stylistixs (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} stylistixs) wrote in ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} chemicalromance,@ 2008-07-13 22:43:00 |
|
MCR Review - General
I was cleaning out my computer, and found this article/bio/review I wrote for my Music class 3 years ago. I was originally going to do it on Refused, but when it became impossible to find any information on them, I switched to MCR. Ah well, it got me an A+. Who am I to complain? I absolutely do not remember my sources for some information, as we were not required to cite, but rather write a review of a band and an album. Most of the info is from articles I had read at the time.
“My Chemical Romance is emerging as one of the most promising young bands in recent musical memory.
Purevolume.com
“We started out playing halls and basements, and we've gotten a bit bigger — to the point that we can't play halls or basements anymore, for safety and security reasons.”
Gerard Way, vocalist of My Chemical Romance
Way to state the obvious – no pun intended.
What can be said about the Newark, New Jersey band, My Chemical Romance, that hasn’t already been stated? Well, not much actually. Bursting onto the underground hardcore/punk music scene in their hometown in late 2001, they’ve taken everyone by surprise.
With five members – Way; Frank Iero, guitarist; Mikey Way, Gerard’s brother and bassist; Ray Toro, guitarist; and Bob Bryar, replacement for their original drummer Matt Pelissier – the band formed only days after the 9/11 attack in New York City. Way, who was a resident at the time, was trying to make it as a cartoon artist at Cartoon Networks. Realizing that he needed to make something of his life since the cartoon gig was going nowhere, although he had launched a pilot for a show entitled “Breakfast Monkey”, he returned to New Jersey and called up his old friend Pelissier with the idea of forming a band. Pelissier called his friend Toro, and the three started jamming and demoing songs. Not too long after, Way’s younger brother Mikey was asked to come in on bass.
At the time, My Chemical Romance was sharing a practice space with a local band, Pencey Prep, who seemed destined for big things. Internal fights and arguments between the members led to its demise, and the vocalist/guitarist of the band, Iero, was asked to join My Chemical Romance to round out the sound.
In 2002, My Chemical Romance, whose name came from the Irvine Welsh novels Ecstasy: Three Tales of a Chemical Romance, released their debut album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. Lyrics written entirely by Way, the record brought to life images of vampires, mirrors, evil, death, hospitals, blood, and fated lovers, a gothic undertone set to fast-paced music, dark beats and darker lyrics. Way’s vocals were new, differentiating between a howl-like scream and singing, brought about something new to the music genre. Gone were the over-sized shirts and circle pits of the hardcore scene; My Chemical Romance was going change that, even if it killed them.
Thankfully, they survived the ride – alcoholism, drug use, constant touring (the band has been touring non-stop since early 2004, and still touring until mid-December 2005), critics, fans, and worst of all, themselves. Their biggest accomplishment in 2004 was landing a spot on the main stage of The Vans Warped Tour, an annual summer tour with over five stages, fifty bands and dodgy toilets. This was a huge thing for the band, and that summer, the band played. With an intoxicated singer every day.
Their 2004 release Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge had been released earlier in June, and so the fan base was relatively nice, growing at every show. My Chemical Romance left The Warped Tour halfway through to do a string of dates in Japan; this event would be forever memorable. It was then that Way decided to do something about his drinking, having thrown up for over forty minutes instead of being able to perform. It was also after this tour that Pelissier was asked to leave the band for reasons not disclosed to the public, and Bob Bryar was asked to join.
With this finalized line up, the band have sold over one million albums in their home country, co-headlined Kevin Lyman’s ‘Winter Warped Tour’ The Taste of Chaos, toured with Green Day on their second leg of the American Idiot tour, played on the main stage for all of this years Vans Warped tour, played a surprise performance for the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards and are on their first headlining tour with friends Alkaline Trio and Reggie and The Full Effect. Dotted with trips back and forth in Europe and Canada, you have a busy schedule.
What makes this band so popular? Ignore the MTV coverage for a minute. This band is popular because they make great music. Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge proved that. They’re may be less talk of vampires on this record, but don’t be fooled. A concept album based loosely on the last song of their previous record, “Demolition Lovers” is the story of two lovers separated, the man sent to Hell; to get back to his love, he strikes a deal with the devil. In order to return, he must kill one thousand evil men.
Creepy, ain’t it?
The album starts off strong; part whisper, part warm up for what’s to come. The first song, “Helena”, dedicated to the Way’s deceased grandmother Elena, is often described by the vocalist as a self-hate note. The song begins in a whisper, guitar softly played in the background until the second verse, when the band kicks in. Almost the introduction or prologue to the story, “Helena” has a dark, morose tone, mourning the death of her lover. But that doesn’t last for long. “Give ‘Em Hell, Kid” and “To The End”, songs two and three respectively, show our young girl out and about, pregnant and about to get married. But in “To The End”, her groom is killed. Coincidence?
