MUSIC NEWS - My Chemical Romance tells us they're currently in an L.A. studio hard at work on their fourth studio album (releasing via Reprise Records) with veteran producer Brendan O’Brien helping out. O’Brien is well known for his work with Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, and many others.
We're told the band began writing songs for the new release back in May 2008, a mere week after they finished up more than a year of touring in support of their 2006 concept album The Black Parade. Though frontman Gerard Way says things didn’t really come together until about six months later, he let on that the new album is the first one the band has recorded that is not centered on any one concept.
Gerard Way tells us; “At this point, the best way to describe the new album is
My Chemcial Romance
being the purest, most distilled version of itself.” “No bells and whistles, as the focus has been on melody and songwriting. If it doesn't work in a room with just the five of us, we aren't trying to make it work in the studio with effects and string sections. Making
The Black Parade allowed us the departure we needed to see what worked and what didn't, experiment, and add a lot of elements we never would have. Sometimes you need to leave to come back home. To me, it feels like the culmination of everything we have learned as songwriters and players.”
Guitarist
Ray Toro said; “I think the direction of the new album is a perfect mix of what we did on
Black Parade and what we did on
Revenge. After
Black Parade, we were ready for a more aggressive sound, similar to
Revenge, but even harder. Because we had toured behind
Black Parade
for so long, we wanted to do the complete opposite of that this time out, almost kind of de-construct ourselves.” “What we’re bringing from
Black Parade to the new album is that sense of creative spark, where anything can feel possible, except distilled into a three minute, 30-second song,”
“I can say, hands down, this is our best record yet. We’ve gotten even better as songwriters and musicians, and we cannot wait for people to hear what we came up with. It’s all of the best characteristics of the band finally on one record”, reports Toro.
October 2006's The Black Parade was hailed by critics and spawned four Modern Rock smash singles. The Belleville & Bloomfield, New Jersey-bred MCR toured the world, culminating in a triumphant near "hometown" show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden in May 2008.
For more on
My Chemical Romance, including video of the band in the studio, visit
MyChemicalRomance.com .
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