Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
Studio album by My Chemical Romance
Released	June 8, 2004 (2004-06-08) (see release history)
Recorded	October 2003 – January 2004, at Bay 7 Studios, Valley Village / Sparky Dark Studio, Calabasas, California
Genre	Alternative rock[1]
Length	39:36
Label	Reprise, Eyeball
Producer	Howard Benson
My Chemical Romance chronology
Like Phantoms, Forever (2002) Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004) Warped Tour Bootleg Series (2005)
Singles from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" Released: September 13, 2004 "Thank You for the Venom" Released: December 13, 2004 "Helena" Released: May 23, 2005 "The Ghost of You" Released: August 29, 2005

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge is the second studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance, released on June 8, 2004. This was the band's first album to be released through Reprise Records.^[2] The previous album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, was released through Eyeball Records.^[3] The album, as of October 2010, has sold 1,699,000 copies in the US.

Four successful singles were released from this album: "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)", "Thank You for the Venom", "Helena" and "The Ghost of You".^[4][5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Blender	link
IGN	(7.1/10) link
Robert Christgau	link
Rolling Stone	link
Stylus	(B) link

Johnny Loftus of Allmusic wrote that "with the aid of production major-leaguer Howard Benson, they've edited the slight rookie excesses of I Brought You My Bullets You Brought Me Your Love, resulting in a rewarding, pretty damn relentless product." The album was awarded 4 out of 5 stars by Loftus.^[6] Andy Greenwald of Blender thought that "Way’s gulping, gasping whine turns stompers like "I’m Not Okay (I Promise)" into after-school poetry". Greenwald praised the fact that Way integrated elements of his life into the songs on the album. He awarded the album 3 out of 5 stars.^[7] JR of IGN wrote that it was "a good album" but "isn't nearly as varied or daring as it could have been". He ranked the episode 7.1 out of 10.^[8] Kirk Miller of Rolling Stone said that "Revenge is a hell of a good time."^[9] Ian Mathers of Stylus Magazine wrote, that this album contained "twelve near-flawless songs and an interlude in thirty-nine minutes" and that "even when it lets up, [it] doesn’t let up".^[10] Robert Christgau declared Three Cheers a dud.^[11]

Response and band image

After the release of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, My Chemical Romance received an extremely positive response from mainstream communities, as shown by the popularity of their music videos on MTV, etc. However, they received some negative responses from the underground music communities. Factors that may have contributed to this shift in fan base are hypothesized to include: the band replacing Matt Pelissier with Bob Bryar on percussion for live shows succeeding their Summer Sonic performances; the band signing to a new label, Reprise Records; a change in image and style; and the fact that they had gained a measure of mainstream popularity.

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge has sold over 1 million copies to date in the U.S. and has been certified platinum by the RIAA.^[12] It has also been certified Double Platinum in Canada, Platinum in the UK and Gold in Ireland, Chile^[13] and Argentina. In addition, a vinyl version of the album was released December 16, 2008. Unlike their previous album, this does contain the Parental Advisory label.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by My Chemical Romance. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Helena"	3:22
2.	"Give 'Em Hell, Kid"	2:18
3.	"To the End"	3:01
4.	"You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison"	2:53
5.	"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"	3:08
6.	"The Ghost of You"	3:23
7.	"The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You"	3:37
8.	"Interlude"	0:57
9.	"Thank You for the Venom"	3:41
10.	"Hang 'Em High"	2:47
11.	"It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Fucking Deathwish"	3:30
12.	"Cemetery Drive"	3:08
13.	"I Never Told You What I Do for a Living"	3:51

• Track 11 is commonly censored as "It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Deathwish"

Japanese DVD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" (music video; dialogue)
2.	"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" (music video; performance)
3.	"Thank You for the Venom" (live performance)
4.	"Helena" (live performance)
5.	"Give 'Em Hell, Kid" (live performance)
6.	"The Ghost of You" (live performance)
7.	"You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" (live performance)
8.	"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" (live performance)

B-sides
No.	Title	Appeared on	Length
1.	"Bury Me in Black" (Japanese version bonus track; demo)	Japanese edition, "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)", Life on the Murder Scene	2:37
2.	"Jack the Ripper" (live; originally by Morrissey)	"Thank You for the Venom"	4:02
3.	"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" (radio edit)	"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"	3:16
4.	"You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" (live from BBC Radio 1 Lock Up session)	"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"	2:51
5.	"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" (live from MTV $2 Bill)	"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"	3:24
6.	"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" (live from Sessions@AOL)	"Helena", Life on the Murder Scene	3:06
7.	"You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" (live from Sessions@AOL)	"Helena", Life on the Murder Scene	3:10
8.	"Helena" (live from the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey)	"Helena"	4:14
9.	"The Ghost of You" (faded ending)	"The Ghost of You"	3:16
10.	"Helena" (live from San Diego on June 30, 2005)	"The Ghost of You", Warped Tour Bootleg Series	4:22
11.	"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" (live from San Diego on June 30, 2005)	"The Ghost of You", Warped Tour Bootleg Series	2:59
12.	"Cemetery Drive" (live from Las Cruces on June 28, 2005)	"The Ghost of You", Warped Tour Bootleg Series	2:58

