Why My Chemical Romance Broke Up, but Not the Members

It's a tragedy…a downright tragedy. The break up of My Chemical Romance––an iconic band that never lacked in passion and inspiration (and music)––seems like a bad dream that no one can wake up from no matter how hard we pinch ourselves.
Whether we like it or not, MCR has split up, according to their official website. However…there are many skeptics out there (me being one of them) who think there's a silver lining in this dark, bleak news. There are a few rather odd things about the break up that leaves us all wondering, "Is this really it?" Sure, most of us are in denial––deep denial––but I think there's a little more to it. So, those of you who are in denial, here's a couple facts that may feed that fire and create a glistening ray of hope.

First off, lets look at what MCR actually wrote on their website, announcing the end of the band:

"Being in this band for the past 12 years has been a true blessing. We've gotten to go places we never knew we would. We've been able to see and experience things we never imagined possible. We've shared the stage with people we admire, people we look up to, and best of all, our friends. And now, like all great things, it has come time for it to end. Thanks for all of your support, and for being part of the adventure.
My Chemical Romance"

All right. It's short, sweet, and to the point. But come on, they saved people's lives, they had millions and millions of fans truly dedicated to MCR. They could've probably put out an album of complete silence and we'd still buy it. Doesn't this seem a little too short? Over ten years they've been together and this is all they have to say? Hm…almost a slap in the face, but we're not mad. We're hungry, we're in denial.
According to countless sources, MCR was having a few issues with their recording contract. They were trapped in a binding contract that was limiting a lot of their creativity and vision for the band, so if they did anything under My Chemical Romance, it would be under this constricting label. The hope here is that the name "My Chemical Romance" may have ended (and that's a shame, because it's a pretty fantastic name), but it doesn't mean they can't start a band under a new name. Seriously, with a goodbye of six sentences, there's gotta be more than that!

Looking at Twitter, Gerard Way's picture (shown above) during this announcement was of Harry Houdini performing his infamous trick of escape. Some visual message embedded within there? I'm going to say yes, that and a whole lot of irony.

Also, the band had just recently hired a new drummer, Jarrod Alexander. It wouldn't make sense to hire a new drummer, then end the band. More importantly, there have been many rumors of MCR starting their next album (which would be their fifth album) in their new recording studio. So, they hire a new drummer, build their own recording studio, begin a new album, and call it quits in between? How strange. MCR has expressed in a few interviews themselves their excitement to start the next album, they even confirmed it to a few others. The last work they released was Conventional Weapons, which was a collection of old songs they spent more time on. Now as the songs were great, reminding us of MCR back then, it wasn't a huge concept album like we're used to. I'm sure there was a much bigger plan after the release of these songs.

Catching all of this, it makes it even harder to accept the fact that MCR has broken up. I believe the name has, however, I don't believe the members have. Sure, Frankie plans on picking up in other bands that way and Gerard may be focusing more on producing music and writing comic books the other way. This can be more of a break (like a vacation, not a split) if anything. An end to My Chemical Romance and a break from what they were suffocating under for such a long time.

We're grieving and denying, and maybe that's all that is going to happen: grieving and denying. Perhaps MCR or the members never will get back together and continue what they've done for over ten years. Maybe it's time they move on. Nothing good lasts forever, all good things have to come to an end some time. I know this much, though, none of their fans are ready to move on. The wound is still fresh and still festering. None of us will forget what the Black Parade did for us, what it opened our eyes to. How Danger Days got our blood pumping and our hearts beating.
So, yeah, I'm fine with driving on in this denial, as long as I get to stare at that small ray of hope down the stretch.

My Chemical Romance, you taught me so much. You did so much for me and so many other people. Life goes on. The Black Parade is dead, Danger Days is a comic book, but I have a feeling we're a very far ways from never seeing those four vigilante's faces together again––and I'm not talking about some reunion.

At this point, I guess all we can do is keep on hoping and keep on praying, while trying to find all of the answers in between.