My Chemical Romance's comeback music is truly the antidote we need in post-lockdown world

My Chemical Reaction’s newly released The Foundations of Decay prima facie appears to be a return to their emo roots but is a sonically mature outing. While vocalist Gerard Way has doggedly denied the band’s emo shades, fans of MCR are united in their appreciation for the music that delves deeply into emotional expression. Starting out with the rawness of a rock band that’s eager to break the then contemporary emo-meets-post punk mould, MCR attained worldwide acclaim with Three Cheers, an album that exuded everything that the emo movement stood for. With their third album, The Black Parade, the band showcases a world where emo, alternative rock, post-hardcore and punk rock of the 2000s find their roots in influences from 1970s classic rock, glam rock, pop, and gothic rock.