When My Chemical Romance (MCR) released their debut album in 2002, no one could expect how the four piece rock band from New Jersey would go on to shape one of the biggest music scenes of the 2000s and become one of the most renowned bands of the early 21st century. When mainstream music dismissed the emerging emo genre, MCR struck back with some of the most developed, complex worlds and stories for their devoted fan base to experience. With one exception, each MCR album follows its own individualised characters and stories within elaborate and lush worlds.
While My Chemical Romance’s debut album doesn’t have a confirmed story, it lays the foundations of the storylines and themes that will become integral for the band.
Here is a guide of each MCR concept album starting with 2002’s I Brought You My Bullets, You Bright Me Your Love.
I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love (released 23 July, 2002)
Tracklist
1. Romance
2. Honey, This Mirror Isn’t Big Enough for the Two of Us
3. Vampires Will Never Hurt You
4. Drowning Lessons
5. Our Lady of Sorrows
6. Headfirst for Halos
7. Skylines and Turnstiles
8. Early Sunsets Over Monroeville
9. This Is the Best Day Ever
10. Cubicles
11. Demolition Lovers
I Brought You My Bullets, You Bright Me Your Love’s is argued by some fans to have a “Bonny and Clyde” story line, but this has never been confirmed by the band. However, the album’s closing song “Demolition Lovers,” would reveal to be the set up for MCR’s following album. The song about two ill fated lovers dying “in a hail of bullets” seemed to follow along with the rest of the album but as Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge starts, it’s revealed that the two lovers story is not yet over.
Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge (released 8 June, 2004)
Tracklist
1. Helena
2. Give ‘Em Hell, Kid
3. To the End
4. You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison
5. I’m Not Okay (I Promise)
6. The Ghost of You
7. The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You
8. Interlude
9. Thank You for the Venom
10. Hang ‘Em High
11. It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Fucking Deathwish
12. Cemetery Drive
13. I Never Told You What I Do for a Living
Important Characters:
• The Protagonist
• The Devil
Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge is MCRs first fully fleshed out concept album. The sophomore project follows the “Demolition Lovers” as one half makes a deal with the devil to be reunited with his love. The album’s opening track “Helena” however, did not directly follow along with the narrative as “Helena” was written as a tribute to Gerald and Mikey Way’s grandmother, Elena, who passed away while the band was on tour.
Most of the album’s songs follow the unnamed protagonist as he completes his task of killing 1,000 evil men for the devil. Once completed, the devil says that the lovers can be reunited with the other half of the demolition lovers revealed to be alive in “Give ‘Em Hell, Kid.”
In “To The End,” the protagonist crashes a wedding to add to his kill count – “(Say goodbye) To the vows you take / (Say goodbye) To the life you make.”
The protagonist is caught and sent to jail in “You Know What They Do…” where his mental health starts to deteriorate. In “The Ghost of You,” fear over ever being reunited with his love plagues the protagonist with the chorus “never coming home / Could I? Should I?”
The final tragedy of Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge comes out in the last two songs of the album as it is revealed that the devil tricked the protagonist, he’ll never be reunited with his love because the last person he needs to kill is himself “I can’t clean the blood off the sheets in my bed!”
The Black Parade (released October 23, 2006)
Tracklist
1. The End
2. Dead!
3. This Is How I Disappear
4. The Sharpest Lives
5. Welcome to the Black Parade
6. I Don’t Love You
7. House of Wolves
8. Cancer
9. Mama (featuring Liza Minnelli)
10. Sleep
11. Teenagers
12. Disenchanted
13. Famous Last Words
14. Blood (hidden track)
Important Characters
• The Patient
• Death
• Mama
• Lover
The Black Parade is considered one of the most influential albums of the 2000s and its live show has become one of the most well known tours of the 21st century. The thematic thread of morality and death continues over from Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, along with an unnamed protagonist, however this story hushes over the life of one man (The Patient) who wonders if he’s going to heaven or not.
Dying of cancer, The Patient asks those close to him to prepare for his funeral but does not expect them to care about his passing. The album’s opener “The End” shows The Patient’s nihilistic outlook as he states “If you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see / You can find out firsthand what it’s like to be me.” When addressing those around him at the hospital, The Patient “encourage[s] your smiles, I’ll expect you won’t cry” at his inevitable funeral.
In “Dead!” The Patient, with his mother by his side, learns from a doctor that he has two weeks left to live. The song ends with the hysterical “la la la la” as The Patient declares that life is a joke.
In “This Is How I Disappear,” we are introduced to The Patient’s former love as he believes that “without you” no one will remember him. His own frustration with life continues into “The Sharpest Lives” where stories of alcoholism and recklessness are detailed, “The sharpest lives are the deadliest to lead.”
The Black Parade is also a conversation between Death and The Patient. While songs that start acoustically are from the perspective of The Patient, songs that start with electric instruments are from the point of view of Death.
In “Welcome To The Black Parade,” this conversation is the most clear with the now famous piano intro signalling the voice of Death. Many fans argue over the details of Death but one of the most popular interpretations is that Death was once a person who was called upon to be “the saviour of the broken, the beaten and the damned.”
