Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys – My Chemical Romance

New Jersey’s native sons are back. After four years, My Chemical Romance have crawled out of their dark mourning period that they explored on their last album, “The Black Parade,” and have returned with a new concept on “Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.” The album is a snarling synth-fueled call to action. Along with the concept comes a new hair style for lead singer, Gerard Way. His hair is now dyed a blazing red to match the fiery lyrics and stomping melodies of the new album.

This time, the band has adopted the alter ego of the Fabulous Killjoys. They have quirky codenames like Party Poison, Fun Ghoul, Jet Star, and the Kobra Kid. They are a group of vigilantes in California fighting against an evil corporation called Better Living Industries in the year 2019. It’s a post apocalyptic cowboy story even Clint Eastwood couldn’t make up.

The songs are some of MCR’s most fun but also their most commanding. “Planetary (GO!)” could practically be played in a dance club, but the lyrics obviously show the defiance and contempt for celebrity culture. Way shouts over heavy beat: “Ladies and gentlemen/Truth is now acceptable/Fame is now injectable.” The lead single “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)” is so upbeat, it’s hard to forget the song is a rallying call for an army, taunting any and all authority.

Produced by MCR and frequent collaborator Rob Cavallo (Green Day’s “American Idiot,” Paramore’s “Brand New Eyes”), Danger Days is also one giant kiss on the lips to glam rock. It is unmistakable from a futuristic concept, the David Bowie and Marc Bolan name drops, and the introduction of “Vampire Money” which emulates the opening of Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz.“ However, Danger Days has more grit and fury that is characteristic of MCR’s music but with all the mysticism of glam rock. Each song has the feel of an anthem, commanding its listeners to “raise your voice/every single time they try and shut your mouth.” The band wants to lead a battle against the oppressors, the powerful, and the conformists; enemies, which are never truly defeated. But it’s not always about winning according to the Killjoys; “This ain’t about all the friends you made/But the graffiti they write on your grave/Who gives a damn if we lose the war?”

A lot has changed for the boys since they first blew onto the scene in 2004. For one, they aren’t boys anymore. Most of the band is in their thirties and already have families. The quintet has also become a quartet with the departure of their longtime drummer, Bob Bryar (who still gets song writing credit for many of the songs in the album) but the guys managed to pull through and release an album that, not only shows a huge departure from their goth/emo image, but shows a new level of maturity and growth in their music, without sacrificing any of the hell-raising or inspiration their fans love them for.