For many My Chemical Romance were the band that changed their life.
The band that saved them.
But something about them really fucking irked a certain subsection of rock fans.
Readers of British rock magazine Kerrang! voted them best and worst band of the year,
such was the polarizing appeal.
It's debatable what warranted this reaction.
Maybe it was their aesthetic, their demeanor, their fans.
Most likely it was just an older generation of rock fans
not understanding the appeal of these new upstarts.
And yet My Chemical Romance were probably the most important rock band of the 2000s.
They were the saviors of the outcasts.
With most bands their origin story goes the same way:
met in their hometown, start playing music, left their hometown.
There's very little in the way of external catalyst.
My Chemical Romance on the other hand formed because of 9/11
While working is a jobbing cartoonist singer Gerard Way was travelling into New York
for a meeting with Cartoon Network when he saw the first tower collapse.
"So when that first building went, it was like an A-Bomb went off
of just this emotion and it made you nauseous you know?
I was more upset for the people around me than for myself.
I was just...
I think one of the first thoughts that one of my head when it went down is:
so what does this mean, like what does it mean for the world?
like how's it going to change everything?
With this new context Way contacted some old friends asking:
What are you doing with your life? Are you happy? Do you want to form a band?
The purpose wasn't just to make music, it was to make a significant difference,
to help people, which was something none of the future
members of the band thought they were achieving at the time.
The band's name itself came from the back of an Irvine Welsh anthology.
Way took ownership of the romance, adding the personal "My" due to his ongoing dealings
with antidepressants and alcohol.
There are references to his addictions throughout their first two releases,
most memorably in 'Headfirst For Halos'
wherein he describes his self medication routine and consequent suicidal inclination.
Fans could see their own experiences in these songs.
They could relate on a deeper level and feel like they were not the only ones dealing with these problems.
This was the heart of MCR's message.
Way eventually cleaned himself up in late 2004,
a few months after the release of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
This was where MCR would refine their message, their sound and define their legacy.
The concept for the record, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge,
was the story of a man and a woman were separated by death in a gunfight
and he goes to hell only to realize by the Devil telling him that she's still alive.
The Devil says you could be with her again if you bring me the souls of a thousand evil men
and so he hands him a gun and he says I'll go do it.
The album is presented as a rip-roaring revenge flick,
the kind that Tarantino would balk out for being too over-the-top.
With a lot of influence not just from b-movie horror but comic books like Watchmen.
The album dealt with a variety of topics:
as well as addiction and suicide, there were themes of homosexuality, rejection, mental health and hope.
Each song was written with short-story insight detailing the revenge quest.
"To The End" is about a massacre at a wedding.
"The Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You" is the protagonist's continual hunt for evil souls taking a toll on his morality.
"I Never Told You What I Do For A Living" is his inevitable betrayal and *spoilers* death.
This geekiness for detail and cinematic scope made it so that other geeky rock fans
had a contemporary band to call their own.
And while the narrative is schockly and entertaining in a b-movie fashion
the album also deals with loss in a very real and affecting way,
mostly due to the recent passing of Ways' grandmother, Elena Lee Rush.
Reflections on her death run throughout but most significantly on opening track, "Helena".
"The Ghost of You" is another song that explores this subject,
expressing regret and uncertainty in its chorus:
The lyric "Could I? Should I?" is the most interesting.
It continues the suicidal theme present throughout their work
and explores the complex emotions attached to this.
This was something that Way dealt with frequently but ultimately worked through.
In doing so he was able to talk about this subject credibly with his fans
First single "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" sees Way digging deep
and untangling his confused teenage feelings of unease, rejection and loserdom.
It's the story of a girl having interpersonal problems such as her boyfriend sharing her naked photos,
who is attempting to get help from the narrator who himself has various issues of his own.
The girl dismisses his issues as she doesn't understand them,
they are not visible on the surface and more internal in nature.
Way likens this to her loving songs yet never understanding their true meaning.
The music video tries to home in on their targeted demographic,
making them very aware that they are not alone:
If any of these apply to you, or you liked any of the left of centre interests that Ray reels off at the start.
This was your band and it was fair to say that a lot of teenagers felt this way.
They comprehended the song's key message.
They too were not okay.
Where other notable genre anthem "The Middle" comforts from a place of half-remembered experience.
"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" commiserates and empathizes at eye level
with every freak, geek and outsider that is struggling through teenagerhood.
My Chemical Romance were you.
They still are you.
Even for rock band they are painfully uncool:
As stated in "Give 'Em Hell, Kid":
My Chemical Romance were a composite of their experiences,
everything good and bad that anyone said about them,
their loves, their hates and they put that out there for everyone to see.
People hated them but that hate made them great.
This was most clearly showcased during the band's infamous performance at Reading Festival 2006
Scheduled after thrash metal titans Slayer,
the band were greeted with an onslaught of bottles, debris and golf balls.
Despite this they stood firm, playing harder while goading the haters in the crowd
with their mere extended presence.
Because here's the thing about My Chemical Romance:
Your hate, your abuse, your vitriol.
That's the basis for their whole output.
MCR smiled in the face of adversity.
That venom made them stronger, they were thankful for it.
Without this history of opposition they would have nothing to sing about,
to fight against and they'd be nowhere near as vital, as life-changing.
My Chemical Romance taught that surviving and living a better life is the greatest revenge.
A generation of rock fans thanks you.