The next two songs are fast paced, almost like a chase scene. “You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison” and “I’m Not Okay (I promise)” are deeply personal for Way. In “Prison”, the aspect of homoerotica is touched. Guitarist Iero once said that “You hear about all these whiney emo bands and kissing boys…We wanted to be like ‘yeah, prison!’”
“I’m Not Okay”, the bands first single from Three Cheers, is a mix of every let down in life. From the girl not liking you back to being called a joke, this song has become an anthem for that kid in the back of the class. In the video, the band dresses up as students in a fictional prep school, causing havoc in and out of class; eating crayons, jumping out of lockers, proudly failing tests. The trials and tribulations of school, and life, is something that everyone can relate to. The video was created as a movie advertisement, and create a story, it did.
The album begins to slow down, the fast, hurried pace of the band calming down in “The Ghost of You” and “The Jetset Life Is Gonna Get You”. Lyrically beautiful, these songs can make you desire the upbeat tempo of before, until we’re hit with “Interlude”. The eight song on the album is nothing but a guitar and Way’s vocals for fifty-seven seconds, a transition from the meld of instruments. A needed transition if you’d want to keep up with the album. That song is a breather for the band and the listener.
“Thank You For The Venom” starts off as a whisper, almost echoing “Helena”’s structure and composition: whisper, breakdown, and verse, all fast, fast, fast. “Hang ‘Em High” is an unusual musical choice; the beginning sounds like a western! That song can take some time to get used to, but once it is, it’s just as good as the rest.
“It’s Not A Fashion Statement, It’s a Fucking Deathwish” is the dead man’s statement to his lover. The story shines through the song, metaphors complementing the concept. “I’m coming back from the dead/And I’ll take you home with me/I’m taking back the life you stole.” The man feels wronged by the woman and here is his revenge, well deserved at the least.
“Cemetery Drive” puts the man’s plan into action, killing his lover. The last ‘slow’ song on the album, the man’s pain is evident and shinning through his actions, although slightly contradictory in words. He almost regrets his plan until he is reunited with his love, and tells her, finally, what he does for a living, in the song “I Never Told You What I Do For A Living”. A perfect end to a story doomed from the start.
This album, so different from Bullets, is phenomenal. With influences from Rush to Iron Maiden to The Misfits to Morrissey and even Green Day, the different styles come together to create something. The band is diverse just like the individual members are, and no two songs are ever alike. Ever.
And that’s the beauty of a chemical romance.
I was cleaning out my computer, and found this article/bio/review I wrote for my Music class 3 years ago. I was originally going to do it on Refused, but when it became impossible to find any information on them, I switched to MCR. Ah well, it got me an A+. Who am I to complain? I absolutely do not remember my sources for some information, as we were not required to cite, but rather write a review of a band and an album. Most of the info is from articles I had read at the time.
“My Chemical Romance is emerging as one of the most promising young bands in recent musical memory.
Purevolume.com
“We started out playing halls and basements, and we've gotten a bit bigger — to the point that we can't play halls or basements anymore, for safety and security reasons.”
Gerard Way, vocalist of My Chemical Romance
Way to state the obvious – no pun intended.
What can be said about the Newark, New Jersey band, My Chemical Romance, that hasn’t already been stated? Well, not much actually. Bursting onto the underground hardcore/punk music scene in their hometown in late 2001, they’ve taken everyone by surprise.
With five members – Way; Frank Iero, guitarist; Mikey Way, Gerard’s brother and bassist; Ray Toro, guitarist; and Bob Bryar, replacement for their original drummer Matt Pelissier – the band formed only days after the 9/11 attack in New York City. Way, who was a resident at the time, was trying to make it as a cartoon artist at Cartoon Networks. Realizing that he needed to make something of his life since the cartoon gig was going nowhere, although he had launched a pilot for a show entitled “Breakfast Monkey”, he returned to New Jersey and called up his old friend Pelissier with the idea of forming a band. Pelissier called his friend Toro, and the three started jamming and demoing songs. Not too long after, Way’s younger brother Mikey was asked to come in on bass.
At the time, My Chemical Romance was sharing a practice space with a local band, Pencey Prep, who seemed destined for big things. Internal fights and arguments between the members led to its demise, and the vocalist/guitarist of the band, Iero, was asked to join My Chemical Romance to round out the sound.
In 2002, My Chemical Romance, whose name came from the Irvine Welsh novels Ecstasy: Three Tales of a Chemical Romance, released their debut album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. Lyrics written entirely by Way, the record brought to life images of vampires, mirrors, evil, death, hospitals, blood, and fated lovers, a gothic undertone set to fast-paced music, dark beats and darker lyrics. Way’s vocals were new, differentiating between a howl-like scream and singing, brought about something new to the music genre. Gone were the over-sized shirts and circle pits of the hardcore scene; My Chemical Romance was going change that, even if it killed them.