If this interpretation is true, then the song “Mama,” would reveal to be the backstory for Death, who was once a human. A soldier at war, Death is consumed by the guilt of the “shit that I’ve done with this fuck of a gun,” and knows that they are destined for “hell.”
In the final act of the album, The Patient’s nihilistic view on life shifts as he realizes that he is not ready for death.
Night terrors and the instability of death haunt The Patient in “Sleep,” declaring “three cheers for tyranny” (a possible reference to Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge) and “unapologetic apathy.”
On his deathbed, the album finishes with The Patient and Death reconciling with past misdeeds, with The Patient wanting one last chance at life in “Famous Last Words.” The Patient optimistically says “I am not afraid to keep on living / I am not afraid to walk this world alone,” wishing that Death gives him one last chance at life. In the final chorus, however, it’s unclear if Death grants this wish, and the audience is left wondering if The Patient is alive “or dead.”
Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (released 22 November, 2010)
Tracklist
1. Look Alive, Sunshine
2. Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)
3. Bulletproof Heart
4. SING
5. Planetary (GO!)
6. The Only Hope for Me Is You
7. Jet-Star and the Kobra Kid/Traffic Report (featuring Steve Montano)
8. Party Poison
9. Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back
10. S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W
11. Summertime
12. DESTROYA
13. The Kids from Yesterday
14. Goodnite, Dr. Death (featuring Steve Montano)
15. Vampire Money
Important Characters:
• The Killjoys: Party Poison, Jet-Star, Kobra Kid and Fun Ghoul
•The Girl
•Korse
•Dr. Death Defying
The lore of Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is complicated to say the least. Unlike The Black Parade, but similar to I Bought You My Bullets, the album itself does not follow a cohesive storyline. Rather, the album’s accompanying comic book series, The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys tells the story of a post-apocalyptic Californa and the rebellion against an overlord corporation. Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, the album, is described by the band as the music that the 4 Fabolous Killjoys would be listening to.
Similar to the previous MCR albums, Danger Days is its own story with self contained characters and plot. Released in 2010 but set in a post-apocalyptic 2019 California, Danger Days follows the efforts of the four fabulous Killjoys (based off of the band themselves) in fighting the evil Better Living Industries and their henchman “Korse.”
The Killjoys are helped by the underground DJ, “Dr. Death Defying,” who is voiced by Mindless Self Indulgence’s guitarist, Steve Righ. In the music videos, each member of the killjoys is played by a member of MCR. Gerard Way is “Party Poison,” Ray Toro is “Jet-Star,” Mikey Way is “Kobra Kid” and Frank Lero is “Fun Ghoul.” Joining the fabulous killjoys is an unnamed young girl played by Grace Jeanette in the album’s music videos.
The Girl is kidnapped by Korse and in the music video for “SING” the group breaks into the fictional city Battery City (run by Better Living) to save The Girl. However, the fabulous killjoys are killed by Better Industries in the process of trying to save The Girl, with the city brainwashed by the corporation.
While the story does not share the same themes as the bands previous albums, the brit-pop style of Danger Days overarching ideas surrounding climate change and corporate political power run rampant in each song. Despite the fabulous four killjoys meeting their demise by the end of the album there is a hopeful call to action to stay resistant and rebellious against powerful corporations.
My Chemical Romance’s impact on music reaches far past the emo scene. While not the first band to create concept and lore heavy albums, they introduced and popularised the idea to 21st century audiences using modern multimedia including websites, music videos and filmed concerts, enhancing the overall plot lines and characters. While many of the characters of MCR meet ill fates, their legacy lives on in the rock music world.
Dates for their 2026 shows can be found below and tickets can be found on Ticketmaster or the bands website, here.
1/25 // Lima, Peru
1/28 // Santiago, Chile
1/29 // Santiago, Chile
2/1 // Buenos Aires, Argentina
2/5 // São Paulo, Brazil
2/6 // São Paulo, Brazil
2/10 // Bogota, Colombia
2/13 // Mexico City, Mexico
2/14 // Mexico City, Mexico
5/10 // Daytona Beach, FL, US
5/14 // Columbus, OH, US
6/30 // Liverpool, UK
7/4 // Glasgow, UK
7/8 // London, UK
7/10 // London, UK
7/11 // London, UK
7/15 // Florence, Italy
7/18 // Madrid, Spain
8/9 // Flushing, NY, US
8/13 // Nashville, TN, US
8/18 // Washington, DC, US
8/21 // Detroit, MI, US
8/24 // Minneapolis, MN, US
8/27 // Denver, CO, US
8/30 // San Diego, CA, US
9/6 // Phoenix, AZ, US
9/12 // San Antonio, TX, US
9/18 // Louisville, KY, US
10/21 // Hollywood, CA, US
10/23 // Hollywood, CA, US
10/24 // Hollywood, CA, US
10/30 // Hollywood, CA, US
10/31 // Hollywood, CA, US
11/7 // Incheon, Korea, Republic Of
11/10 // Singapore, Singapore
11/14 // Manila, Philippines
11/17 // Bangkok, Thailand
11/19 // Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
11/20 // Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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