Goth and bothered

Ray Toro seems remarkably relaxed for a man who could be forgiven for thinking that the world, or at least a hefty portion of it, is against him.

My Chemical Romance, the band he has played guitar for since frontman Gerard Way watched the Twin Towers fall on his way to work in New York and set out to change the world, have been inescapable over the past year. A lot of people love MCR, a lot of people don’t. The latter have a habit of throwing things at them – most recently during the Download festival in the UK.
“I think that was more a result of last year at Reading when we ended up playing after Slayer and tons of their fans were there, who were probably drunk and having a good time,” says Toro. “They just wanted to express themselves and decided to throw shit at us. At least at Download it wasn’t stemming from those emotions, it was more just that people thought they were supposed to do it. It was very little and then it just stopped.”
In fact, you sense that he might almost enjoy it.
“For us Reading was a victory. We knew there was a negative vibe but we huddled together backstage and said, expect to have things thrown at you but don’t let it stop you doing what you love to do. That’s the best answer. I have no hatred for anyone; they’re just expressing their opinion. I’d much rather be loved and hated than no-one give a shit. Either way, you’re in people’s minds. We’re obviously causing a reaction and that’s cool.”
Clearly, MCR are not afraid to stick their necks out, in terms of the music they play, the way they present themselves and the honest approach they take to everything. For instance, they’ve always been happy to discuss Way’s battles with alchohol.
“I’m not really sure how none of us picked up on it. During that time everybody was drinking, some of us just more heavily than others. You’re fucked up enough not to notice what else is going on but I’ll always regret that I didn’t see it earlier, that he had to get to the state that he was in before he had to quit.”
Way came through to the other side, although it took a suicide attempt to really bring things into focus, and now My Chemical Romance find themselves the unlikeliest of mainstream stars thanks to their impressive Welcome To The Black Parade album, a record of breadth and imagination that brings to mind the likes of Queen.
“For whatever reason, we were branded as bringing emo to the masses, but it’s just a name that the media latched onto. There’s a lot of diverse music within that category. To me it’s become a meaningless genre. You may be able to define the style in which people dress, but the music has nothing to do with that. Like everything else, the media tries to find the next big trend, but I’ve always just considered us a rock band.”

Welcome To The Black Parade is out now on Warners.