My Chemical Romance - I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love

Artist: My Chemical Romance
Album: I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love
Release: July 2002
Record Label: Eyeball records
Rating: 8.5/10

Band Members:
Gerard Way - Vocals
Ray Toro - Guitar
Frank Iero - Guitar
Mikey Way - Bass
Matt Pellisier - Drums [Former band member]

MyChemicalRomance.com
Myspace.com/MyChemicalRomance



Tracklisting:
1. Romance
2. Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us
3. Vampires Will Never Hurt You
4. Drowning Lessons
5. Our Lady of Sorrows
6. Headfist for Halos
7. Skylines and Turnstiles
8. Early Sunsets Over Monroeville
9. This is the Best Day Ever
10. Cubicles
11. Demolition Lovers

I am by no means going to pretend that I'm not a MCR fan and that I don't love them unconditionally but I'm going to at least try and put that all on hold for the length of this review so you don't dismiss my thoughts completely. This album is gritty, raw and fresh sounding, but its clear it is a first outing for a band as it is still rough around the edges, something that with time and continued practice will perfect. The album as a whole is more a collection of tracks where you can truly hear the band finding their sound and testing the waters with a mix of out and out metal rage in 'Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us', and then switching to a more softer shade of rock ballad in 'Demolition Lovers'. Each track holds its own and isn't lost in the transition between the lighter and darker shades of the band that covers the album.

Stand out tracks have to be 'Our Lady of Sorrows' and 'Vampires will never hurt you' as the more heavier songs that hit you like a hammer to the head that you'd gladly feel over and over again if it feels this good, 'Headfist for Halos' which just comes at you like a punk rock runaway train with its pop rock sensibility and 'Skylines and Turnstiles'; the first song written for the album and the band describing the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy and coping with it. Their lyrics are contemporary and grasp you by the throat forcing you to take them in and the music is well formed and promising for their follow up.

It is by no means a perfect album, if it was then they would have been kings of the world a long time ago but it is a little gem that is just waiting to be found by every cross section of music fans out there. If you are one of the few that doubt MCR and think they are nothing more than a flavour of the month band then I ask you to buy this album and give them a real listen without the nay sayers and stereotypes of what it is to be a MCR fan or a MCR hater, just hear their roots and you can appreciate their evolution onto their follow up of 'Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge'. They didn't come out of no where, they've been waiting for you all along.

Review by Laura Heath

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