The circumstances that led to My Chemical Romance releasing a collection of scrapped album material, known now as Conventional Weapons, could’ve come under happier situations. However, shortly after the release of the album, that was spread out over five 7-inch records (called Number One, etc.) the band would shock their rabid fanbase and music fans alike by announcing their breakup on March 22nd, 2013. I vividly remember being cautiously excited when Conventional Weapons was first announced, because I’ve seen this formula all too well when bands suddenly release all of their previously scrapped material or extended B-sides before going their separate ways. MCR unfortunately would follow down this unfortunate path, and would not reunite until their announcement was made on October 31, 2019.

Conventional Weapons being observed as a compilation of B-sides, or scrapped material, is a bit unfair since this material flows well in the 10-song sequencing and many fans still consider this to be a “fifth” studio album from My Chemical Romance. The band has even continued to incorporate many of these songs into their setlist on their US tour, so one could argue that the band still believes strongly in these tracks as well. From the aggressive opening sequence of “Boy Division” to the closing bars of “Burn Bright,” MCR made sure their legacy was left intact on this record that has started to get more notoriety over time.

All truth be told, I wasn’t an immediate fan of this little New Jersey band called My Chemical Romance that came storming onto the emo scene with I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. If I remember right, the first song that I ever came across from MCR was an MP3 of “Vampires Will Never Hurt You,” which coincidentally was the first single to be released from the set. Whether the song caught me in a bad mood, or the fact that the emo/screamo/punk rock scene was exploding with more bands and content than my ears or brain could handle at that time, My Chemical Romance never really got its due justice in my regular music rotation. That all changed quickly when I went to Washington, DC’s legendary 9:30 Club in the summer of 2002 to check out The Used. Luckily for me, I made the wise decision to get there early and see if the openers had anything worth checking out. The very first band to take the stage had bad haircuts, fresh faces, and a lead singer rocking a studded belt while donning a leather jacket. Little did I know, I would be watching my future favorite front-man in Gerard Way, and my future all-time favorite band in My Chemical Romance grab the audience by the throat and never let go in the the short 30-minute set that featured songs from Bullets.