About This Quiz
When you mix up some raw adolescent emotions and mix in peer pressure and cater to them with your lyrics, you get a very unique fan base. Emo, in particular, was the sound of choice to many of those angst-ridden kids and they developed a soundtrack to go with their ever-fluctuating emotions. Bands like Weezer started paving the path of this genre with the album "Pinkerton" in 1996 and more followed. Melancholy lyrics, heavy guitar riffs and the occasional primal scream created music with more character and personality than most of the music coming out of mainstream radio stations.
My Chemical Romance is known as one of the bands that were at the forefront of this wildly popular and still active genre. Their first major release, "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge," is still applauded and hailed as one of the best albums of emo. From their energetic stage presence to the way their lyrics could sting their fans interpersonally, their fan base never waned. Just recently, they have announced a full world tour. This isn't going to be a tepid tour to rake in revenue, this is promised to be an eardrum-shattering comeback tour. From Toyko to Tacoma and all points in between, My Chem is on track to reclaim their dominant position as kings of melodramatic rock!
Do you still hum "Helena" to yourself in the shower or scream, "I'm not OK!" at your co-workers? Test your MCR knowledge here, and see if you are a true MyChem fan or just another emo kid that never got picked for the team. Go ahead, make Gerard proud!
"Famous Last Words" is a textbook example of why My Chemical Romance has remained a favorite of the fans over time. The blistering guitar work pairs perfectly with the gripping voice of Gerard Way. This dynamic musical combination makes fans pump their fists in the air in sold-out stadiums worldwide. Aside from its radio presence, the song dominated TRL for a few days before it was dethroned.
The album "Welcome To The Black Parade" has some pretty interesting back story. The band convened at a well-known haunted house called The Paramour Mansion and hashed out what is now one of their most popular albums. The band members recalled slight paranormal activities, but nothing scarier than an occasional slammed door and looming feeling.
"Cemetery Drive" came off the "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge" album and raked in many newcomers to the emo scene. The term emo, however, wasn't embraced by frontman Gerard Way at all. In fact, he went on a rant while being interviewed by the University of Maine, throwing curse words and anger into the interview. To put it lightly, Way called emo a pile of, well, you know.
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Liza was chosen for the part because Gerard and the band wanted a woman who had a voice that was strong and dark. This song may sound like it's a folk song from the old country, but in all actuality, it was inspired by rock and roll greats like Alice Cooper and Pink Floyd.
At just over three minutes, "Dead" is a tale of death and a broken heart. The hard-rocking lyrics are accompanied by a Rancid-esque guitar riff and a raspy yell spattered between choruses. Taken as an individual song, it's dark and almost disturbing. If placed within the album, "The Dark Parade," it's just another cog in the complex story being told.
As the second single released from "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge," "Venom" was an instant favorite. The limited-edition vinyl release of the single was about as emo as you could possibly get, pressed in red and oozing emotion. The quality of the pressing, however, has been stated as being shoddy with static and poor audio. You can have one of your very own for the low price of $50, found used on Discogs.
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As an emo kid, listening to "Helena" while getting ready for school was almost mandatory unless you weren't intending on getting on the bus at all. Once you learned that the song wasn't about all of the typical emo stuff, it lost its appeal. The song is actually sung for Gerard Way's grandmother, who had passed away, not the bittersweet love story many people think it is.
At only one minute and twenty-one seconds long, this catchy little ditty is reminiscent of an old Irish tune. With that vibe, however, it doesn't really fit seamlessly at the end of the album "The Black Parade Is Dead." The bouncy piano accompanies Gerard perfectly as he sings about a flood of, you guessed it, blood! "I'm the kind of human wreckage that you love," is the ending punctuation mark on this fun song you can easily bob your head to.
This song from "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge" might be one of the first mainstream emo songs to venture into the screamo realm. Screamo became popular in small clubs in the 1990s, but never really saw broad spectrum publicity until the emo trends of the 2000s. Screamo became a unique hybrid sound of punk rock and metal, but with the added soul-crushing lyrics found in emo music.
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This song is an Easter egg off the 10th-anniversary release of "The Black Parade" album and is unlike any song on the release. Haunting lyrics are accompanied by a solemn-sounding electric guitar, leaving you wondering where the percussion section is. Also found on the anniversary album are rough cuts of songs like "The Five Of Us Are Dying," which eventually went on to become the title track to "The Black Parade."
This might be a bit of a trick question since it was already asked, but as one of the most iconic MCR songs, it begged to be rehashed. "Helena" was released a whopping 15 years ago and has undoubtedly stood the test of time. New Musical Express, a British music source, was elated at the band's success and heralded MCR with reintroducing black eyeliner and clothing as a staple in the counter culture teenager.
My Chemical Romance flexed their clever muscle on this song by making the title a play on words. The use of the term lives instead of knives was a pun, a stretch, but funny once you know about it. Setting the imagery of the song, the use of lives instead of knives was used to represent a hardcore and edgy lifestyle.
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Once you get through the space-age synthesizers in the first 45 seconds of the song, it turns into a catchy rock-ballad with an exceptionally good hook. The song was very nearly scrapped after issues with pulling the album "Danger Days" together. It was almost named "Trans-Am" after being inspired by Gerard Way's new 1979 Trans-Am.
The vibe of the song is a perfect manifestation of anger and angst, riddled with a musical hodgepodge of words. "Destroya" comes off the operatic album, "Danger Days," and features the band trying to be taken seriously. "Destroya" features lyrical storytelling and makes them a borderline political group as opposed to the roots emo background they flourished in.
Frontman Gerard Way explained this song on Twitter by saying "our own mortality as a band, the friends, bands that broke up...wanted it to sound like 'High Hopes' by PF." What that meant, nobody was sure. Fans nodded in agreement in the comment section, however, with one even professing, it's one of those songs, "you just never skip."
