Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge by My Chemical Romance
In preparation for seeing My Chemical Romance on tour in October, I’ve been re-listening to all of their albums. At the end of July I began their sophomore album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, and in August the album was still on repeat. When I was angry. When I was sad. When I needed energy, something to pump me up. And when I wanted to listen to good fucking music.
Long saddled with the “emo” label, My Chemical Romance has maintained their legacy because their foundations were always strong–“emo” was a surface-level description of their dark lyrics and goth look. But at the heart of the band is excellent rock music, passion and theater combined, and a devotion to narrative. Revenge is about a man who makes a deal with the Devil: if he gives the Devil a thousand souls, he can return from the dead and back to his lover. Though this concept is too complex for a clear narrative at times, the themes remain present and potent: loss, revenge, heartbreak, death, and how these weave together and influence one’s identity.
These themes are heightened by Way’s vocal performance. His singing–especially when it escalates to screaming–is so passionate that it becomes scraped and raw. At times the screaming becomes howling, becomes desolate wailing (“The Ghost of You”), or even breaks down to become incomprehensible noise (“I Never Told You What I Did for a Living”). That is the level of emotion, where words can no longer suffice, where sound–including the instrumental–becomes the main form of communication. But this emotional performance is so strong because it is exactly that: a performance. In “You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison,” the theatrics are aplenty: the sudden scream in “Am I losing myself?” that adds emphasis to the fear or the high-pitched giggle at the end that caps off the narrator’s delirium. The eye for detail is in every part of the album.
But this focus on theatrics and emotion is what got them the “emo” label in the first place, and elides the musical talent of Frank Iero, Ray Toro, and Mikey Way. Take, for example, any of the bridges or breakdowns where Toro’s guitar solos shine. “You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison” features a jaunty drum that progressively gets more dramatic as the song moves from bravado to fear. In “The Ghost of You,” the solemn, haunting guitar in the verses and the fiercer explosion in the choruses express the same loss and despair. And to say that “Hang ‘Em High” is a Western fusion only scratches the surface: the guitars and drums set such a fast, rollicking pace that it forces Way to keep up with the tempo. Halfway through “I Never Told You What I Did for a Living,” the panicked, stuttering build-up of guitars suddenly snaps and breaks as it forgoes the standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure.
By the end of the album, even as it ends in tragedy, Way promises us, “We’ll love again, we’ll laugh again / We’ll cry again, and we’ll dance again.” You understand that the deal was a failure; you can feel the tormented anguish at the loss. It is truly heartbreaking–and yet so magnificent in sound and scope that it is also sweet. It’s no wonder that I return to this album again and again.
–Peyton
The Raid: Redemption (2011) written and directed by Gareth Evans
In perpetual anticipation for John Wick: Chapter 4, I finally got around to watching the first two installments of The Raid series. These Indonesian action thrillers showcase beautifully choreographed action sequences with characters using guns, fists, feet, and anything else within reach, all with the exciting background of criminal underworlds and power-hungry kingpins. The Raid series is definitely not for the faint of heart; it is incredibly gory, so keep that in mind before going in!
The first movie, The Raid: Redemption (2011), takes place almost entirely inside a single, multi-level apartment complex (I can talk forever about how much I adore the “trapped in one building” trope). The film follows a paramilitary squad conducting a raid inside the building in an effort to arrest the landlord of the complex, a notorious crime lord. I love the structure of this film. It begins with this incredibly confident team of soldiers, prepped and loaded to storm this building. However, the apartment complex very quickly becomes a house of horrors for the squad. The landlord fights back with his own arsenal and manpower, which flips the mission completely upside down, igniting a war inside the complex that the squad did not anticipate. The squad finds themselves trapped in this building with the tenants of the building out for blood as well, making nowhere, no corner or room, safe for them. As the 20-man squad whittles down to only a handful of very wounded soldiers, our main character, Rama, becomes more central. As he is forced to continue ascending the building, he discovers terrible secrets about his leadership and finds familiar faces in unlikely places.
In the movie there are these incredible hallway sequences that can feel claustrophobic at times, but the use of a handheld camera and minimal cutting allows the audience to see the space that Rama has and how he utilizes the space to his advantage. The fighting moves from hallway to room, to hallway to dead end, to another room, so seamlessly, and it really does leave you breathless at times. The action is also incredibly visceral, and while I am squeamish when it comes to medical injuries and broken bones, the graphic violence is honestly thrilling within the context of characters fighting tooth and nail for their lives. I definitely recommend the first installment of The Raid series if you want to see what John Wick ripped off entirely (I am kidding; I think both bring excellent ideas to the table). I am still very much riding the high of this movie!
–Elise
End Notes: Photo credit for Three Cheers album.
