Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge


Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge is the second studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance, released on June 8, 2004, by Reprise Records. With this album, the band produced a more polished sound than that of their 2002 debut I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. It was the band's first release to feature rhythm guitarist Frank Iero on all tracks, as well as the final release to feature drummer Matt Pelissier, who would later be replaced by Bob Bryar.
The album received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success for both the band and the Reprise label. The record produced three singles—"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)", "Helena", and "The Ghost of You". It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America less than a year after its release, and has sold over three million copies in the United States. Em Casalena of American Songwriter stated that the album is "essential listening" for 2000s emo.
In April 2025, a "deluxe edition" of the album—featuring all of the original tracks remixed and four new, previously unreleased live records—was announced. It was released on June 6, 2025.

Music and lyrical themes

Musically, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge has been described as emo, alternative rock, pop punk, post-hardcore, punk rock, and pop rock. While I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love was considered "a particularly strident entry in that shifty genre of bands tortuously slamming together elements of emo, hardcore, and even metal", Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge "both showcased their songwriting skills and gave them much-deserved attention". Moving away from the "screamo parts" and "the more complicated structures" of their first record in favor of a sound that "skirts the line between pop punk and edgy, theatrical, emo" while being "strongly influenced by hardcore punk", Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge has been variously compared to The Misfits, AFI, and Thursday.
Lead singer Gerard Way has referred to the first single "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" as a "self-help pop song" while also being called "a surging piece of emo-pop with a hook as ridiculously catchy as it was ridiculous" and a "moving anthem for the young and depressed" by AllMusic and Rolling Stone respectively. This single went on to be nominated for the Kerrang! award for best single and reached number 86 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The album opener and second single "Helena" has been referred to as an "album-highlight and smash-hit". Gerard has claimed that the song "shaped what the album is about" and "revealed their dark side" in comparison to the first single. Its lyrics mourn the loss of Gerard and Mikey's grandmother, Elena Lee Rush, and was their first entry into the top 40.

Album concept

According to Way, the album can be understood as a "pseudo-conceptual horror story", that details:
...the story of a man and a woman who are separated by death in a gunfight and he goes to hell only to realize by the devil telling him that she's still alive. The devil says he can be with her again if he brings the devil the souls of a thousand evil men and the man agrees to do it, and so the devil hands him a gun. That was the idea behind the concept, the record ended up being much more about loss and real life than anything, so I would say it's a good split.

Artwork

The cover art, designed by Way himself and titled "Demolition Lovers II", was inspired by René Magritte's painting The Lovers. Way drew a sketch to be used as a reference by a photographer, but the sketch became the basis of the cover art instead.

Reception and legacy

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." Andy Greenwald of Blender noted Way's integration of elements of his life into the songs on the album and remarked that his "gulping, gasping whine turns stompers like 'I'm Not Okay ' into after-school poetry". Ian Mathers of Stylus Magazine felt that the album contained "twelve near-flawless songs and an interlude in thirty-nine minutes" and that "even when it lets up, doesn't let up", while Kirk Miller of Rolling Stone described it as "a hell of a good time." IGN critic JR was more reserved in his praise, calling Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge "a good album" that nonetheless "isn't nearly as varied or daring as it could have been". In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave it a "dud" rating.
Em Casalena of American Songwriter wrote that the album is "a golden record in emo rock history." NME listed the album as one of "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood the Test of Time". The album was ranked at number 260 on Spins "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years " list. Rock Sound wrote that the album is "an era-defining release", striking "a nerve both musically and emotionally with millions around the world." Andrew Sacher of BrooklynVegan noted that the album's tracks "are so embedded in the DNA of pop culture that even non-MCR-fans tend to know every word."
In 2016, Rolling Stone declared Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge the tenth greatest emo album out of 40, saying that "Three Cheers wasn't just a concept record, it was a concept sequel, expanding the small-screen story of 2002's I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love into a big-budget production, complete with ruminations on life and death biting kiss-offs and a series of dramatic music videos that made them MTV darlings."
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge has sold over three million units in the United States and has been certified 3× platinum by the RIAA as of December 2017. By February 2006, the album had sold over 1,356,000 copies in the US and 3 million copies to date. It has also been certified quadruple platinum in Canada, double platinum in the United Kingdom, platinum in New Zealand, and gold in Argentina, Australia, Chile, Ireland, and Mexico.

Accolades

Track listing

;Standard edition
;Japanese special edition DVD
;Deluxe edition bonus tracks

Personnel

My Chemical Romance
Additional musicians
Production
  • Howard Benson – producer, mixing
  • Rich Costey – mixing on "Helena" and "Give 'Em Hell, Kid", "I'm Not Okay " and "The Ghost of You"
  • Mike Plotnikoff – recording, editing
  • Eric J. Miller – additional engineering
  • Paul Decarli – Pro Tools and programming
  • Jon Nicholson – drum tech
  • Keith Nelson – guitar tech
  • Tom Baker – mastering
  • Matt Griffen – production coordinator
  • Dana Childs – production coordinator
  • Mark Holley – design assistance

    Charts

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
position
US Top Tastemaker Albums 23

Chart Peak
position

Chart Peak
position
Greek Albums 20
US Top Alternative Albums 6
US Top Tastemaker Albums 19

Chart Peak
position
Argentine Albums 7
Croatian International Albums 5
Dutch Vinyl Albums 16
German Rock/Metal Albums 8
Spanish Vinyl Albums 25
US Top Rock & Alternative Albums 1

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Portuguese Albums 98
US Top Alternative Albums 27
US Top Rock Albums 51

Chart Position
US Top Rock & Alternative Albums 80

Certifications

Release history