Welcome Back to the Black Parade

After six years on hiatus, My Chemical Romance, an alternative rock band formed in 2001, welcomed fans back to The Black Parade with a long-awaited comeback announcement on October 31 via social media post. MCR is returning for a show on December 20 at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles, California. Tickets went on sale November 1. 

My Chemical Romance is best known for songs like “Welcome to the Black Parade,” and “I’m Not Okay (I Promise).”On March 22, 2013, fans received shocking news through a short post on MCR’s website announcing their break-up after 12 long years of making music. This was followed by a longer statement from lead singer Gerard Way explaining the decision to break up after their last appearance at the Bamboozle Festival in their home state of New Jersey in May 2012. Since then former members Frank Iero, Ray Toro, and Mikey Way pursued other musical projects. Gerard Way created a comic book series called “The Umbrella Academy” which was developed into a Netflix series.

Earlier this year, Joe Jonas sparked hope in fans of the band, claiming he heard them rehearsing next to him and his brothers in New York. This was not the only instance of a hint of a proper reunion. Back in 2016, the band dropped a teaser but it turned out to be the announcement for their 10th anniversary reissue of The Black Parade/ Living With Ghosts. Throughout their time, MCR released 5 full albums with the most successful being “The Black Parade” in 2006. It reached number two on the Billboard 200, selling more than four million copies worldwide.

 Another speculation regarding MCR’s eventual comeback is the theory that My Chemical Romance wanted to also follow the same timeline as one of their favorite bands, Smashing Pumpkins. First, both groups lost their original drummer in the same time frame. Next, Smashing Pumpkins was a band for 12 years before they broke up, the same goes for MCR. Smashing Pumpkins reunited after six years, so to truly follow the timeline MCR would get back together in 2019.

MCR left an eternal imprint on the alternative music scene, and, after they left, no one else has quite stepped up to fill that position. My Chemical Romance’s return is unexpected, exciting, and refreshing to fans of the genre. MCR’s return is a breath of renewed life back into an alternative genre that has the potential to be a total game-changer for the music scene.