Adam KennyMy Chemical Romance, lead by frontman Gerard Way, are without a doubt one of the most important bands of the past 25 years. In a time of Fall Out Boy, Paramore (a band that is still going strong with This Is Why being another great album from Hayley William and co), Good Charlotte, Breaking Benjamin, Panic at the Disco – the list goes on. All power houses with monstrous hits and influence, but then you have MCR.
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge and Black Parade are strong contenders for being near perfect albums. Two albums in a row like this is a rare feat. Albums that are both 19 (Black Parade) and 21 (Three Cheers) years old, and still remain in so many people’s daily rotations. For me personally, I don’t think I’ve gone 1 week since 2016 without listening to either album at least once.
My Chemical Romance’s Influence
Paramore nowadays still maintain significant influence (as they should), but that’s with continuous releases and transformations. This Is Why in 2023 and After Laughter in 2017, and then their self-titled album in 2013. All three being incredibly strong albums that show the bands development in their original sound whilst also maintaining the same attraction and strengths, especially This Is Why which is a fantastic post punk record in of itself and their 2013 self titled record which is a classic as well. My Chemical Romance in contrast had decided to part ways in 2013. They’ve released some celebratory albums since such as the greatest hits album May Death Never Stop You in 2014. And also a 10th Anniversary edition of the Black Parade in 2016.
And then there was…
No original material had been heard from band since 2010 with the album Danger Days being the last. A divisive album that had one or two hits such as “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)”, but was considered a departure from their usual sound and leaned more into a pop sphere. They did release some singles from their scrapped project Conventional Weapons in 2012 and 2013, but no album. Black Parade and Three Cheers carried the majority of the band’s attraction over the years, which is a testament to just how strong those 2 albums were. MCR in recent years made a return and have even performed show together. In 2022 they released a single called “Foundations of Decay” which has elements of progressive rock, gothic rock and even some post-hardcore.
Which leads us to now, 2025, where the band has released a deluxe edition of Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge with some BBC Radio One recordings of some songs. On top of this, a complete remaster of the original recordings of the album.
What can Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (Deluxe Edition) improve upon?
Remasters can sometimes feel superfluous. “This album already sounded perfect, what would need to be changed?”, is a common thought when it comes to the remastering of classics. Although, there are times where remasters can actually bring a record back to what it truly was meant to be. In this case,Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge (Deluxe Edition) tastefully improves the mixing of songs that before could’ve been better. As well as adding in transitions for songs that were missing in the digital releases such as the “Ghost of You ” which actually was missing an organ transition into the song “The Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You“.
These small touches can help bring something new to the album, but can also help establish and improve your impression of songs. The organ transition for me was actually unexpected, I had never heard it before. It wasn’t until I looked into it that it was supposed to be there originally. These small nuances can bring a spark back to an album.
Improvement on the mixing
The mixing was another improvement for the Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (Deluxe Edition). Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge is a pop punk album through and through, with one of it’s charms being the mixing of the original songs bordering on clumsy and washed.
Mixing is an art in of itself for a song. It can be the difference between loving and hating a song. Originally, some of the songs such as “Hang Em High” (which is a great song) the mixing just isn’t clear, it’s hard to tell each individual piece apart. The pain point here, is if you make everything too distinct it can be “too” clean. There’s a grunge aspect to it where the imperfections add to the song. This is something to take into serious account with an album like Three Cheers. Bring out too much in a song, and you can ruin it’s original appeal.
Thankfully, this is not an issue here. Each song sounds exactly as you remember it but there’s this clarity added to the tracks. The guitars are still thick, crashing against your ears with sick rifts, but are clearer. It feels like you’ve put on a pair of glasses to see properly what was blurry before but now you can see perfectly. The instrumentals feel improved, as though they’ve taken what was there but amped it with more vitality and strength. It’s really impressive.
More life added to an already lively run of tracks in Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (Deluxe Edition)
“Helena“, the opening track of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (Deluxe Edition) and one of (if not the) most iconic tracks on the album. It’s a track that starts off with Gerard Way’s vocals whispering with a tentative guitar in the background getting ready to break through. It gets in your face immediately. The genius of the mixing is that initially its sounds like the Helena we all know and remember, but if you go back to the original you can immediately notice a difference. The song continues to be killer. Gerard’s desperate vocals with the epic rifts from Frank Iero on guitar along with Ray Toro. A timeless track.
Immediately after “Helena“, we actually hear one of the first new transitions into “Give ‘Em Hell, Kid” where Gerard adds some vocals to build up the incoming crash of sound. “Give ‘Em Hell, Kid” could be considered a deep cut on the album, ironically when it is the second track on the record. Pace and tempo is a massive factor for the album. It’s not something you stick on to relax to, it gets you pumped. Each song has melody that sets the pace where the drums and guitars follow suit. “Give ‘Em Hell, Kid” sounds like someone is running behind you as you’re speeding and they yell over and over “GIVE EM HELL, DON’T STOP”. It’s a short track that lasts a little over 2 minutes, but the pace alone lingers with you for the next few songs (that also go just as quick).
Iconic hit here, iconic hits there!
Jumping further into the album, we have yet again another iconic hit from the band with “I’m not Okay, I promise”. If you’ve never seen the music video for this track, you should do yourself the favour and check it out on YouTube. It’s a beautiful relic of it’s time. Jocks versus Nerds, a tale as old as time. It’s another shining example of the mix lifts the original track. I found on “I’m Not Okay, I promise” was one of the more ailed tracks from the original mix. The guitar is one of the most prominent parts of the song, but the remaster was able to tastefully incorporate the full range of the instrumentals withhout removing the original attraction of the track.
A personal favourite track for me was “Thank You for the Venom“. It always felt like one of the more grand and epic tracks on the album. The riffs at the beginning as if laying out a red carpet for the rest of the track to walk on. The verses and chorus remain at the same tempo throughout. The chorus still finds a way to kick it up a notch. Gerard Way’s vocals shine at bringing up a track ever so slightly, and literally. I honestly cannot to my mind think of someone who has a vocal style similar to him. It’s quintessential “emo” to me.
“Hang Em ‘High ” is great example of this, which also features some new backing vocals on the bridge. Musically, MCR is unique in many ways, but Gerard’s melodies, lyrics and vocals bring something extra special to it all. The instrumentals themselves are of course amazing by themselves, and together they create something unforgettable.
Overall
21 years on, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge still rips. The additional live performances from BBC Radio One are fun little nods to have at the end I’d recommend you to listen to. It gives a fantastic insight into how purely talented the band is outside of the mixing and production process of their albums.
As delicate and easy as it is to make a mess out of the remixing of beloved songs and classics, I felt as though the newly mixed versions of the songs did a serviceable job. I believe it also helped improve and remove some of the flaws of the original album, whilst maintaining it’s identity and ideas. Which is the crucial point of this all. It’s a celebration and appreciation of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. An iconic album, that will be ingrained in the history of music. I have little to no problems of this re release. Only that I prefer the original cover, but that’s a great complaint to have.
