An American rock band, often used (and mocked) as a prime example of the Emo genre. However, the lead singer (and much of the band) would be rather annoyed by the comparison. Gerard Way, the lead singer, has been known to dislike the genre, calling emo "a pile of shit". They have on occasion referred to themselves as "what-else-you-got emo" and "violent pop". They have also been described as "vampire and zombie rock". Their music is best defined as hardcore, yet melodic, and in some instances anthemic. They formed in New Jersey around 2002 with their first song, Skylines and Turnstiles. The band claims that the theme and style of their music was initially inspired by their feelings during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.The band has a notoriously bad Broken Base and a very Unpleasable Fanbase, rampant with Fan Dumb and Hate Dumb. Enter at your own risk. The band is very popular with Emo Teens, despite not wanting to be. Their latest album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys divided the fanbase, but is their most popular with everybody else, and made My Chemical Romance more respectable among the general population.Please don't confuse them with My Bloody Valentine, who are a British Shoe Gazing band who similarly have nothing to do with them.Members are:
Gerard Way, lead singer.
Ray Toro, lead guitar, backing vocals.
Frank Iero, rhythm guitar.
Mikey Way, bass.
Currently, there's no permanent drummer (formerly Matt Pelissier, then Bob Bryar, then Michael Pedicone as a touring drummer until September 2nd, whose replacement is now Jarrod Alexander).
Albums:
I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love (2002)
Badass Spaniard: Though technically, Ray is a Badass Puerto Rican.
Bishōnen: The entire band, depending on who you ask.
Blood-Splattered Wedding Dress: The cover of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge and Life on the Murder Scene. It's a lot easier to tell that it's a wedding dress on the latter.
Dye or Be Recognized at Comic Con. Apparently, the blonde hair at the 2010 SDCC was Gerard's "costume" so he could buy He-Man action figures in peace.
Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Gerard when he isn't busy dyeing his hair white or some ridiculous shade of pink.
Also Frank.
Don't forget Mikey...
Emo: Although the band would disagree, they do have alot in common with classic/post-harcore emo. While snobby punks will claim otherwise, they aren't really scene emo since they have to much of a hardcore punk influence to really be an emo pop band. In addition they were an important band in the early 2000's post-hardcore scene along with Thursday and AFI.
Hollywood Pudgy: Gerard is the most obvious carrier of this trope within the band. Ray and Bob may also qualify, though Bob is no longer part of the band.
NME claims that Ray◊ is now "getting fat" and has "doughy lovehandles". In actuality, he's completely normal.
Iconic Item: Feathered boas, striped ties, the leather jacket (that'll turn your stomach), the bat belt buckle from Life on the Murder Scene... Coffee and cigarettes might even count with this band.
Mikey's now-departed glasses.
Improvised Weapon: Towards the end of the "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" video, the band is squaring off against the jocks. Their weapon of choice? Croquet mallets.
Nintendo Power Gloves and Zappers are the weapon of choice in 2019.
Example: Headfirst for Halos.A rather upbeat song until you listen to the lyrics. "I think I've blown my brains against the ceiling. And as the fragments of my skull begin to fall, fall on your tongue, like pixie dust..."
Mood Whiplash: More common in the live shows and the actual albums, although The Black Parade comes to mind as an offender. "House of Wolves" is followed by "Cancer" is followed by "Mama".
Only Sane Man: Bob was this before leaving compared to the rest of the guys along with Mikey. With his departure, it seems Mikey's taken this over a little.
Precision F-Strike: Played straight in the case of Three Cheers of Sweet Revenge, where "fuck" is only heard twice in the whole album. (It still got a Parental Warning sticker.)
Also happens in individual songs, like Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back, which has one loud F-bomb in the middle.
Porn Stache: Frank sports one sometimes. Makes him look like Mario.
Prison Rape: "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us In Prison", which seems to be a subversion of Double Standard Rape: Male on Male. The laughter at the end is the singer going insane and threatening to burn down a hotel.
Ship Tease: Tended to be a staple of live shows. Became most prevalent during the 2007 Projekt Revolution tour.
Shout Out: A fair number of their songs contain references to other things.
"Vampire Money" is gosh darn full of it. The song was written in response to the band's choice to not write a song for the Twilight movies, David Bowie and Mark Bolan get a Name Drop and the opening is almost a perfect copy of "Ballroom Blitz" by Sweet.
Slouch of Villainy: Averted. Gerard just has really bad posture, but he's far from villainous.
What Measure Is a Mook?: Gerard killing a Draculoid in the 'SING!' video, having a 'wait a second I just killed that guy moment' (because he removed the Drac's mask) and this leads to Gerard getting killed - it's seen even better in The Directors Cut.
When He Smiles: Ray Toro, the lead guitarist with the 'fro, is not considered as good-looking as his pretty-boy bandmates (*coughcough* Bishōnen), but with his full lips and million-dollar smile, everything seemsto light up. Ray of sunshine, indeed.
For further consideration, pause at 3:31. It's contagious.
Whole Plot Reference: Their Music Video for their song "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us" recounts the plot of the movie Audition, interspersed with clips of them playing.
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