‘Foundations of Decay’ - The Resurrection of My Chemical Romance
When My Chemical Romance announced their split in early 2013, amid rumours of internal acrimony, it appeared that New Jersey’s second darkest export (after Jersey Shore) were to meet their moribund fate. Following the announcement the band released a greatest hits compilation, ‘May Death Never Stop You,’ in 2014, featuring a smattering of new songs, and a casket chock full of the black anthems which had resonated with the deep disenchantment felt by a post 9/11 generation.
In the transpiring years, frontman, Gerard Way, would embark on a solo career, releasing the album ‘Hesitant Alien’ in late 2014. Way’s new effervescent sound marked a departure from My Chemical Romance’s signature macabre tone. The album received a tepid response from critics and failed to emulate the success that Way enjoyed with the band. Following the breakdown of his marriage, Way would then relapse back into alcoholism and remain out of the spotlight for over five years – though he continued to work on his comic books, throughout this period of reclusiveness.
In 2019, the band stunned fans with the announcement of an initial one-off concert in Los Angeles, which sold out in mere minutes. The emphatic reaction led to a handful of concerts being announced in Australia, New Zealand, and England, with the latter being postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The band did not debut any new music at the gigs, nor were any such announcements forthcoming for over a year. Then, when the band declared a world tour for 2022, in late 2021, rumours began to swirl that they were indeed working on new material.
The band maintained a state of radio silence until this month when they dropped their first new song in over eight years: ‘The Foundations of Decay.’ The six-minute epic resembles a new, yet distinctly familiar friend. Sonically, it is unabashedly My Chemical Romance, which will undoubtedly delight their most ardent followers. Opening over distorted white noise and ominous synths, Way revisits similar themes of death, societal decay, and disillusionment, before launching into an epic, familiarly morose chorus.
In essence, the new track feels like the culmination of its predecessors: lyrically imbued with the bleakness of their debut album ‘I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love’ and bolstered by cacophonous guitar riffs reminiscent of ‘The Black Parade’ it is demonstrative of their some 20 years of growth. Contrary to its title: ‘The Foundations of Decay’ sees My Chemical Romance not merely in the ascendancy, but rather in glorious resurrection. Perhaps, many fans will hope, that the foundations of a new musical chapter have been firmly laid.
4/5 stars