My Chemical Romance is an American alternative pop rock band from New Jersey consisting of five male members all under the age of thirty. The band’s name was inspired by the book Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance written by Irvine Welsh. Other names for the band include My Chem, MCR, or The Black Parade.

The band, which began in 2001 shortly after the September 11 attacks, tends to create music that’s loud, fast, hyper, and aggressive. But a few of their songs could be called melodic and pop-minded.

The band was started by frontman Gerard Way and ex-drummer Matt Pelissier who had been friends since high school. After witnessing the planes crashing into the World Trade Center the friends wrote “Skylines and Turnstiles” to express their feelings about what they saw.

Shortly after that they asked Ray Toro to work with them as guitarist and back-up vocalist. Soon Mikey Way (Gerard’s little brother) joined the group as a bassist.

My Chemical Romance’s first recording sessions were done in Pelissier’s attic. In 2002 the group signed on with the New York-based indie publishing company, Eyeball Records. It was here that they met Frank Iero who joined the band as a guitarist. That year the group released their debut album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, just three months after they officially became a band.

The songs on I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love are dark and introspective. Way has been quoted as saying that the lyrics on the album were a way for him to deal with problems like drug and alcohol abuse, illness in the family, and severe depression.

In 2003 the band signed a deal with Reprise Records and released Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge one year later. Three singles from the album turned out to be highly successful: “I’m Not Okay (I Promise),” “Helena,” and “The Ghost of You.” Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge went platinum within a year.

In 2004 drummer Pelissier was replaced with Bob Bryar. Reasons why Pelissier left are unclear, but rumors say it was due to an argument with Toro or as a result of mistakes Pelissier made during several live performances.

In 2005 My Chemical Romance was the opening act for Green Day on the American Idiot Tour. The same year the group collaborated with alternative-rock band The Used on the David Bowie and Queen classic “Under Pressure.” The song was released as a benefit single on iTunes.

The band started recording their third studio album on April 10, 2006, with the producer of many of Green Day’s albums, Rob Cavallo.

YUDDY