The Black Parade is ending - but what do My Chemical Romance have planned for Halloween?
New Jersey rock band My Chemical Romance launched their global ‘Long Live The Black Parade’ tour in 2025, and over a year later, only three shows remain, writes Music News Blitz’s Emily Wallwork.
However, with their upcoming Devil’s Night and Halloween shows being promoted separately, fans are left wondering what the band has planned for these final dates.
Rather than merely revisiting their 2006 album, My Chemical Romance performed it in its entirety as an elaborate theatrical production set in Draag, a fictional dictatorship ruled by ‘His Grand Immortal Dictator’.
All band members assumed a character, alongside having recurring cast members playing clerks, secretaries, and soldiers.
A chapter’s conclusion
During their set at Aftershock Festival, lead singer Gerard Way confirmed that the first three shows of their upcoming five-night run at the Hollywood Bowl will conclude this chapter of the tour.
The 30th and 31st of October dates have been promoted separately, with their own posters and promotional imagery compared to the Black Parade-centric marketing.
The Hollywood Bowl website describes the two shows as: ‘a unique atmosphere shaped by the weekend's energy, the venue's natural beauty, and the band's ongoing commitment to creating unforgettable live experiences.’
Marketing clues in the build-up
One of the most notable aspects of the marketing imagery is the usage of the ‘Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge’ font for their band name, an album released by the band in 2004 which has made multiple appearances during their B-stage sets.
Another detail that feeds into this is the choice of The Used as their 30th October support act, giving their strong connection to this album.
Lead singer of The Used, Bert McCracken, has a long-running collaborative and personal relationship with Gerard Way, featuring as backup vocals in ‘You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison’ from their 2004 album, and even releasing an official cover of Queen and David Bowie’s ‘Under Pressure’ in 2005.
McCracken has teased the possibility of a joint performance in interviews, stating that he would love to and that it is ‘in the hands of the band’.
Not long after this interview, the band began playing the instrumental and the end of shows during their personal North American leg.
A reunion performance between The Used and My Chemical Romance is something that has been heavily anticipated by fans for the past two decades, and would without doubt bring a lot of excitement.
The real question is, if the two shows won’t involve the band playing The Black Parade in full, what will they be playing, and what about these two dates is deemed so special?
“You deserve another record”
During the B stage of My Chemical Romance’s September 12th Texas show, Gerard Way opened up about how the sudden passing of their long-time producer and close friend Doug McKean in 2022 halted their creative process massively.
This took place just one month after the release of Foundations of Decay, their first single in almost a decade and, as of now, their only musical release since their 2019 reunion.
Way then stated that he is open to the possibility of creating and releasing new music, stating, “You guys have kept us alive for so long, you deserve another record, and we would love to do that”.
New music on the horizon?
Rumours regarding a new album release by the band have been circling for years; however, this speculation intensified on social media when Twitter/X account @LeaksTour_eu, known for their accurate musical leaks and insider knowledge, said an MCR album/tour may be coming in 2027.
Although none of this explicitly means that fans should expect new music to be played on these days, it is a confirmation that the band are open-minded when it comes to new music, and nothing is off the table.
The band has debuted music in live shows before, and over half of these shows were located in LA.
Their last multi-day residency in LA included them closing the tour off with the unreleased song ‘Sister To Sleep’, last performed at a small venue in 2003. In 2009,
My Chemical Romance performed three unreleased songs in one show, two of which ended up being officially released years later.
Most notably, as early as last year at Dodger Stadium, they performed ‘War Beneath the Rain’, an unreleased song from their scrapped album ‘The Paper Kingdom.’
It’s fair to say that My Chemical Romance love surprising their LA crowd, and it would be no surprise if their concluding shows at the Hollywood Bowl include something special for the fans.
