In October of 2019, Grammy-nominated punk rock band My Chemical Romance announced that they’d be reuniting. Over two years later, they’ve finally released new music, for the first time in over eight years. The band originally split up after the members revealed that they no longer felt their music was needed, and that the demand for angry music wasn’t there anymore. They also revealed that they were no longer having fun as a band. 

The mounting pressure took a toll on them, especially after their album The Black Parade had everyone with such high expectations. They felt that continuing to make music after that album would’ve betrayed their “artistic integrity.” The demand for angry music surely must be back, after a pandemic and numerous other terrible events, right?

While separated, many of the band members took on solo music projects, and other creative endeavors, of their own. For example, Gerard Way had an amazing solo career, with albums like Hesitant Alien in his discography. He also had his comic series The Umbrella Academy picked up by Netflix for four seasons. However, the band members all finally returned to make music this year, after numerous scheduled tour delays since 2020, caused by the pandemic.

So here comes their first song since 2014: “The Foundations of Decay”. The single follows the narrative of a man who watches the world decay in front of him, and ultimately comes to terms with the fact that everything will die. Lyrics such as “He was there, the day the towers fell,” call back to the band’s creation, as frontman Gerard Way was inspired to form the group after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. 

This track signals a new era in the band’s history, as they have fully reunited and will begin to work together on a new album. Lyrically and sonically, the song pays homage to the band’s past, while also pointing towards the band’s future. There are many references here to tracks from previous albums,which any fan with a good ear should be able to recognize.

Way’s belting vocals haven’t aged a day, and neither has the stellar talent of the band. The only gripe many fans have with the track is the lack of good mastering, with some of the vocals being greatly drowned out by the sound of the instruments on multiple occasions.

Regardless, this track is overall mostly flawless and a great return to form for this amazing band. If you wish to listen to the entire My Chemical Romance discography, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge and The Black Parade are great albums available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and more.