My Chemical Romance
The eyeliner-and-marching-band emo icons behind The Black Parade. Formed in New Jersey after 9/11, MCR gave every mid-2000s teenager an anthem — "Welcome to the Black Parade," "Helena," "I'm Not Okay" — and a look.
My Chemical Romance formed in New Jersey in September 2001, started by Gerard Way (vocals) and Matt Pelissier (drums) — Way has said witnessing the September 11 attacks pushed him to start the band. Guitarist Ray Toro, Way's bassist brother Mikey, and guitarist Frank Iero (who joined in 2002) rounded out the lineup, and their debut album arrived on the indie Eyeball Records in 2002.
Their major-label debut, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (June 2004, on Reprise), went platinum within about a year on the strength of 'I'm Not Okay (I Promise)' and 'Helena.' Then came the defining statement: The Black Parade (October 2006), a theatrical concept album whose lead single 'Welcome to the Black Parade' topped the UK chart and reached the US Top 10, making the band the emblematic act of the MySpace-era emo wave — though Gerard Way himself resisted the 'emo' label throughout.
After the follow-up Danger Days (2010), the band broke up in March 2013, a moment their devoted fanbase treated as a genuine cultural loss. They reunited in 2019 with a sold-out reunion show and returned to touring, but their mid-2000s run remains their defining era.
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