On March 23rd, the American punk band My Chemical Romance, also known as My Chem or MCR, announced its permanent disbandment. The members of My Chem are from New Jersey, singer Gerard Way and bassist Mikey Way both attended Belleville High School, guitarist Ray Toro attended Kearny High School, while guitarist Frank Iero attended Queen of Peace High School, in our town of North Arlington.

The band reached mainstream acclaim after its sophomore album, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge was released in 2004. Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. and is certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.) The leading singles off of the album were “I’m Not Okay”, “Helena” and “The Ghost of You”. Their following album, The Black Parade was released in 2006, and also sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. and is certified platinum by the R.I.A.A. The leading singles off of The Black Parade were “Welcome to the Black Parade”, “Famous Last Words”, “I Don’t Love You”, and “Teenagers.”

Gerard Way had this to say about the break up; “I can assure you, there was no divorce, argument, failure, accident, villain, or knife in the back that caused this, again this was no one’s fault, and it had been quietly in the works, whether we knew it or not, long before any sensationalism, scandal, or rumor.” My Chemical Romance will go down as one of the best punk bands of the 2000’s and will be sorely missed by their fans. “Since I am bad with goodbyes, I refuse to let this be one. But I will leave you with one last thing- My Chemical Romance is done. But it can never die. It is alive in me, in the guys, and it is alive inside all of you. I always knew that, and I think you did too. Because it is not a band- it is an idea”, stated Way. So long and goodnight MCR, your music helped young people across the world get through tough times and you will not be forgotten.