola is an absolute genius.
Everything he does just has magic
“I have a whole shelf of about it. In Hellboy, he plays around
Marshal Law at home. People with folklore and the Cthulu Mythos
like Frank Miller had already but at the heart of it is a character
done the anti-hero thing with who is just a normal guy stuck in the
Batman, but Marshal Law weird position that he just happens
was the ultimate anti-hero to be a demon.”
book. It took superheroes
and called them out, almost saying SANDMAN – NEIL GAIMAN
they were bullshit. There are metaphors and parallels
with the Vietnam War, it deconstructs Superman and “This absolutely has to be on the list.
turns him into a villain. Marshal Law is just one of the There has never been a comic like it.
greatest of all time – if you’re getting into comics, this He was the first guy to look at a comic
is one of the places to start.” almost like prose. It’s so cerebral but
it’s also gorgeous and fantastical. With
LOVE AND ROCKETS – GILBERT, Sandman, he basically turned comic
JAIME AND MARIO HERNANDEZ books into real literature, which was a
big turning point.”
“This is really a story about friends,
but it’s also about punk music and THE WICKED + THE DIVINE –
science fiction too. It starts off as KIERON GILLEN AND JAMIE
this very dense, slice of life, science MCKELVIE
fiction thing and it evolves as the
characters become part of punk “This is a newer book that I’m really
scenes and start to get into bands. into. It reminds me of Sandman in that
it’s about this pantheon of gods. But
“It’s also a very strong book about the team that makes the book have
women. There’s one character who starts off one been able to capture music in a way
way and then, part way through the series, she just that comic books have never really
gains weight. It deals with things like that and you managed. The same guys used to do
see characters go through real changes. It’s written by this book called Phonogram in which
three brothers, Gilbert, Jaime and Mario, and the concept was that music is
they have been doing it since 1981. It is one of the magic.

longest-running independent “They are still the only people
comics that I can think of.” I have ever read in a comic who
have accurately portrayed what
DAYTRIPPER – FÁBIO MOON it feels like to be performing.
AND GABRIEL BÁ They get that immortal,
borderline godlike
“It’s by two friends of mine, feeling you get from
Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá who being onstage. Also
are twins, and I worked with get anything Matt
Gabriel on Umbrella Academy. Fraction does and
Daytripper is the book they anything his wife
did for Vertigo and it basically Kelly Sue DeConnick
won every award you can win. does, particularly
It’s about life, and it’s about the choices Matt’s ODY-C
you make and how your life could have been very and Kelly Sue’s
different. It’s about all the little moments that change Bitch Planet.”
everything. It’s absolutely beautiful.”

METALHAMMER.COM 93

CSHOMTAGTTHIFRHOELAEGHNDESARYYURERSTNTABEEMETDMWVSNEVEEYCTIPEIINSFATNNAHMOUTHBMESRFTUN?LNIHE,OTDSOCAEHPIEINTFDOCOIHRHTELN,SSSIELEBOSTRTTTABRUTFEOOSAOIROTTORLKLRHVLDMDLSYEETITS.RDO.H.,SEY PRESS X3

W hen British tabloid The Daily Mail waged an the glue‑sniffing, phlegm‑gobbing aesthetic of traditional
ill‑informed campaign against MCR and the punk rock. These were bands who were influenced as much
dangers of ‘emo’ music, it was the first time by The Smiths as they were by Black Flag – ironic given
many people had ever been confronted by that MCR openly admitted that those two groups had a
the term. Much guffawing and puzzled huge influence on their sound.
looks were exchanged around the country by so‑called
‘normal’ folk. What was this emo music that My Chemical What they didn’t do was sell records, ensuring that
Romance were the leading lights of? emo was still an unheard‑of, word‑of‑mouth movement in
the main. That was until the turn of the millennium, as
The irony, to anyone au fait with the roots of this music, the globe‑straddling commercial behemoth of nu metal
is that when MCR were tagged as the genre’s figureheads, began to run out of ideas and its fans were forced to
it totally changed the definition of what emo actually search elsewhere for an antidote to its creative decline.
was. The tag ‘emo’, derived from the emotional hardcore
of the mid‑80s punk scene, bears little or no resemblance Those seduced by the heavier elements soon found
to Gerard Way and co. From Rites Of Spring’s meek and sanctuary in the nascent metalcore movement and the
melody‑heavy tunes, the Descendents’ geeky, lovelorn reimagining of thrash that bands such as Lamb Of God
buzzsaw punk or Fugazi’s discordant, socially conscious and Trivium delivered. But for those who related to early
and freeform ire, the inspiration for emo was radically nu metal’s wounded lyrical honesty and forward‑thinking
different from the self‑loathing horror punk it’s now sonic approach, the void was filled by a group of post‑
associated with. hardcore acts, led by Glassjaw, At The Drive‑In and …
And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. They began to
It was established as a genuine movement and sub‑ actually infiltrate MTV and mainstream culture while being
genre during the 90s as a slew of bands took the sound confusingly monikered as ‘emo’, ‘post‑rock’ and ‘screamo’
of hardcore and stripped it of all the bullish machismo at various times. Clearly, emo was still impossible to pin
that had become the norm and instead infused it with an down to an actual sound.
honesty and sensitivity that had never been heard before.
Jawbox, Far, Nada Surf, Gameface, Garrison and more all It was the success of Jimmy Eat World, Thursday, Taking
existed deep within the underground, pulling in a more Back Sunday and British acts Funeral For A Friend and
introspective, thoughtful college audience that eschewed Hundred Reasons that offered emo a clearly defined sound
and look. Skinny jeans, fringes and classic American apparel

