My Chemical Romance

Initially formed in the wake of the 9/11 tragedies, My Chemical Romance's brand of pop and punk was suitably dark and urgent. Founder and frontman Gerard Way was working at the time as an artist and animator, a career he'd maintain during the band's success, though he'd also grown up playing guitar. After witnessing the destruction of the Twin Towers, Way turned to music for catharsis, working initially with drummer Matt Pelissier; the first song "Skylines and Turnstiles" referred directly to that days events. Guitarist Ray Toro and Ray's younger brother Mikey on bass completed the band's first lineup; the first album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love was finished just three months after they formed. Signed to Reprise soon afterward, they toured extensively and played the Warped and Taste of Chaos package tours, and got a plum opening slot for Green Day on the American Idiot tour. As a result their second album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge went platinum. While there remained plenty of darkness in the lyrics, the band had ramped up its knack for hooks; the first single "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" aimed for maximum catchiness and succeeded. With the next album The Black Parade the band turned back to weightier themes, it was a loose-knit rock opera bout a dying cancer patient and his transition to the afterlife. Way had opened up by now about his longstanding struggles with depression, alcoholism and prescription drug abuse, all of which influenced his songwriting. For a mild-mannered band, My Chemical Romance stirred up its share of controversy. An English tabloid accused the emo movement of glamorizing suicide, citing their music in particular; this led fans to march in London in the band's defense. (It also partly explains why the band, especially Way, disowned the "emo" tag even though their music fit the trend). By 2008 the band was big enough to play Madison Square Garden; the following year they released a cover of Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row," condensing the eleven-minute epic to three speedy minutes. 2010 brought their fourth album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. More direct and rocking than its predecessor, it also hit the Billboard Top Ten and launched another wave of high-profile touring, with the band playing the Reading and Leeds Festivals. Yet the band was having personnel problems, with drummer Bob Bryar leaving before the album and his replacement Michael Pedicone getting fired soon after. Way denied rumors of band infighting, but the group imploded during sessions for the fifth album. Their swansong was the single new track, "Fake Your Death" on the greatest-hits album May Death Never Stop You.