Thank You for the Venom

The first time I heard My Chemical Romance was on a Rock Sound sample CD.  It was track 11 and it was Thank You for the Venom.  It was love at first listen.  Until I got my hands on the full album, I had Thank You for the Venom on repeat.  I knew every word.  My Chemical Romance was everything I was looking for in a band.  They were misfits, they liked the same things I liked, their music spoke to me (that sounds terribly cheesy but I am going to go with it because it’s true) and it was loud, fast and awesome.  Plus their name had a literary reference.

Helena became my end of work anthem because MTV showed the video everyday just before the music store I was working at closed.  Jason and I used to stand and watch that video together and wait for the day to end way back when we were still just friends.   I’m Not Okay became my way to let everyone know that, actually, I wasn’t okay with where my life was going and that something needed to change.  Singing those words was more than just enjoying the song, it was telling the truth.  I played Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge so often that one of my friends even made me a “You Need a New Band” compilation to try and wean me off of them!!

I followed everything they did, through the Black Parade and that weird death cult drama to the way more upbeat Danger Days which made me want to dye my hair bright red again and run around with a laser gun.  I am lame like that.  Did I mention I wore a glittery Revenge bracelet for months just because I saw one on Gerard Way’s wrist in a video clip?  Yeah, that happened.  The point is that they were always there in the background, a soundtrack to my adult life and all the changes it would (and did) bring. 

This weekend, the band issued the following statement on their website:

"Being in this band for the past 12 years has been a true blessing. We've gotten to go places we never knew we would. We've been able to see and experience things we never imagined possible. We've shared the stage with people we admire, people we look up to, and best of all, our friends. And now, like all great things, it has come time for it to end. Thanks for all of your support, and for being part of the adventure."

Without much of an explanation, without a reason why, the band I have loved with all my heart since the day I first heard them is gone.  I am sad because there will be no new album to accompany me into my thirties, I am sad because I will never see them live but I am also glad that I found them in the first place and that the music doesn’t go away just because the band aren’t together anymore!  

Anyway, if you are interested this is a pretty good In Memoriam post from MTV.  Needless to say I will be doing some pretty obsessive MCR googling over the next few days to see what other reactions or reasons might surface.  In the meantime, I will leave you with a few of my favourite videos:

Are there any bands that you feel this passionately about?  Let me know in the comments so that I don’t feel like an overdramatic weirdo…