HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys – My Chemical Romance
“Look alive, sunshine…” the first words spoken by narrator Dr Death Defying, the DJ and guide to this new world pop-punk icons MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE crafted for their fans and listeners alike. This concept, different to their previous record, The Black Parade, was in a post-apocalyptic California where the band are rebellious freedom fighters against the Better Living Industries corporation set in 2019. Now, in 2025, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys has continued to delight fans old and new to MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, even with the visually and audibly different concept to their previous work.
With the band reuniting in 2019 and including a number of the songs on their setlist at their comeback shows, the 15th anniversary of this album should be celebrated with an exploration of the songs, the story, and the crafting of this world the band made in music and in comic form.
The Black Parade was a massive album with an even bigger tour to go along with it, enacting the concept and lyrics from the huge rock opera concept they produced. Once the last leg of the tour was complete and questions of the next record came flooding in, the members all agreed to have an opposite approach for their music: no concepts, fun, and much more simple stripped back sound. However, the album they made didn’t satisfy them creatively so, with the blessing from their label, the band shelved that album and started over with work that they all felt was not holding them back.
Even so, a few of the songs from the shelved album were brought into the new concept and re-recorded once the plan for Danger Days came together, a vibrant story set in a post-apocalyptic California. As vocalist Gerard Way studied to be a comic book artist before the band was formed, he created a companion comic series alongside the album, expanding on the story the album depicts, including their characters of Party Poison, Jet-Star, Fun Ghoul, and The Kobra Kid, each represented in the music videos by the band members, Gerard Way, Ray Toro, Frank Iero, and Mikey Way respectively.
Musically, it’s the opposite to the goth/emo rock the band were known for, instead going in a lighter pop-punk sound. However, the lyricism was still as biting as ever, with Na Na Na, the album’s first single, describing the setting but also standing against the commercialism in the US at the time, with the enemy of the story being a company called Better Living. This, coinciding with the themes of rebellion, nihilism, control, and violence made for a loud and bombastic way to kick off the album that turned everything up to 11 as it coated the listener in neon colours and shredding guitars.
This exploration of pop style continues throughout the album, especially with the singles like Sing, Planetary (Go!), and more, keeping up with the lyrical themes of the concept throughout of facing adversity, defying the odds, and rallying together against the norm. These themes have been a staple within MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE’s albums, and it was welcomed by the fanbase as well, as the singles and even a number of the album tracks became fan favourites and included on the band’s future setlists.
In addition to another tour to promote the album, The World Contamination Tour, the music was also included in various media. For example, Na Na Na was included in The Sims 3 Late Night expansion, and Sing was covered on the TV show, Glee. From the beginning of the album to the last, each song became engrained within the fanbase and outside in public opinion. With critics giving mostly positive reviews, the sales of the album were successful, going gold in Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and the US.
Whilst Danger Days is, at the time of writing, is the last album released, and the last before the band disbanded between 2013 and 2019, it’s still as beloved as the rest of MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE’s discography, despite the differences in music and imagery. Even the final track, Vampire Money, whilst never a single, has gone down in infamy due to the lore behind the song connected to the Twilight film series. Overall, the story of the Fabulous Killjoys is still one fondly remembered, even 15 years on, and Danger Days deserves to still be celebrated within MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE’s excellent library of music.
Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys was originally released on November 22nd, 2010, via Reprise Records.
Like MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE on Facebook.