Thursday, May 12th, without warning or promotion, My Chemical Romance dropped their first new song in 8 years. After announcing a tour in late 2019, shortly before the pandemic put a stop to live music, they have returned to being an active band once again. After years of inactivity and radio silence, many fans are elated to witness My Chemical Romance make their return to music.
“The Foundations of Decay”, which clocks in at exactly 6 minutes, opens with the scratchy guitars and soft piano melody, which are both key musical aspects of past albums. Gerard Way’s vocals have reverb behind them that sounds very similar to his solo music. As the song progresses, there are guitar breakdowns and emotional choruses, touching on what My Chemical Romance does best: creating an emotional song with power and passion behind it.
Lyrically, the song touches on themes of grief and the mixed feelings that come with change. “‘We lay in the foundations of decay” can be interpreted as moving forward after a period of inactivity or lack of motivation. “And we would build towers of our own only to watch the roots corrode” is about trying to make an impact on the world and watching it not turn out the way it was intended.
The song pulls influences directly from past albums such as “Danger Days”, “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge”, and “The Black Parade”, but does so in a way that the single does not sound like anything they’ve done before. The new single is the perfect way to kick off their 2022 tour dates, which begin in the UK on May 16th. The surprising nature of the song’s release was also a fun way to get fans excited for this new era of music.
