40 Fun Facts About Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

What kind of ceremony fills the church in My Chemical Romance's video for "Helena", complete with a dance routine?

A funeral for a young woman is the setting, and fans of the band were invited to the shoot to play the mourners. Later the dead woman rises from her coffin and dances down the aisle.

"Helena" by My Chemical Romance mourns which relative of Gerard and Mikey Way, who died as a tour ended?

Their grandmother, Elena, died just as the band came off tour in late 2003, and Gerard Way poured his guilt at missing her final year into the song.

Which war film, along with Memphis Belle, inspired the D-Day scenes in My Chemical Romance's "The Ghost of You" video?

Saving Private Ryan gave Gerard Way the template for the invasion scenes, in which his brother's character is shot dead. The director filmed it like a period piece to keep it authentic.

What covers the couple in Gerard Way's sketch on the cover of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

Blood covers the pair in a drawing made only as a reference for a photographer, until the label saw it and asked to use the sketch itself.

Which 2006 concept album was My Chemical Romance's follow-up to Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

The Black Parade took the arena-rock hints of "The Ghost of You" much further, and it debuted at number two in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Rolling Stone's 2016 list of the 40 greatest albums in which genre ranked Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge tenth?

Emo was the genre, and the magazine praised the album as a concept sequel that blew up the small-screen story of the band's debut into a big-budget production.

While promoting Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, My Chemical Romance opened for which Californian punk trio in 2005?

Green Day were touring their rock opera American Idiot, which had come out on the same label a few months after My Chemical Romance's album.

In which US state did My Chemical Romance form and later hold the launch party for Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

New Jersey is the band's home, and 2,500 people came to the launch party at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville a month after the album's release.

Which instrument does Mikey Way, younger brother of singer Gerard Way, play on Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

Bass is Mikey Way's instrument, and he also gave the band its name after spotting an Irvine Welsh book while working in a bookshop.

Which objects do the dancers carry outside the church in the closing scene of My Chemical Romance's "Helena" video?

Umbrellas were a lucky touch: the rain in that final scene was not planned, but the crew felt it made the video look better.

Which producer, known for P.O.D.'s Satellite, oversaw Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

Howard Benson pushed the band toward bigger, more elaborate choruses, and asked whether they were willing to annoy their existing fans to make the best album they could.

Which Warner-owned label released My Chemical Romance's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

Reprise Records signed the band in August 2003, lifting them from a small independent to the label Frank Sinatra founded in 1960.

Which future director of The Amazing Spider-Man shot the video for every single from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

Marc Webb directed the clips for all three singles before making his feature debut with the romantic comedy 500 Days of Summer in 2009.

Which Wes Anderson film starring Jason Schwartzman inspired My Chemical Romance's video for "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"?

Rushmore was the look the band wanted, until the director suggested shaping the whole clip as a trailer for a film that does not exist.

Which singer of the Used screams on My Chemical Romance's "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison"?

Bert McCracken befriended Gerard Way when their bands toured together in 2003, and Way wrote the song about life on the road, likening him to a cellmate.

Which crew member for the Used became My Chemical Romance's drummer just after Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge came out?

Bob Bryar was hired without the band ever having heard him play, and was on stage with them within a week of Matt Pelissier's exit.

Which British band inspired the guitar solo and vocal harmonies of My Chemical Romance's "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"?

Queen were the model, and the album's producer later called the song the prototype for the Queen-style sound of the band's next album.

With which Chicago-area band did My Chemical Romance co-headline the Warped Tour in 2005?

Fall Out Boy shared top billing that summer, and their bassist Pete Wentz has called "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" his favourite My Chemical Romance song.

To which city did My Chemical Romance travel in early 2004 to record Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

Los Angeles was where pre-production alone ran to three weeks, longer than the single week the band had spent recording and producing their whole debut.

Which lead guitarist of My Chemical Romance acted as musical director while recording Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

Ray Toro took control of the album's composition, and his metal-leaning playing was set against the punk style of the band's other guitarist.

