Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

My Chemical Romance released their debut studio album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love in July 2002 through Eyeball Records. While moderately successful, it lacked success due to the band's small fan base at the time. As the band continued promoting the album by serving as an opening act for more popular bands, their popularity grew and they began to receive record deal offers from several labels. Among these was Reprise, a subsidiary of Warner Records. The band had several meetings with Craig Aaronson, a representative of Reprise, and by August 2003, the band had signed a deal with the label. They began writing material for their second album while touring in late 2003, still supporting Bullets. By the time that touring had concluded in November, they had already created a good amount of songs from the album.'''' One day after the band's touring concluded, the grandmother of lead singer Gerard Way and bassist Mikey Way, Elena, died. The two brothers were heavily impacted by her death, with Gerard Way being left frustrated with himself over not being able to see her one last time.' Determined to honor her, he began writing a song in her memory, "Helena", where he expressed great self-hatred in its lyrics. The tone and theming of "Helena" would go on to influence the tone of their album, with Gerard Way stating that "the emotions I went through [when she died] and over the next six days were what completely fueled" the album.' == Production, writing, and recording ==

Following another shorter tour throughout the United Kingdom in early 2004, the band traveled to Los Angeles to start work on their second studio album. The impact that the death of Elena left was still being felt by the brothers at this point, who believed that working on new material was one of the only places where they felt peace.'' The band got into contact with Warner in search of a producer and ultimately chose Howard Benson; the band submitted a demo of songs from Revenge to him shortly afterwards. The sound of the demo was highly influenced by "Headfirst for Halos", a "flamboyant" song from Bullets. Though Benson initially expressed disapproval, he wished to work with the band further. He ultimately asked if the band was willing to "piss off [their] current fans" to create the best album that they could.'' Pre-production for Revenge took three weeks. This was longer than the full recording and production process of Bullets, which took only one week.' With assistance from Benson, the band began to rework the material that they had already written for the album, and writing several new songs.' The first song written for Revenge was "It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Fucking Deathwish", which was one of the first songs that the band wrote and was intended for Bullets, but went unused at the time.'''' Benson wanted the band to focus more on their songwriting and arrangement skills, as well as writing more elaborate choruses whenever possible; Benson's focus was on wanting the album to sound as elaborate as it could be, even if his ideas conflicted with that of the band members. Frank Iero stated that, while he sometimes disagreed with Benson's vision for the album, he often found it as working out in the end despite being unable to understand as to how it had worked.'''' A major focus for Benson was the album's singles, which he decided early on in its production. He was more strict about what the band could do with these songs, though allowed for more creative freedom on other tracks.'''' Once songwriting and pre-production concluded, the band moved to the Bay 7 Studios to begin recording Revenge. Ray Toro took control over the composition of the album itself, effectively serving as a "musical director".' The band aimed for every song on the album to sound distinct from one another, with Gerard Way putting on a different "persona" for each song and going to extremes to properly fit into the role that a song required. These extremes including playing pornography in the background of a song, taking off clothes, or attempting to manipulate his emotions.' At one point, he attempted to perform while being completely drunk, resulting in what he described as the "worst take [he] ever did". The track, "Desert Song", ended up being cut from the final record.'''' My Chemical Romance quit working on the album by March 2004, when they went on tour throughout the United States. Benson was left to work on the album, which at the time remained mostly unmixed. Uncertain on how to handle the album's production without the band's input, he received assistance from another music producer, Rich Costey, who worked on four songs from the album to give Benson an idea on where to start.'''' == Music ==

Composition Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge has been described as emo, alternative rock, post-hardcore, punk rock, and pop rock. The album's sound is more refined than its predecessor Bullets, which Ed Walton of Distorted Sound Magazine considered rough and unpolished. Aliya Chaudhry of Stereogum described Revenge's sound as a fusion of Toro's metal-influenced style and Iero's punk-influenced style. She also described the album's pacing as "controlled chaos", and that when it seemed like a song was about to go in a specific direction, it did the opposite. and the glam rock inspired guitar solos on "Thank You for the Venom". There are thirteen tracks in the album total, including a brief interlude midway through where Gerard Way recites a prayer. Lyrics and themes Revenge's central themes include love, loss, and revenge. Following the death of the song's titular characters, the duo would be separated, with one in heaven and the other in hell, only able to reunite should the male partner harvest one thousand souls. During his murder spree, he ends up in New Orleans ("Give 'Em Hell, Kid"), participates in a Western-styled shoot-out ("Hang 'Em High"), and ends up in jail ("You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison"). Due to the band's shift towards making a more personal record, the final album only loosely follows the "Demolition Lovers" narrative. "Thank You for the Venom" was written in response to critics that berated the band's music, themes, and lifestyle, and encouraging their fans to defy outside pressure. "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" incorporates dark humor into its lyrics, working in unison with the existing themes of sexuality in the track. == Release and promotion ==