Chart performance

Charts

Chart (2004)	Peak Position
Australian ARIA Albums Chart	38
Austrian Albums Chart	73
German Albums Chart	57
Irish Albums Chart	36
Japanese Albums Chart	73
New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart	30
UK Albums Chart	34
U.S. Billboard 200	28

Singles

Year	Song	Peak chart positions
		US	US Mod [14]	US Main [14]	UK [15]	NZ [16]	AUS [17]
2004	"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"	86	4	—	19	38	65
	"Thank You for the Venom"	—	—	—	71	—	—
2005	"Helena"	33	11	—	20	27	78
	"The Ghost of You"	84	9	38	27	—	—

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalogue
Australia	April 11, 2005	Reprise, Eyeball	CD	9362486152
Japan	July 22, 2004			WPCR11890
	January 26, 2005		CD+DVD	WPZR30075
	June 24, 2009		CD	WPCR13504
United Kingdom	September 3, 2004			9362486152
United States	June 8, 2004			486152
	December 16, 2008		12" vinyl	148615

Personnel

Band Frank Iero – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Matt Pelissier – drums Ray Toro – lead guitar, backing vocals Gerard Way – lead vocals Mikey Way – bass guitar

Additional musicians Bert McCracken – additional vocals on "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" Keith Morris – additional vocals on "Hang 'Em High" Rinat – additional vocals on "The Ghost of You" Howard Benson – 1958 Hammond B3

Production Produced by Howard Benson and Mike Plotnikoff Engineered by Eric Miller Mixed by Rich Costey (1, 2, 5, 6) and Howard Benson Mastered by Tom Baker, at Precision Mastering, Hollywood, California Pro Tools and programming by Paul DeCarlli Drum tech by Jon Nicholson, at Drum Fetish Guitar tech by Keith Nelson A&R by Craig Aaronson Management by Brian Schechter Production coordination by Matthew Griffen and Dana Childs

Design Artwork by Gerard Way and Mark Holley Photography by Justin Borucki

References

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r693418
2. ^ "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge by My Chemical Romance". Rhapsody. http://www.rhapsody.com/mychemicalromance/threecheersforsweetrevenge. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
3. ^ "I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love by My Chemical Romance". Rhapsody. http://www.rhapsody.com/mychemicalromance/ibroughtyoumybulletsyoubroughtmeyourlove. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
4. ^ "My Chemical Romance: Singles and EPs (Page 1)". MSN. http://music.msn.com/music/artist-albums/my-chemical-romance/?gtm=3&si3=1&ipp=25. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
5. ^ "My Chemical Romance: Singles and EPs (Page 2)". MSN. http://music.msn.com/music/artist-albums/my-chemical-romance/?gtm=3&si3=26&ipp=25. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
6. ^ Loftus, Johnny. "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge: Review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r693418. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
7. ^ Greenwald, Alan. "Emo goes to Broadway on New Jersey rockers’ histrionic second album". Blender. http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2561. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
8. ^ "My Chemical Romance — Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge". IGN. 2005-09-20. http://uk.music.ign.com/articles/652/652354p1.html. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
9. ^ Miller, Kirk (2004-07-08). "Album Reviews: My Chemical Romance". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/mychemicalromance/albums/album/6087106/review/6185205/three_cheers_for_sweet_revenge. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
10. ^ Mathers, Ian (2004-08-19). "My Chemical Romance: Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge". Stylus Magazine. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/my-chemical-romance/three-cheers-for-sweet-revenge.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
11. ^ Christgau, Robert. "My Chemical Romance". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=5571&name=My+Chemical+Romance. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
12. ^ RIAA certifications for My Chemical Romance
13. ^ Maira, Manuel (2007). "My Chemical Romance pone a Chile en su agenda". La Tercera (Santiago de Chile). "De las dos mil copias vendidas de su álbum debut, [I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love] (2002) pasaron al status de oro -7.500 discos- con sus dos siguientes entregas: Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge (2004)..." 
14. ^ ^{a b} "Artist Chart History - My Chemical Romance". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=489806&model.vnuAlbumId=1144893. Retrieved 2008-07-09. 
15. ^ "everyHit.com - UK Top 40 Chart Archives". everyHit. http://www.everyhit.com/searchsec.php. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
16. ^ "My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade". New Zealand Charts. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=My+Chemical+Romance&titel=The+Black+Parade&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-07-09. 
17. ^ "My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (album)". ARIA. http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=My+Chemical+Romance&titel=Three+Cheers+For+Sweet+Revenge&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-08-13.