There was a raw and brutal honesty to The Black Parade, the third album from emo maestros My Chemical Romance that saw them top the charts and connect with an entire generation of kids with black hair and smudged eyeliner back in 2007.

Three years on, the emo subculture has faded, pop is the new black, and bands like The Used and 30 Seconds to Mars, once so popular, are struggling for airplay and an oppressed youth to buy their t-shirts. MCR have remained unusually quiet however, busily working away at a new album which, in a new interview with NME, lead singer Gerard Way says will be more real than its’ harrowing predecessor.

“It’s not going to be hiding behind a veil of fiction or uniforms and make-up anymore,” says Way.

“This record’s about the truth and living and survival.”

Theatrics and melancholy were the main ingredients for The Black Parade, a dark tale of a man dying from cancer. Controversy was also a key factor, with critics slamming the band for their dark lyrics.

They aren’t offering any apologies, titles like “Death Before Disco,” “The Only Hope For Me Is You” and “Save Yourself,” which contains the line This ain’t a room full of suicides, offer just a small taste of what the band describe as their “best record yet.”

The new album has been produced by Brendan O’Brien, whose resume boasts Pearl Jam, AC/DC and Rage Against the Machine, with Way citing punk bands The Stooges, MC5 and The Sex Pistol as core influences.

“It will definitely be stripped down, I think the band misses being a rock band.”

The new album doesn’t have a title, or a release date, however Way says fans should expect a bolder, faster, grittier rock and roll record.

“Everything is more direct. If “Black Parade” was about the sweeping gesture, this is about the bold gesture.”

Be sure to catch My Chemical Romance in action when they head to Australia for the Soundwave Festival next month

Saturday Feb 20 – Brisbane

Sunday Feb 21 – Sydney

Friday Feb 26 – Melbourne

Saturday Feb 27 – Adelaide

Monday March 1 - Perth

 
- Katherine Allan