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge was released on June 8, 2004.'' The Japanese version of Revenge features a demo of the scrapped album track "Bury Me in Black" as a bonus. The band held a launch party for the album on July 11 at the Starland Ballroom, where 2,500 people attended.'' Two promotional flash games were made by the band to promote the album: "Revenge", where players would play as a saint traversing through a cathedral in order to save the Demolition Lovers, and "Helena", which put players in the role of a titular character at their funeral while they attempt to come back to life and escape their own grave. Shortly after the release of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, My Chemical Romance kicked out their then-drummer Matt Pelissier,' believing that he was unreliable when it came to live performances.' He was replaced by Bob Bryar in less than a week. Bryar would go on to appear on most of the associated music videos for Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. Singles and music videos Three singles were released from the album, starting with "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" as the lead single The song reached number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has been certified 3x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It has been considered My Chemical Romance's breakout hit. The album's second single, "Helena", was released on March 8, 2005. It reached number 33 on the Hot 100, and significantly contributed to the album's success. It has been certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA. It reached 84 on the Hot 100, All three of the singles were accompanied by music videos directed by Marc Webb. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" received two music videos, with the first one being a collage of concert footage and pictures of the Way brothers as children. which takes place in a high school and cuts between footage of the band members being bullied by school jocks and them performing the song.'''' The music video for "Helena" takes place at the funeral for a young girl, going between shots of the band performing and the funeral attendees engaging in a dance number. It is one of the most-expensive music videos ever made. was designed by Way. It was inspired by René Magritte's painting The Lovers. Originally, the artwork was created as a reference sketch for a photographer, but it became the artwork for the record after the record label saw it and requested to use it for the cover. During the promotional phase of the album, My Chemical Romance adopted a black-and-red aesthetic. In photo shoots and live performances, they would typically appear in attire consisting of black suits, red ties, red or white button-downs, and bulletproof vests. ==Reception and legacy==

Johnny Loftus of AllMusic wrote that "with the aid of production major-leaguer Howard Benson, they've edited the slight rookie excesses of I Brought You My Bullets You Brought Me Your Love, resulting in a rewarding, pretty damn relentless product." Andy Greenwald of Blender noted Way's integration of elements of his life into the songs on the album and remarked that his "gulping, gasping whine turns stompers like 'I'm Not Okay (I Promise)' into after-school poetry". Ian Mathers of Stylus Magazine felt that the album contained "twelve near-flawless songs and an interlude in thirty-nine minutes" and that "even when it lets up, [it] doesn't let up", while Kirk Miller of Rolling Stone described it as "a hell of a good time." IGN critic JR was more reserved in his praise, calling Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge "a good album" that nonetheless "isn't nearly as varied or daring as it could have been". In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave it a "dud" rating. Em Casalena of American Songwriter wrote that the album is "a golden record in emo rock history." NME listed the album as one of "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood the Test of Time". The album was ranked at number 260 on Spins "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014)" list. Rock Sound wrote that the album is "an era-defining release", striking "a nerve both musically and emotionally with millions around the world." Andrew Sacher of BrooklynVegan noted that the album's tracks "are so embedded in the DNA of pop culture that even non-MCR-fans tend to know every word." In 2016, Rolling Stone declared Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge the tenth greatest emo album out of 40, saying that "Three Cheers wasn't just a concept record, it was a concept sequel, expanding the small-screen story of 2002's I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love into a big-budget production, complete with ruminations on life and death ("Helena") biting kiss-offs ("I'm Not Okay") and a series of dramatic music videos that made them MTV darlings." Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge has sold over three million units in the United States and has been certified 3× platinum by the RIAA as of December 2017. It has also been certified quadruple platinum in Canada, Ireland, and Mexico. Accolades == Deluxe edition reissue ==

In April 2025, My Chemical Romance announced a deluxe edition reissue of Revenge, which was released on June 6, 2025, in honor of the album's twenty-first anniversary. Costey returned to lead the project, with assistance from Ray Toro. The deluxe edition features remixed and remastered versions of all songs from the album. In addition, live recordings of "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)", "Helena", "The Ghost of You", and "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" were included; all except for the last one were previously unreleased. The original album's "Demolition Lovers" themed artwork and aesthetic was dropped for the reissue, instead featuring unique artwork that depicts a rosary. The release was issued digitally and physically on CD and vinyl, with over eight differently-colored variants of the latter being issued. In the lead-up to the release, 4K remastered versions of the album's music videos were released. The reissue charted at number 6 on the Billboard 200, a jump from the number 28 spot that the album achieved on its original release, and also topped Billboard's Vinyl Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums, and Catalog Albums charts. It also reached number 9 on the UK Albums chart, a jump from the original release position of 34. ==Personnel==

My Chemical Romance • Gerard Way – lead and backing vocals • Ray Toro – lead guitar, backing vocals • Frank Iero – rhythm guitar, backing vocals • Mikey Way – bass guitar • Matt Pelissier – drums, percussion • Bob Bryar – drums, percussion (deluxe edition bonus tracks) Additional musicians • Bert McCracken – additional vocals on "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" • Rinat Arinos – additional vocals on "The Ghost of You" • Keith Morris – additional vocals on "Hang 'Em High" • Howard Benson – 1958 Hammond B3 Production • Howard Benson – producer, mixing (all except "Helena" and "Give 'Em Hell, Kid", "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" and "The Ghost of You") • Rich Costey – mixing on "Helena" and "Give 'Em Hell, Kid", "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" and "The Ghost of You" • Mike Plotnikoff – recording, editing • Eric J. Miller – additional engineering • Paul Decarli – Pro Tools and programming • Jon Nicholson – drum tech • Keith Nelson – guitar tech • Tom Baker – mastering • Matt Griffen – production coordinator • Dana Childs – production coordinator • Mark Holley – design assistance ==Track listing==

;Standard edition ;Japanese special edition DVD ;Deluxe edition bonus tracks • Howard Benson – producer, mixing (all except "Helena" and "Give 'Em Hell, Kid", "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" and "The Ghost of You") • Rich Costey – mixing on "Helena" and "Give 'Em Hell, Kid", "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" and "The Ghost of You" • Mike Plotnikoff – recording, editing • Eric J. Miller – additional engineering • Paul Decarli – Pro Tools and programming • Jon Nicholson – drum tech • Keith Nelson – guitar tech • Tom Baker – mastering • Matt Griffen – production coordinator • Dana Childs – production coordinator • Mark Holley – design assistance ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==