In 2006, My Chemical Romance were filling arenas and flooding the airwaves with their monochrome, classic rock-inspired magnum opus, The Black Parade – an exploration of mortality that mixed theatrical bombast while delving into the abyss. It seemed a natural evolution from the band’s previous two albums – I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love and Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge – a two-part saga filled with grief, loss and punk rock. Fans were more than ready to darken their clothes, strike a violent pose and don the military-style jackets of this new era, but for what came next, they would need a whole new wardrobe, colour scheme and mindset. After scrapping their first attempt at a follow-up record entirely – “We needed a new mission,” frontman Gerard Way told NME at the tim...
