Is My Chemical Romance Back for Good?

Written by Jeff Campbell in Alternative Rock Last Updated November 17, 2022

My Chemical Romance Casino de Paris 01/03/11

Fans were heartbroken when My Chemical Romance announced that the band would be disbanding in 2013. However, in 2019, MCR came back together to perform a reunion show in Los Angeles. But is My Chemical Romance back for good?

My Chemical Romance does appear to be back for good following their 2019 reunion. While 2020 delayed their full-blown reunion, they do have extensive tour dates booked in 2022 and appear to be working on newly recorded material.

After that one-time reunion show, MCR announced that it would be committing to a full tour.

The tour, however, keeps getting delayed, and there is little information on what the band is currently planning. So it’s understandable fans would be confused.

Let’s dig in a little deeper.

Is MCR reunited?

My Chemical Romance is officially reunited following its 2013 breakup. But the 2020 pandemic delayed their full-blown reunion tour until 2022.

But it all started with that 2019 reunion show.

The plan was for this reunion show to be one night only. It was the first time the band had performed since 2013. The event was held in Los Angeles on December 20th, 2019. Fans went wild, and the show was sold out in under 4 minutes after tickets went live.

The reunion concert also received extremely positive reviews. One critic wrote: “…emo is alive and well in 2019. If you don’t believe it, you should have seen My Chemical Romance reunite on Friday night for their first show in seven years.”

The positive response led the MCR members to decide that they wanted to stay together for more than one night, and they announced that they would be going on a full tour.

However, they could not have predicted the pandemic, and all their tour dates had to be postponed to 2021. Then, as those dates neared, they were postponed again until 2022.

But as of right now, they do have plenty of official tour dates listed in 2022, and it seems they are indeed back!

Why did MCR break up in 2013?

My Chemical Romance broke up in 2013 when band leader Gerard Way decided that under Obama’s presidency, the country was in a better place than when they formed, and no longer needed their music as inspiration.

I know. That’s a bit out of the ordinary.

MCR was first formed in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks on the world trade center. Gerard Way saw the attacks, and soon after, he quit his job and formed MCR with his old high school friend, Matt Pelissier.

Way felt that he needed to do something meaningful to help guide a world that was increasing in violence and division. He found that the best way for him to make an impact was to channel his frustration with the world into music.

Way says that even back when the band was first formed, he told his fellow band members that the band would be over when it was no longer needed. He has described MCR as an ideal and not a band. If they could no longer hold to their ideal, then the band would break up.

He was clear that the band would not end based on any opinions of its audience. 

The band would not end even if their sales plummeted, and they received unfavorable reviews by critics. As long as they could hold to their ideals, they would keep making music, even if their audience hated them.

So, despite their popularity, on March 22nd, 2013, Gerard Way posted on their official website to let the world know My Chemical Romance was breaking up. The reason was that he felt the band was no longer needed.

This might have been, in part, due to the Obama presidency. Way felt that America was now under better guidance than his music could offer. MCR ended because of hope: hope that the world was getting better and no longer needed the fiery art it once did.

How many original members are still in My Chemical Romance?

My Chemical Romance still has 3 founding members: lead singer Gerard Way, guitarist Ray Toro, and bassist Mikey Way, in addition to longtime member Frank Iero. Their drummer, Jarrod Alexander, is the newest member of the band, having joined in 2011.

My Chemical Romance was first formed by Gerard Way and Matt Pelissier following the September 11th attacks. Matt Pelissier was Way’s friend from high school, and he shared a similar passion and response to the state of the world.

A little later, Ray Toro joined MCR. He was the band’s lead guitarist. Way was a new artist, and he struggled to play an instrument and sing at the same time. Toro joined so that Way could focus solely on vocal work.

Mikey Way, Gerard Way’s younger brother, was also an original member of MCR. He played bass guitar for the band.

Matt Pelissier left the band all the way back in 2004, and he has not rejoined it since then. At the reunion concert in 2019, Gerard Way, Mikey Way, and Ray Toro were the three original band members to perform on stage.

