I Brought You My Bullets... the most underrated My Chemical Romance album by a wide-ass margin. It's rawer and more aggressive than usual and is probably the closest thing to a true "emotive hardcore" album they've done. If anything, most of the songs here are heavier than those of most 2000s emo bands that weren't also metalcore! The band was in their early stages and it shows, yet Gerard gave it his all nonetheless. It's easy to see why they were one of the few emo bands to blow up big time when emo was reaching the height of its mainstream popularity (circa 2003-07) and remain fondly remembered by those who were emo kids in the 2000s, whereas most other bands could only maintain about 15 minutes of fame at most and quietly go back into the shadows as the backlash against emo grew stronger and, after the backlash cooled off, not return to the light except maybe to partake in a 2000s nostalgia festival.
I didn't get why MCR got the bulk of the backlash against emo in the 2000s aside from being arguably the most popular band at that time (alongside Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco, both poppy enough to be lumped in with the pop crowd). I know "emo" was quickly redefined as a catch-all term for anything remotely whiny/mopey, but being a teen in the 00s made me associate emo with a certain sound/image. A somewhat darker pop-punk along the lines of Hawthorne Heights and Taking Back Sunday, with optional high-pitched vocals. Image-wise, I associate emo with skinny jeans and long/long-ish hair with side-swept bangs (The Academy Is...). I don't really associate MCR with that beyond having somewhat of a pop-punk sound that appeals to angsty teens who just discovered the goth scene. They're really only the face of emo because they're one of the few bands to get so big.
That said, the backlash against emo cooling off in the time between MCR's breakup and reunion means I don't have to defend them against the "emo" label anymore because their early albums are still emo in the most technical sense of the term. Bullets is their most "hardcore" album and easily just as emotive as subsequent releases, if not even more so, as Gerard is heard using a lot of emotion (and more screaming than usual) to get around having not having grown yet as a singer. It's still a bit poppy on some songs ("Drowning Lessons" et al), but even the poppier moments are still far from commercial, just being poppy enough to ensure that the band would likely maintain a cult following if Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge didn't take them to the mainstream (let alone to the point of The Black Parade and especially Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys playing up the pop aspects).
Even if it isn't their technically best work, there's still enough edge and pure feeling to make it probably my favorite MCR album.
Music MCR brought us a solid emotive hardcore debut.
I Brought You My Bullets... the most underrated My Chemical Romance album by a wide-ass margin. It's rawer and more aggressive than usual and is probably the closest thing to a true "emotive hardcore" album they've done. If anything, most of the songs here are heavier than those of most 2000s emo bands that weren't also metalcore! The band was in their early stages and it shows, yet Gerard gave it his all nonetheless. It's easy to see why they were one of the few emo bands to blow up big time when emo was reaching the height of its mainstream popularity (circa 2003-07) and remain fondly remembered by those who were emo kids in the 2000s, whereas most other bands could only maintain about 15 minutes of fame at most and quietly go back into the shadows as the backlash against emo grew stronger and, after the backlash cooled off, not return to the light except maybe to partake in a 2000s nostalgia festival.
I didn't get why MCR got the bulk of the backlash against emo in the 2000s aside from being arguably the most popular band at that time (alongside Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco, both poppy enough to be lumped in with the pop crowd). I know "emo" was quickly redefined as a catch-all term for anything remotely whiny/mopey, but being a teen in the 00s made me associate emo with a certain sound/image. A somewhat darker pop-punk along the lines of Hawthorne Heights and Taking Back Sunday, with optional high-pitched vocals. Image-wise, I associate emo with skinny jeans and long/long-ish hair with side-swept bangs (The Academy Is...). I don't really associate MCR with that beyond having somewhat of a pop-punk sound that appeals to angsty teens who just discovered the goth scene. They're really only the face of emo because they're one of the few bands to get so big.
That said, the backlash against emo cooling off in the time between MCR's breakup and reunion means I don't have to defend them against the "emo" label anymore because their early albums are still emo in the most technical sense of the term. Bullets is their most "hardcore" album and easily just as emotive as subsequent releases, if not even more so, as Gerard is heard using a lot of emotion (and more screaming than usual) to get around having not having grown yet as a singer. It's still a bit poppy on some songs ("Drowning Lessons" et al), but even the poppier moments are still far from commercial, just being poppy enough to ensure that the band would likely maintain a cult following if Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge didn't take them to the mainstream (let alone to the point of The Black Parade and especially Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys playing up the pop aspects).
Even if it isn't their technically best work, there's still enough edge and pure feeling to make it probably my favorite MCR album.