There is so much to write about MCR so I decided to break them down in three parts, from album to album.

In 2001 Gerard Way (vocals) and former drummer Matt Pelissier formed the band. Apparently they were inspired by the 9/11 bombings, which is just about as deep as the go-to answer “World Peace” at a beauty pageant contest. Mikey Way (bass) and Ray Toro (lead-guitar) joined shortly afterwards. A guitarist was much needed, as it turned out that Gerard Way couldn't sing and play the guitar at the same time.

Frank Iero (guitar) was the last to join the band and shortly afterwards the five of them started recording their debut album “I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love”, which was released in 2002.

They’ve been given many styles, such as Punk Rock, Emo or – most ridiculously – Alternative Rock, but by the end of the review you will see how their style has significantly turned into some kind of Pop.

“I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love” is a masterpiece in my opinion. A fresh and talented band makes music for Emos and Goths (you have to give them credit for the vampyre parts) alike.  
The lyrics are generally destructive and the word "angst" comes to mind. You can make an argument that the entire album is one storyline, with Demolition Lovers being the climax, but that's nothing but a theory so far.
I like how the album starts with a fairly calm Prelude called Romance. Then again, I'm a sucker for preludes and transitions anyway.
Next up are the first two singles, "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough For The Two Of Us" and "Vampires Will Never Hurt You".
Both tracks clearly indicate how talented these guys are.
"Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough For The Two Of Us" is aggressive, whereas "Vampires Will Never Hurt You" starts off slowly and melodic and increases the intensity gradually.
That's what I thought would be typical for MCR, the songs building up gradually and increasing in intensity.
"Headfist For Halos" became the third single and was released in 2004. Like the other singles it didn't exactly become a bestseller.

In my opinion two songs stand out that defined MCR's style. Songs that start off calmly, gradually build up the intensity and get more and more aggressive without abandoning the melody. One is "Early Sunsets Over Monroeville", which does remind me of the Beatles. Listen closely to the lead guitar, as its melody stays beautifully constant throughout the entire song.
The other song is one of the best songs ever. A song that's inexplicably never ever been released as single. A song every MCR fan I ever asked loves. A song with a heart-warming, yet tragic storyline. In short, this piece of art comes as close to perfection as can be, both musically and lyrically. I am talking about "Demolition Lovers". Starting off slowly with just guitar and vocals makes it seem like a love ballad, which it is somehow. The intensity increases as the drums join in and later the other guitar as well. After a temporary peak the song becomes calm again and the pattern repeats itself once more: A slow start with lead guitar, drums and vocals, then rhythm guitar and more aggressive drums speeding the song up until we reach the climax of the song where both characters of the story die. And even though I've listened to this song several thousand times I am still impressed with the drums, especially the base drums!

Overall I think this is an outstanding debut album. MCR seemed to be fully aware of what they wanted to sound like. The choice of tracks, beginning with a prelude and ending with tragic love story, is as good as you can get.

Matt Pelissier is one of the best drummers I know and Ray Toro is highly underrated!

To be continued …..

25-01-2009, 00:00 Geschreven door music_critic