On This Day in 2004, My Chemical Romance Released Their Emo Magnum Opus, ‘Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge’

Converse shoes, skinny jeans, and thick black eyeliner. It was 2004, the emo scene was on the rise, and one of its biggest bands was about to release their breakout album.

My Chemical Romance debuted in 2002 with I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. A year later, the band switched labels, making Reprise Records their new home. Then, they began working on new material while on tour.

They released their follow-up, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, on June 8, 2004. The album had a more polished sound than its predecessor but echoed many of its dark sentiments and lyrics. With the release of singles “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”, “Thank You For The Venom”, “Helena”, and “The Ghost Of You”, the band’s fanbase grew, and so did album sales. A year after its release, it went platinum. Over a million copies were sold, and the album has sold over three million copies to date. That success led the band to become one of the quintessential bands of early 2000s emo and alternative music.

Three Cheers was, in large part, inspired by the death of Gerard and Mikey Way’s grandmother, particularly “Helena”. Gerard Way has acknowledged the impact her death had on his writing process. He noted he was “completely fueled” by “the emotions I went through [when she died] and over the next six days.”

But the original plan was a concept album, elements of which remained intact. The loose narrative began with “Demolition Lovers” on I Brought You My Bullets and follows two murdered lovers who are separated in the afterlife, with the woman in heaven and the man in hell. To be reunited, the man made a deal with the devil, promising to deliver him 1,000 souls. The album art, designed by frontman Gerard Way and titled Demolition Lovers II, hints at the story.

In 2006, My Chemical Romance followed Three Cheers with The Black Parade, their biggest commercial success to date. Then, they released their final album, Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys, in 2010. The band ultimately went on hiatus in 2013 and reunited in 2019, followed by a new track, “The Foundations Of Decay”, in 2022.

My Chemical Romance celebrated the anniversary of Three Cheers in 2025 with a deluxe remixed and remastered reissue featuring previously unreleased live recordings. The album is still remembered as one of their best and an essential part of early 2000s music history.