Thankfully, they survived the ride – alcoholism, drug use, constant touring (the band has been touring non-stop since early 2004, and still touring until mid-December 2005), critics, fans, and worst of all, themselves. Their biggest accomplishment in 2004 was landing a spot on the main stage of The Vans Warped Tour, an annual summer tour with over five stages, fifty bands and dodgy toilets. This was a huge thing for the band, and that summer, the band played. With an intoxicated singer every day.
Their 2004 release Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge had been released earlier in June, and so the fan base was relatively nice, growing at every show. My Chemical Romance left The Warped Tour halfway through to do a string of dates in Japan; this event would be forever memorable. It was then that Way decided to do something about his drinking, having thrown up for over forty minutes instead of being able to perform. It was also after this tour that Pelissier was asked to leave the band for reasons not disclosed to the public, and Bob Bryar was asked to join.
With this finalized line up, the band have sold over one million albums in their home country, co-headlined Kevin Lyman’s ‘Winter Warped Tour’ The Taste of Chaos, toured with Green Day on their second leg of the American Idiot tour, played on the main stage for all of this years Vans Warped tour, played a surprise performance for the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards and are on their first headlining tour with friends Alkaline Trio and Reggie and The Full Effect. Dotted with trips back and forth in Europe and Canada, you have a busy schedule.
What makes this band so popular? Ignore the MTV coverage for a minute. This band is popular because they make great music. Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge proved that. They’re may be less talk of vampires on this record, but don’t be fooled. A concept album based loosely on the last song of their previous record, “Demolition Lovers” is the story of two lovers separated, the man sent to Hell; to get back to his love, he strikes a deal with the devil. In order to return, he must kill one thousand evil men.
Creepy, ain’t it?
The album starts off strong; part whisper, part warm up for what’s to come. The first song, “Helena”, dedicated to the Way’s deceased grandmother Elena, is often described by the vocalist as a self-hate note. The song begins in a whisper, guitar softly played in the background until the second verse, when the band kicks in. Almost the introduction or prologue to the story, “Helena” has a dark, morose tone, mourning the death of her lover. But that doesn’t last for long. “Give ‘Em Hell, Kid” and “To The End”, songs two and three respectively, show our young girl out and about, pregnant and about to get married. But in “To The End”, her groom is killed. Coincidence?
The next two songs are fast paced, almost like a chase scene. “You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison” and “I’m Not Okay (I promise)” are deeply personal for Way. In “Prison”, the aspect of homoerotica is touched. Guitarist Iero once said that “You hear about all these whiney emo bands and kissing boys…We wanted to be like ‘yeah, prison!’”
“I’m Not Okay”, the bands first single from Three Cheers, is a mix of every let down in life. From the girl not liking you back to being called a joke, this song has become an anthem for that kid in the back of the class. In the video, the band dresses up as students in a fictional prep school, causing havoc in and out of class; eating crayons, jumping out of lockers, proudly failing tests. The trials and tribulations of school, and life, is something that everyone can relate to. The video was created as a movie advertisement, and create a story, it did.
The album begins to slow down, the fast, hurried pace of the band calming down in “The Ghost of You” and “The Jetset Life Is Gonna Get You”. Lyrically beautiful, these songs can make you desire the upbeat tempo of before, until we’re hit with “Interlude”. The eight song on the album is nothing but a guitar and Way’s vocals for fifty-seven seconds, a transition from the meld of instruments. A needed transition if you’d want to keep up with the album. That song is a breather for the band and the listener.
“Thank You For The Venom” starts off as a whisper, almost echoing “Helena”’s structure and composition: whisper, breakdown, and verse, all fast, fast, fast. “Hang ‘Em High” is an unusual musical choice; the beginning sounds like a western! That song can take some time to get used to, but once it is, it’s just as good as the rest.
“It’s Not A Fashion Statement, It’s a Fucking Deathwish” is the dead man’s statement to his lover. The story shines through the song, metaphors complementing the concept. “I’m coming back from the dead/And I’ll take you home with me/I’m taking back the life you stole.” The man feels wronged by the woman and here is his revenge, well deserved at the least.
“Cemetery Drive” puts the man’s plan into action, killing his lover. The last ‘slow’ song on the album, the man’s pain is evident and shinning through his actions, although slightly contradictory in words. He almost regrets his plan until he is reunited with his love, and tells her, finally, what he does for a living, in the song “I Never Told You What I Do For A Living”. A perfect end to a story doomed from the start.
This album, so different from Bullets, is phenomenal. With influences from Rush to Iron Maiden to The Misfits to Morrissey and even Green Day, the different styles come together to create something. The band is diverse just like the individual members are, and no two songs are ever alike. Ever.
And that’s the beauty of a chemical romance.