Which lawn game do My Chemical Romance's bullied misfit characters play in the video for "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"?

Croquet marks the band's characters out as preppy oddballs, who spend the video taking revenge on their tormentors with a string of pranks.

Which injury did My Chemical Romance's brand-new drummer play through while filming "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"?

A broken ankle did not keep him out of the shoot, a gamble he later called the riskiest thing the band had done, since he had yet to play a show with them.

Which Belgian surrealist's painting of a veiled, kissing couple inspired the Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge cover?

René Magritte painted his kissing pair in 1928 with white cloth over both faces, a barrier often read as love that can never be fulfilled.

"To the End" on Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge loosely retells A Rose for Emily, a short story by which author?

William Faulkner's 1930 story ends with townsfolk finding a long-dead suitor in Emily's locked bedroom, a fitting source for an album soaked in love and death.

The title of My Chemical Romance's "The Ghost of You" comes from a fake advert in which Alan Moore graphic novel?

Watchmen was a natural source for Gerard Way, a comic-book writer himself, who later founded an imprint at the same publisher, DC Comics.

In the World War II video for "The Ghost of You", My Chemical Romance perform at what kind of event?

A USO dance fills the verses, while the choruses cut to combat, a contrast the band also saw as a picture of their own gruelling touring schedule.

At which 2005 ceremony did My Chemical Romance's "Helena" clip earn five nominations but not a single win?

MTV Video Music Awards voters shortlisted it for Best Rock Video, Best Choreography and three more prizes, and the band played the song live at the ceremony.

Which 2006 live album and documentary set captured the Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge era?

Life on the Murder Scene spans a CD and two DVDs, and its cover restages the earlier album's artwork with real people.

The story of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge continues which closing song from My Chemical Romance's 2002 debut album?

Demolition Lovers ends with its outlaw couple dead; the sequel parts them between heaven and hell, to be reunited only if the man harvests the souls of a thousand men.

What does Gerard Way recite during the brief "Interlude" on Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

A prayer fills the track, which lasts under a minute and is the only one of the album's thirteen tracks that is not a full song.

Which Circle Jerks frontman guests on "Hang 'Em High" from My Chemical Romance's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

Keith Morris lends his hardcore bark to the album's cowboy-flavoured track, which stands in for a shoot-out in the record's loose storyline.

In the story of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, "Give 'Em Hell, Kid" takes the gunman to which American city?

New Orleans is one stop on a killing spree that also lands the man in jail, before he realises the last person he must kill is himself.

Which protective gear did My Chemical Romance pair with suits and red ties to promote Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

Bulletproof vests gave the tailored look a violent edge to match the album's story of a couple killed in a gunfight.

Which Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge track, aimed at critics, shares its name with a Gerard Way stage shirt?

Thank You for the Venom was a phrase the band already loved: it is printed inside the artwork of their debut album, released two years earlier.

Which track, sung by a drunk Gerard Way in the studio, was left off Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

Desert Song stayed in the vault until 2006, when it surfaced on a live compilation; Way called his drunken performance the worst take he ever did.

What object replaced the couple on the cover of the 2025 reissue of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

A rosary fronts the remixed edition, which carried the album to number 6 on the Billboard 200, well above the number 28 it reached on first release.

In early 2005 My Chemical Romance joined the Used on the first edition of which winter package tour?

Taste of Chaos was launched that winter by the founder of the Warped Tour as a cold-weather counterpart, with the same cheap tickets and festival format.

On which television show did My Chemical Romance's "Helena" video reach number one more than a dozen times?

Total Request Live counted down the day's ten most requested clips, chosen by viewers voting by phone or online.

A kiss during which party game reportedly inspired the prison-themed fourth track of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

Truth or dare is the game named by the band's biographer, who traces the song to a kiss between Gerard Way and its guest vocalist on tour.

Whose song Jack the Ripper did My Chemical Romance cover live on a 7-inch single from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge?

Morrissey's song filled the B-side of a promotional 7-inch issued the same day as the album, a single that later reached the UK chart.