If you were a frequenter of Hot Topic, had side swept bangs, and thought rawr meant “I love you” in dinosaur, there’s a good chance that during your emo phase, My Chemical Romance was one of your favorite bands in the early 2000’s. They ruled the scene, and at their peak, released every emo kids’ soundtrack for life, "The Black Parade," in 2006. From dramatic videos to Gerard Way’s snow white hair, we all could find something on the album that just spoke to our ~*problemz*~.
Fast forward to 2013, when it seems the Kardashians started to rule the world (not mad about it, though), My Chemical Romance announced they were breaking up. Sure, their last album hadn’t been their best, but they still managed a great tour and the fans (myself included) were eating it up. There was no animosity between the members, it was just time to move on. And like Gerard, Mikey, Frank, and Ray did, we moved on. We became interested in other things.
But there’s a reason they say emo kids never die.
On July 20th, 2016, the band released a new logo on their Facebook page, a cross with their letters. To follow, they also posted a video of the new logo flag waving, with the core hitting piano intro of Welcome to the Black Parade.
And quite frankly, everyone lost it.
Rumors speculated this was it, the band was coming back. People were ready to throw away their life savings to see their emo heroes again, and I was right along with them, furiously texting one of my best friends about going to see them if they decided to do a tour. It’s 2016, ten years since "The Black Parade" had been released. To do a reunion tour of this album would be like what Pokemon Go! is to some- it’s the ability to relieve such a big part of their life.
But, that hope was quickly diminished when the band released a statement not even 24 hours later. On July 21st, My Chem released a statement on all their social media and website saying: “We've been really touched and blown away by the response to the teaser trailer. We are not touring and there is no reunion planned - only a release for the anniversary of The Black Parade. Thanks so much for continuing to keep MCR in your minds and in your hearts.”
As expected, everyone lost it, all over again.
Some were hopeful:
An old song of theirs is a perfect summary:
Some took it a little too personally:
To say I wasn’t a little disappointed would be a lie, and I’m an honest person (okay, I was very disappointed). But like some of the comments, on their Facebook page, I have a feeling they have something more in store for us. A band just doesn't release a new logo, and a teaser trailer and expect their fans to think that nothing is going to come of it. I think a fast paced concept album is what this generation needs right now. We were all a little too young for Green Day’s "American Idiot" to appreciate it when it first came out, and maybe My Chemical Romance could take a new album in that direction. They know whatever they do, is gonna sell, let’s hope they don’t take that as a sign to become sell outs (which I doubt they will). Even if it is just a re-release of "The Black Parade," we can all relive our 2006 glory days. Side swept bangs and teenaged angst for everyone, yay!
