Gerard Way used a pause between songs at the Hollywood Bowl to give his audience an unusually concrete timeline for My Chemical Romance. Speaking to the crowd on October 30, during the first of two concerts staged over Halloween weekend, the singer outlined the group's long range recording and touring schedule. He explained that the band hopes to head into the studio next year to make a fifth album in 2027, before looking toward a return to live touring in 2028.
If those intentions hold, the release will serve as their first full length studio collection since 2010, when they issued Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys. The group broke up in 2013 and remained inactive for six years before reuniting in 2019. Since coming back together, their recorded work has been limited to a single release, the 2022 standalone track The Foundations Of Decay.
Way had touched on the possibility of fresh material earlier during the Long Live The Black Parade tour, speaking candidly at the final North American stop in San Antonio. On that occasion, he expressed his appreciation to the crowd, explaining that the members had always wanted to write another record if life permitted, and telling listeners that their sustained dedication meant they deserved one. He also addressed the death of longtime producer and collaborator Doug McKean, who worked on The Foundations Of Decay and died later that year. McKean's passing, alongside other complications, slowed the band's creative momentum right as they were eager to write more music together.
The October 30 performance took place as part of a historic five night engagement, making My Chemical Romance the first band to play five consecutive dates at the Hollywood Bowl. Beyond the future album timeline, the evening brought an unexpected public reconciliation with The Used frontman Bert McCracken. It marked the first time Way and McCracken had shared a concert stage since 2005. Close friends during the earliest chapters of their careers, the two drifted apart in the mid 2000s around the period Way was pursuing sobriety. Performing during The Used's opening set, McCracken announced that mom and dad were back together, inviting Way out to sing on Buried Myself Alive. McCracken returned later during the headlining set to provide guest vocals on You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison, from 2004's Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge.
The setlist also highlighted neglected parts of the band's catalog. They delivered the live debut of We Don't Need Another Song About California, an iTunes exclusive bonus track from Danger Days that gained wider circulation earlier this year on an expanded 15th anniversary release. The performance coincided with a chart milestone overseas, as The Black Parade reached Number One on the UK album chart for the first time, two decades on from its release, aided by a newly expanded 20th anniversary edition.
Across the entire Hollywood Bowl run, each evening has begun with Prelude To The End, an animated short film featuring voice work from Billie Eilish and Phoebe Bridgers. The band concludes the California residency on Halloween night before traveling to Asia next month, revisiting their past records onstage while sketching out a route back into the studio.