However, Frank Iero is close to being an original member. Iero joined the band only a year after its formation when the band he had been playing for broke up. He was brought on to play guitar and sing backup vocals for MCR. He played at the reunion concert, and it seems that he will be a part of whatever MCR is doing in the future.

Is My Chemical Romance making a new album?

My Chemical Romance has not officially announced a new album to be released since reuniting in 2019. They did, however, release a new single in May 2022 called The Foundations of Decay.

It was the first new song since 2014. And perhaps even more than some concerts being booked, it solidified My Chemical Romance’s return.

And in recent interviews, Gerard Way has indicated he is working on new material with producer Doug McKean who has worked with Way extensively in the past.

In 2020, Gerard Way posted a strange picture to his Instagram account with no explanation.

This may seem like nothing significant, however, Way did a similar thing right before he announced that the band would be playing a reunion show. Fans have speculated that this social media post is Way’s cryptic way of teasing and promoting new music that might be in the works.

Another piece of evidence is Frank Iero’s loose lips. 

When he had done interviews in the past, Iero sometimes shared information he wasn’t supposed to. In March of 2021, Iero did a video interview in which he might have let some pertinent information slip. He was showing some equipment he had used recently and said that it was used in some live streams “and a couple of M — some recording stuff.”

Some have speculated that he was about to say ‘My’ as in My Chemical Romance.

Another more obvious piece of evidence is simply the fact that MCR has been planning on working together since 2019. It seems unlikely that the band would be together for so long without working on new music to release.

What did Gerard Way do after MCR?

After My Chemical Romance disbanded, Gerard Way pursued multiple artistic endeavors. He started his solo career in music and pursued his old passion of comic book writing.

A year after MCR ended, Way released his first solo album, Hesitant Alien. The album received positive reviews and peaked at 16 on the Billboard 200 charts. This proved that even on his own, Way could make impressive and likable music.

Way also spent much of his time after MCR working on a comic series known as The Umbrella Academy. 

This series became immensely popular, and in 2019, it was adapted for television. The Netflix show itself has received favorable reviews, and Gerard Way even recorded a few new original songs that are featured on the show.

In 2013, he released a limited comic book series called The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys created in conjunction with Shaun Simon and illustrated by Becky Cloonan. That shouldn’t be confused with the 2010 MCR album called Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.

Way also co-authored another comic called Cave Carson has a Cybernetic Eye. To promote this comic, he actually reunited with former bandmate Ray Toro to record a song that was given out at Comic-Con in 2016.

However, frontman Gerard Way also experienced some confusion after MCR broke up.

He struggled with his identity and his mental health, which brought to the surface some issues he had with his relationship with God. In a recent article, I explored Way’s faith and how it has changed since he was a child in the Catholic Church.

Just click that link to read it on my site.

What songs have MCR been playing on tour?

My Chemical Romance has been playing a 20-song set lately. 18 songs for the main concert with 2 encores. While the set list has varied a little, it is mostly filled with fan favorites including:

  • Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)
  • Welcome to the Black Parade
  • Boy Division
  • Famous Last Words
  • Desert Song
  • This Is the Best Day Ever
  • The Foundations of Decay
  • Vampires Will Never Hurt You
  • Cemetery Drive
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE ANNOUNCES COMEBACK (New Shows + New Music?!)

Conclusion

MCR played a reunion show in 2019, and they plan on going on a full tour. However, the tour dates keep getting postponed due to the worldwide pandemic.

MCR broke up in 2013 because Gerard Way felt that the band was no longer necessary. He thought the project they had set out on had reached a point of completion and might never be able to top The Black Parade, their most successful album.

There are three original members currently in MCR. They are Gerard Way, Mikey Way, and Ray Toro. However, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero only joined the band a year after it formed, and he is still a part of it.

MCR has not officially announced a new album but did release a single in May of 2022.

But it seems very likely that the band will be releasing an album soon. After MCR disbanded, Gerard Way worked on creating solo music as well as writing comic books.

Photo which requires attribution:

My Chemical Romance Casino de Paris 01/03/11 by Ida A. is licensed under CC2.0 and was cropped, edited, and had a text overlay added.

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