With every album, they re-invent themselves, producing not just music, but a new image and, more importantly, a new message that they want to tell the world.
When MCR formed in 2001, they were angst-filled and had a burning desire to change the world. The first song they ever wrote, Skylines and Turnstiles, was inspired by the tragedy of 9/11. The entire image of their first album (You Brought Me Your Bullets, I Brought You My Love) was a very stereotypical dark look, which brought together the theme of the album.
After this, they went back into recording and a year later they released Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, under a new record label. It was instantly a hit, their angst image had transitioned into a more 'rebel' look, they wanted to push the boundaries of what was considered normal, and embraced individuality.
It was not while 2006 when MCR released their next album, and it was by far their most popular. The Black Parade was a concept album, based around the life of a cancer patient. I was lucky enough to see this tour live twice, and it really is amazing. They would come onstage and do the entire set list for the album, and then in the break they would get changed from their parade uniforms and their dark makeup, and wear their old clothes like in the Revenge-era, and act as though The Black Parade was performed by another band.
Gerard Way (lead singer for MCR) was quoted as saying that it was exhausting to take on an alter-ego that elaborate and emotional, every single night. By the end of their tour, all of them were drained, emotionally and physically, and it would be another four years before they released their next album.
Welcome to the Black Parade was the first song I had ever heard by My Chem, when it was first released almost 7 years ago, I remember the exact moment I fell in love with them, it was instant and I immediately knew that I'd never heard a band like them before, and haven't since.
Four years later in 2010, My Chemical Romance returned with their most drastic change of image ever. They were suddenly bright and happy, they used bold colours, which is something they'd never done before, and they sang about hope and love. They lost a lot of fans, who didn't like their new change of style, but whether or not anyone liked it, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys made a big impact. It was another concept album, based on the idea of a post apocalyptic calafornia, set in 2019. The band had created another alter ego, Jet Star (Ray Toro), Kobra Kid (Mikey Way), Party Poison (Gerard Way) and Fun Ghoul (Frank Iero).
It was inspired by the change in their lives, and how they made it through the depression that ensued after the Black Parade tour. Every member of the band had got married, and two of them now had children, it was obvious that they wanted to leave a legacy for their children, and they wanted to inspire people and show them that no matter how hard life can get, it gets better.
No comments:
Post a Comment