94 METALHAMMER.COM

EMO THERAPY

FIVE LEGITIMATE EMO
ORIGINALS WORTHY
OF YOUR ATTENTION

were married to chiming guitars, whisper‑to‑shriek vocals RITES OF SPRING
and a melding of anthemic choruses with indie‑esque punk.
The godfathers of emo. Before
This is where MCR come in. Having toured with the joining Fugazi, Guy Picciotto
aforementioned Thursday and Taking Back Sunday here made punk that was honest
in the UK, it was easy to pigeonhole them alongside their and vulnerable for the first
peers, yet they were radically different to those bands. time.
The only real comparisons would be AFI and Alkaline Trio,
two bands that ignored heartbreak and introspection and TEXAS IS THE REASON
instead concentrated on a black‑hearted, gothic‑heavy,
macabre sound that was strongly influenced by the Misfits’ They didn’t break any new
B‑movie schlock punk. ground, but their Do You
Know Who You Are? album is
In fact, Gerard Way himself stated bluntly that MCR stone-cold emo perfection.
never felt part of or identified with the scene. “Basically,
it’s never been an accurate way to describe us,” he told FAR
American college website The Maine Campus. “I think emo
is fucking garbage; it’s bullshit. I think there’s bands that Jonah Matranga’s Far added
we unfortunately get lumped in with that are considered metallic muscle to raw,
emo and by default that starts to make us emo.” emotional openness. The
band were a big influence on
Of course, once MCR broke, the look and sound of emo Deftones.
were defined by their every action. Despite being “vocally
anti‑violence and anti‑suicide”, themes of self‑harm, GRADE
depression and distress became inexplicably linked with
their sound and image. They were followed by countless The first band to be associated
also‑rans trying to pull the exact same trick. Now every with the term ‘screamo’.
band that adds even a touch of melancholy to their music, Lovelorn lyrics with Maiden
from Black Veil Brides to Bring Me The Horizon, are riffs and throat-ripping vocals.
sneeringly referred to with the tag. For better or worse, the
change in emo’s DNA is all due to the massive impact of My JIMMY EAT WORLD
Chemical Romance.
The most commercially
successful pre-MCR emo band.
Hopelessly romantic, with a
commercial sheen that still
remains unsurpassed today.

“EMO IS GARBAGE. IT’S BULLSHIT”

GERARD DIDN’T FEEL AN AFFILIATION

METALHAMMER.COM 95

96 METALHAMMER.COM

DANGER DAYS

THE TRUE LIVES OF THE FABULOUS
KILLJOYS (REPRISE, 2010)

Another high-concept romp through the Chems’ wildest imaginations
marked a confident, if marginally less memorable, final outing.

WORDS: TOM DOYLE • PORTRAIT: BRIAN VAN DER BRUG/GETTY

T here’s little doubt that My Chemical Romance phenomenon. As far as high-water marks go, theirs was
would have felt at least some pressure going nearly causing a flood warning.
into the recording process for their fourth full-
length album. With their previous two efforts That cauldron of anticipation ultimately led the Chems
they had released the record that broke them to a surfeit of songs. The writing process yielded dozens
into the public consciousness, and followed it up with of tunes which were eventually deemed unsuitable and
one that catapulted them into stadia across the globe, scrapped, with the band admitting they felt, for a while
transforming them from a mere band into a worldwide at least, unsure of what direction to move in. The turning
point in Danger Days’ creative gestation seems to have

METALHAMMER.COM 97

come with the composition of first single Na Na Na (Na THE SONG
Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na), which summed up everything
Gerard Way felt about what they had produced for their NA NA NA
new opus thus far: it was adequate but totally disposable.
E verybody wants to change the world but no
From that point on, MCR cut completely loose, indulging one, no one wants to die,’ croons Gerard Way
both their more left-field musical influences and their on the bridge of Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na
wildest imaginations to create something totally unique Na Na Na Na), but changing everything is exactly
and compelling in its vibrancy. To that end, Danger Days what My Chemical Romance were doing when they
is a concept album which focuses around a gang of four released the song as the first single from their
vigilantes living in the desert around the fictitious Battery pivotal fourth album. And while perhaps they
City in post-apocalyptic California. That the band members weren’t risking death, there was certainly a sense
each play their own character in this tale (Gerard Way as that the band were rolling the dice a little. Gone
Party Poison, Ray Toro as Jet Star, Frank Iero as Fun Ghoul were the macabre overtones that so characterised
and Mikey Way as Kobra Kid) is remarkable enough, but the The Black Parade in favour of a dayglo punk chorus
level of detail invested into the narrative arc of the album so simple that on first listen you’d be forgiven for
is quite astonishing. wondering whether the band were pulling your leg.

