When New Jersey rockers My Chemical Romance split up at the start of 2013, it came as a shock to the many people who’d expected the bands 5th album to drop later that year. After 12 successful yet also controversial years rising through the rock ranks, the Gerard Way-fronted five-piece called it a day. This announcement came shortly after the full release of their 10 track project, Conventional Weapons, comprising of older songs recorded and scrapped in 2009, which didn’t make it onto 2010 release Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.
With the breakup news being almost a year old by now, My Chemical Romance are set to release a greatest hits collection on March 25, titled May Death Never Stop You. The opening song on this career retrospective is the reflective and emotional Fake Your Death. It’s the final song ever to be released by the quintet, and it kicks off with downbeat piano chords before Way’s trademark (and unsurprisingly demure) vocals make way for handclap beats. The lyrics are really reflective of the split (“I choose to see, I walk away/I leave this place, the same today“), pretty much confirming that this song is a final send off for the legendary band. A scuzzy guitar solo features towards the end, before the song climaxes into an emotional and teary finale. It may not be as bombastic or grand as previous releases, but Fake Your Death is a perfect salute to a magnificent career.
4/5
