Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
Studio album by My Chemical Romance
Released	June 8, 2004
Recorded	October 2003 - January 2004
Genre	Alternative rock Disputed subgenres
Length	39:42
Label	Reprise/Eyeball
Producer	Howard Benson
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Blender link Robert Christgau link Rolling Stone link Sputnikmusic link
My Chemical Romance chronology
Like Phantoms, Forever (2002) Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004) Warped Tour Bootleg Series (2005)
Singles from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
"Thank You for the Venom" Released: 2004 "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" Released: December 4, 2004 "Helena" Released: March 3, 2005 "The Ghost of You" Released: August 30, 2005

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge is the second studio album and a concept album by New Jersey rock quintet My Chemical Romance. It was released in 2004 and is their first album on Reprise Records. It is widely regarded as a concept album, however, frontman Gerard Way has said that while the album started with a plot in mind, the idea quickly floundered and was scrapped. In the Life on the Murder Scene DVD, Gerard talks about Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, saying it is mostly about the "fear of losing someone". Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge is sometimes abbreviated as Three Cheers, Revenge, or Sweet Revenge. Gerard Way made the cover art for the album.

Track listing

1. "Helena" – 3:22
2. "Give 'em Hell, Kid" – 2:18
3. "To The End" – 3:01
4. "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" – 2:53
5. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" – 3:08
6. "The Ghost of You" – 3:23
7. "The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You" – 3:37
8. "Interlude" – 0:57
9. "Thank You for the Venom" – 3:41
10. "Hang 'em High" – 2:47
11. "It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Deathwish" – 3:30
12. "Cemetery Drive" – 3:08
13. "I Never Told You What I Do for a Living" – 3:51

Japanese edition bonus track

14. "Bury Me in Black" (demo) – 2:37

Appearances of songs

• "I Never Told You What I Do for a Living" is included in the video game True Crime: New York City.
• "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" is featured in the EA Trax of the video game Burnout 3: Takedown.
• "Helena" and "I Never Told You What I Do for a Living" are featured in the 2005 film House of Wax.
• "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison" is featured in the soundtrack of ATV Offroad Fury 2.

Media references

In the 2007 film Music and Lyrics the album can be seen behind Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant) and Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore) in the local music store when Alex shows Sophie his solo album.

Credits

• Gerard Way - lead vocals
• Ray Toro - lead guitar, backing vocals
• Frank Iero - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Mikey Way - bass
• Matt Pelissier - drums
• Bert McCracken - additional vocals on "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison"
• Rinat - additional vocals on "The Ghost of You"
• Howard Benson - organ (Hammond), producer
• Craig Aaronson - A&R
• Mark Holley - design assistant
• Fernando Diaz
• Joe Nicholson - drum technician
• Eric Miller - engineer
• Mike Plontikoff - engineer
• Mike Gardner
• Keith Nelson - guitar technician
• Bryan Mansell
• Tom Baker - mastering
• Rich Costey - mixing
• Chris Ozuna
• Justin Borucki - photography
• Dana Childs - production coordination
• Matt Griffin - production coordination
• Paul DeCarli - programming, digital editing, editing
• Arturo Rojas

Response and band image

After the release of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, My Chemical Romance received an extremely positive response from the mainstream music communities, as shown by the popularity of their music videos on MTV, etc. However, they received a very negative response from the underground music communities. Factors that may have contributed to this shift in fanbase are hypothesized to include: the band replacing Matt Pelissier with Bob Bryar on percussion; the band signing to a new and major label, Reprise Records; a change in image and style; and the fact that they had gained a measure of mainstream popularity.

It has been implied by the underground fanbase that the band has abandoned their original stylistic roots in favor of a more mainstream sound and style. Critics called their previous album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, post-hardcore; some going as far as to say that the band had created a new genre for itself. Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge has been alternately called pop punk, and emo by many reviewers, fans, and critics. Notably, My Chemical Romance's image changed right after the video shoot for "Helena" when they decided that they wanted to be a band with a uniform, from a post-hardcore image to a more emo/pop punk fashion. Critics note their music video for "The Ghost of You", and the increase in amount of cosmetics the group uses when performing as evidence of this shift.

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge has sold over 2 million copies in the U.S. and has been certified double platinum by the RIAA. It has also been certified platinum in Canada and gold in Ireland.

Charts

• Billboard (North America)

References

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