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Maybe this one was too easy, but you've gotten this far in the quiz and deserve an easy one. The song may or may not have been inspired by the song "Loving, Touching, Squeezing" by Journey. They both have the same ultra-repetitive lyrics that seem to go on endlessly. This repetition didn't stop the song from being catapulted to number one on the UK rock charts!
This song is a perfect example of classic My Chemical Romance before their direction turned into more of an arena rock feel. The gripping lyrics actually depict someone's struggle with drug use, referring to it as the jet-set lifestyle. Words such as "Give up, get down, its just the hardest part of living," paint the metaphorical picture in black and white and leave you to color it in.
Most of the "The Black Parade" album has dark lyrics to combine with the seemingly macabre guitar work. Yet the song "Teenagers" broke away from that musical preface. The song features words that will make you pump your fist in the air, both subconsciously and physically. It was inspired by a trip Gerard Way had taken on the New York Subway, where he stated for the press, "That was the first time I felt old." So, strike a violent pose and move on to the next question!
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"Vampire Money" starts off with a straight-out-of-the-'80s feel and rolls with the vibe, all the while blending in modern emo elements. The song itself was inspired after the band watched the smash-hit movie, "Twilight." The movie franchise initially asked MCR if they'd like to contribute to the movie soundtrack but were turned down.
The catchy song, "To The End" gives a musical middle finger to the snob culture and pretending to be someone you're not. This sort of lyricism seemed to strike more of a chord with the less than affluent fan base. In a way, the song slightly encourages the listener to be themselves, not a false front. It's almost like listening to a musical guidance counselor.
If you're a fan of this song and can't get enough of it, take a moment to look up the live version of it on MTV2's "2$Bill." The raw, almost garage band-like sound gives the band a new level of depth and street-cred. This song, as well as the rest of "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge," were heralded as era-defining songs.
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"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" was for some the door that opened for them into the world of emo. Released in 2004, it was up against some pretty fierce top-40 songs like "Yeah" by Usher and "Hey Ya!" by Outkast. Although it only managed a paltry position of 86 on the Billboard charts, this song has become one of the most recognizable anthems of My Chemical Romance's career, and that is very OK.
This gripping song lyrically paints a sad tale of the pain, both mental and physical, of dying of cancer. The song pulls at the heartstrings of anyone who has ever dealt with watching someone ail from the disease. A subtle piano fades throughout the song, creating a musical nod to the dimming of life towards the end of a fight with cancer.
This tune could be straight off any pop album from 2010, but what makes it unique to fans it the personal message. Littered within the lyrics are little words of love Gerard professes to his special lady. Off the heavily distorted album, "The Danger Days," "Summertime" is a nice reprieve from the borderline electronica feel and screaming.
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This well-put-together song off "The Black Parade" gave a lovely illustration of life being similar to Sisyphus rolling the rock up the hill. The jam is set to melancholy music, the lyrics paint the most vivid picture of emo-culture imaginable, life is crap, and then you die.
"The Kids From Yesterday" is a song of summation of many of the early emo tunes of the 2000s. Instead of reminding listeners of what's wrong, a progressive message of hope is littered within the lyrics. The song wasn't the most prominent hit or a chart-topping award winner, however to many fans, it is a favorite because of its message of reflection.
Whether done on purpose, or just a divine fluke, the use of "nobody knows the troubles I've seen" is heard at the end of the third verse. The lyrics are also teased in the animated version of "The Lion King" with Scar singing them in his cave.
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"I Don't Love You" could easily have been a song by The Beatles in the '60s or Green Day in the early '90s. Undertones of heartbreak resonate in the lyrics, but also instill a feeling of hope and accomplishment in the listener. You can easily listen to the song and picture yourself crying in a mirror while singing along.
"Demolition Lovers" is one of the songs that helped form My Chemical Romance as a real gutsy band to be taken seriously. Released in 2002, way before they were known much farther from their general ZIP code, it still ranks high on many of the fan pages as one of the best songs ever. If you can make out the lyrics through all the screaming, it's a sweet story of love, kind of.
All answers are actually songs that were featured on one "Conventional Weapons" or another. "The World Is Ugly" was actually the A-side to "The Light Behind Your Eyes." Vocally, the two songs blended beautifully and were backed up by a gentle orchestral-like background.
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If Stanley Kubrick made emo music, this would more than likely be the song he put together. Riddled with vivid imagery of blood, guts and violence, "I Never Told You What I Do For A Living" falls right in place on the "Three Cheers" album. That particular album was integral in catapulting MCR into the popular music scene due to its cutting-edge lyrics and progressive punk sound.
Entering the easy listening circuit with the song "Sing" wasn't really planned for My Chemical Romance, but somehow it happened! When a popular Adult Contemporary channel out of Chicago started playing it, the band was propelled into those ranks. Suddenly they found their song sandwiched between Sufjan Stevens and Kenny G.
After the first minute of the quiet instrumental opener, the speakers open up into an incredibly perky punk rock beat in this MCR masterpiece. The band inserted the very fragile subject matter of suicide into the song in an attempt to raise awareness. In Gerard Way's own words to Alternative Press, "This song is about suicide - don't do it."
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"Save Yourself" would have been a perfect advertising campaign for black hair dye, car alarms and life insurance all rolled into one. The blistering guitar solo breaks up the redundant lyrics and gives a bit of a reprieve from the profanity. There is also a hidden message of hope peppered into the NSFW lyrics, though. "Get off the ledge and drop the knife," again urges listeners that suicide is never the answer.
The opening few lines depict a rather dark scene, including the lyrics "by streetlight this dark night, a séance down below." This darkness corresponds well with the making and promotion of the album, "Welcome To The Black Parade," that it is featured on.