On March 22, 2013, My Chemical Romance dropped a bombshell: after 12 years and 4 albums, they were breaking up. The announcement was entirely unexpected by the fanbase. Prior to the break up, the last bit of information made public was that the band was in the studio, working on a fifth album. The actual reality of the situation, though, was much darker. For years, frontman and singer Gerard Way struggled with addiction to both alcohol and prescription medications. In 2004, he went to rehab and left his vices behind. However, in 2010 while touring in support of My Chemical Romance’s fourth album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, Way fell back into his old habits and began drinking heavily again. Way described in an interview with NME, “I was self-medicating again to get through, and I’d forgotten how miserable that made me. It took me to the dark place again, but there was more at stake this time. I started to face the hypothetical reality of [daughter] Bandit not having a father. I started taking that seriously, thinking, ‘I want her to have a dad. A guy that’s present. Because one way or another – either by death or by asylum, she’s gonna be fatherless if I keep this up.’” He concluded his decision to break the band up with the catalyst decision of, “Break the band or break me.” Thus, My Chemical Romance ended.

Fast forward to 2014. After months of radio silence from all the former My Chemical Romance members, news broke: Mikey Way, bassist and brother to Gerard Way, was releasing new music. Electric Century was formed by Way, who plays rhythm guitar, keyboards, and provides backing vocals for the project, and filled out with members David Debiak on lead guitar and vocals, and Justin Siegel on bass guitar, drums, and percussion. The largely electronic group, which was a far deviation from the thrashy rock of My Chemical Romance, released their first single “I Lied” on February 25, 2014. On January 13, 2015, the group released their second single titled “Let You Get Away”. Electric Century is currently working on releasing their first studio album sometime in 2015.

The next member to come out with a new project was Frank Iero, former guitarist, under the moniker Frnkiero andthe Cellabration. Iero had previously released a number of songs under his own name: a short two-track EP called For Jamia…; a track, “This Song is a Curse”, for the Frankenweenie soundtrack, and a contribution to the Fadeaway Records Benefit Compliation, Friends, named “2.5mg Just Ain’t Enough For Me”. However, the Cellabration project was the first expected full length release from any of the old members. Two songs were released as singles- “Weighted” and “Joyriding”. Both tracks were premiered on BBC Radio One, and offered fans a chance to hear the rough, underground-punk style Iero was aiming for. “Weighted” was brought to life with a music video which was released on August 4, 2014, only 22 days before the full album was released. On August 26, 2014, Frnkiero andthe Cellabration released its debut album, Stomachaches, to critical acclaim. Iero wrote, recorded, and sang all of the songs on the album himself. A touring, and then permanent band lineup, was filled by Matt Olsson on drums, Rob Hughes on bass, Evan Nestor on guitar, and finally Iero on guitar and vocals. A music video for “Joyriding” appeared on September 4, and the Cellabration immediately began playing shows as support for longtime friends and bands, The Used and Taking Back Sunday. As soon as this tour ended, they dashed over to the United Kingdom as support for Mallory Knox. Frnkiero andthe Cellabration is set to head out on their first headlining tour starting in February, in Mexico City, and ending in April in Asbury Park, NJ with support from Modern Chemistry and the Homeless Gospel Choir. The group is then embarking on a quick UK jaunt until the end of April. For more details, go to frank-iero.com.

The third person to announce new music was former frontman Gerard Way.  In May 2014, Way announced that he signed to Warner Bros Records and was working on a new album.  The first single to debut from the album was “Action Cat” in June.  Way then played his first solo shows at Reading and Leeds Festival in England.  In August, he released another single, “No Shows”, as well as a music video.  Finally, on September 30, 2014, Way released Hesitant Alien, his brit-pop, glam-rock album.  It was a hit, and was named Album of the Year by Alternative Press.  The singles also garnered airplay on Sirius XM radio stations.  Way went on a short album support tour in October 2014.  He then did a quick stint in the UK, and is planning on returning to Europe in January and February, and is playing Soundwave Festival in Australia in March.  Way is also scheduled to play the Boston Calling Festival in May.  In addition to releasing music, Way has been working on creating comics and zines.  He released a zine, also named Hesitant Alien, to detail the behind-the-scenes of creating his album.  Way is currently working on a fourth installation of his comic, Umbrella Academy, which is also being optioned for a movie adaptation from Universal Studios.  To stay up to date, check out Way’s posts on gerardway.com.

The final member to come out with new material was lead guitarist Ray Toro. In August 2014, after nearly two years of complete silence, Toro announced that he was entering the studio to work on a new album with Doug McKean. A few rough samples came out on Toro’s Soundcloud, featuring him on all instruments as well as vocals. The recording process is being kept on the down-low as of now with only short Vines as teasers. However, Toro did release his first song, “For the Lost and the Brave” on January 1, 2015 in honor of the death of Leelah Alcorn. For more information, go to raytoro.com.