From the videos to the website for the evil Better Living They weren’t, of course, and the question
Industries that the band are trying to overthrow, to of whether fans would buy into this change in
a limited-edition EP featuring the music the gang would direction was quickly and positively answered.
listen to in their signature Pontiac, the effort is painstaking It remains one of the band’s most effortlessly
and the effect immersive. Lyrically, too, the whole of catchy earworms, not to mention a decent social
Danger Days concerns the Killjoys’ struggle and deals in commentary on the disposability of pop culture.
metaphor with social, artistic and even political woes.
As far as pushing a storyline goes, it’s hard to think of
a more committed or complete record from the last decade.

But it’s the musical departure that stands out the
most. There’s none of the vaudeville of The Black Parade
here, and from the Stooges-esque riff of Na Na Na to the
sweeping chorus of SING, to the messy punk’n’roll of
Vampire Money, this is an unmistakably upbeat record. The
overtones of garage rock à la The Hives are merged with
the pumping punk of songs like Planetary (GO!) to produce
something shot through with stunning pop sensibility.

Plenty of critics were baffled at the time by MCR’s
determination to change seemingly everything about
themselves with Danger Days, but looking back now, it
seems totally in keeping with the band’s nature to flip the
script and keep us all guessing. They always did it their way
and this final full-length of theirs is perhaps the ultimate
evidence of that. Red hair, ray guns and rollicking great
tunes – ignore this album at your peril.

WHAT WE SAID
“Love them or hate them, there’s no doubt that My
Chemical Romance are a clever band. There’s plenty
here that fans will lap up; the haters will keep on

hating”
– CAREN GIBSON

98 METALHAMMER.COM

THE VIDEOS TV: FUTURE

WORDS: TOM DOYLE

NA NA NA crowd. The track’s syncopated stomp lends itself to a
hands-in-the-air bounce-along and MCR gladly oblige as
The vibrant imagination of the Chems is all over the video confetti and balloons shower down on smiling, sweat-
for Na Na Na (Na N-oh you know the rest), with neon soaked faces. It’s a glorious snapshot of a gig that every
ray guns, deadly Draculoids and more movie references Chems fan would have given their right arm to be at, and
than you can shake a stick at all firmly in place. We’re proof of what a fantastic live proposition they always were.
introduced to the band in their new guise as The Killjoys,
who are being chased around the desert outside Battery #SINGITFORJAPAN
City by the evil Korse and his aforementioned vampiric
henchmen (who seem more interested in scoping porn In the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and
and hacking vending machines). Part Mad Max, part tsunami, the band released a stripped-down version of
Easy Rider, part comic-book lunacy, it perfectly sets the SING and an accompanying video featuring heartfelt
scene for the album as a whole in four short minutes. messages of solidarity from the global MCRmy. The result
is a moving reminder of music’s continent-spanning
SING power to both unify and give strength in even the
bleakest of circumstances. If people didn’t believe
Picking up where Na Na Na left off, we see The Killjoys the bond that existed between the fans of this band
piling straight into Korse’s Battery City headquarters and beforehand, they certainly did after watching this. All
busting into the joint through a combination of their proceeds from the sale of the song went to the Red Cross.
Pontiac Firebird and some sharp shooting. The band’s
objective is to rescue The Missile Kid, previously captured THE KIDS FROM YESTERDAY
from them in the desert. Unfortunately, in a raging
shootout, our boys are all taken down, but not before Another fan-centric affair, but this time the visual
they’re able to get their young target to safety. As their delights come courtesy of MCR devotee Emily Eisemann,
bodies are dragged away, we’re left to wonder what fate will who edited together a career-spanning montage of the
befall our heroic gang and whether this really is the end… band’s finest live moments. From punk-rock basements
to the gothic monochrome of The Black Parade to the
PLANETARY (GO!) stadium-filling giants they were by this stage, it’s an eye-
popping trip down memory lane. In fact, it proved to be
No complicated storyline, no high-concept art and the perfect time to look back through MCR’s history as this
definitely no ray guns, just a rockin’ live performance was the video to what would end up being their last proper
done the old-fashioned way. Planetary (GO!) sees the band single before the band eventually split in March 2013.
playing a super-intimate show to an absolutely enthralled

METALHAMMER.COM 99

PRESS

100 METALHAMMER.COM