Gerard Way speaks about his regrets, MCR's brand new 'raw' direction and growing up with their fans.
My Chemical Romance will return to the studio this week to begin work on their as yet untitled fourth album.
In 2006, following the success of Green Day's majestically produced concept record American Idiot, MCR's similarly ambitious project The Black Parade became one of the year's most highly rated.
After a gruelling schedule, 2008 saw the band take a break. In the most part Gerard Way used the opportunity to complete the second series of his comic [The Umbrella Academy] while guitarist Frank Lero recorded with side-project Leathermouth.
"I ended up for some crazy reason getting off the road and within that first week of being off I didn't sit around on the couch I started writing more music," says MCR's lynchpin Gerard Way enthusiastically.
"I was pretty inspired so I do have a collection of stuff that I've written since being off the road," he says.
"This is our second time getting together and we're going to start banging material together and see what happens."
 My Chemical Romance performing live in London |
New direction
The Black Parade saw the New Jersey fivesome decked out in military garb and experiment with a widescreen punk sound.
"We haven't chosen a path yet," concedes Way of the new material already penned. "It's all over the map in terms of what's there."
"It's going to be less layered than Black Parade - I do expect it to be a little more raw.
"It's really nice to get a fresh perspective, we really needed to have that time off to live life and do some things and simply not have to tour or worry about making music."
Unlike its predecessor the band's next record - expected in late 2009 - will be put together in deliberately urgent fashion.
Gerard Way: "I'm hoping for something to happen in a very fast way, that feels very natural and that doesn't have a lot of noodling all over it.
"That's the goal, to get in there and have this rapid and visceral recording experience.
"To tour on it almost right away on it would be fun and not kind of drag it out like last time."
Looking back
This time there won't be any procrastinating.
The Black Parade - largely down to its own success - eventually took in three years of globe-straddling pyrotechnic-fuelled live shows, a period Way looks upon wearily.
"I'm finally getting to the point now where I can really look at that whole two years of my life," he says.
"I look back on it and there are a lot of things I'm really proud of and there are things I would have done differently.
"A lot of things I would have changed were maybe some aesthetic ones but you can't change that stuff.
 |  If we keep making a copy of the same record it's going to be no good for anybody. We have to change  Gerard Way, My Chemical Romance |
"I'm finally getting to the point now where I can listen to the record again and enjoy it - it took a while to be able to do that."
Indeed, with that experience onboard its follow up will be a markedly different, more grown-up affair.
"I'm not the same person to when I made the first record, second or Black Parade," he emphasises.
"Black Parade was three years ago. You change a lot in three years.
"If I try to write more music like that I'd be doing people a disservice. There may be some people that's just what they want but I don't think our fans do.
"We have to make a record that reflects how we've matured."
As far as the group is concerned change isn't an option then, but a necessity.
"If we keep making a copy of the same record it's going to be no good for anybody. We have to change.
"You hope that they [the fans] come along with you but they may not and you have to take the chance."
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