“The main thing that we’ve always wanted to do was to save people’s lives,” Gerard Way told us of My Chemical Romance’s mission statement in 2004. Filled with high stakes and dark comedy, their second album, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, does exactly that. Its heady concept, told through a series of thrashing, spellbinding songs, remains just as beloved today as a pair of star-crossed lovers fight to bring the devil the souls of 1,000 evil men to be reunited in the afterlife. With the band celebrating a milestone anniversary — two decades, to be exact — this weekend, we asked our readers to vote on the best Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge songs of all time. Out of its 13 tracks, these are their top picks, ranked accordingly below.
Read more: Fan poll: 5 greatest My Chemical Romance songs of all time
5. “It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Fucking Deathwish”
Kicking off with a homage to Sandman, “It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Fucking Deathwish” details a relationship unraveling over time — and ultimately overcoming those circumstances. At this point in the story, the protagonist addresses his struggle with self-harm and apprehension about the deal that he made, but it dissolves when he promises to remember his lover in the afterlife regardless. (“When you go, just know that I will remember you/I’ve lost my fear of falling”). The band even played it for the first time since 2007 during their legendary Milton Keynes show a couple of years ago, which was simply epic.
4. “The Ghost of You”
“The Ghost of You” is a striking ballad that’s armed with an even more intense music video. Framed through the eyes of Gerard performing at a USO dance, he experiences flashbacks of a D-Day beach storm during World War 2 — which includes movie-level gunfights in which Mikey Way gets shot. It’s not hyperbolic in the least to say that Three Cheers changed lives, and “The Ghost of You” showed just how heartbreaking and imaginative the band could be as they began to soar to the upper echelon of the emo scene. It’s no wonder that readers voted it as a top Three Cheers track.
3. “I Never Told You What I Do for a Living”
“I Never Told You What I Do for a Living” concludes the album on a high note. The protagonist completes his deal with the devil — almost — but soon learns that the last person he must kill is, in fact, himself. Featuring a scratchy opening riff, Gerard’s vocals take different turns, sounding pleading, brutal, and completely haunting. Halfway through, the track gets intensely heavy, as if the band are finally unleashing all of the angst that’s been building. What’s also forever impressive is their balance between scrappy and clean-sounding — not just on this song but across the whole album.
2. “Cemetery Drive”
While “Cemetery Drive” isn’t as instantly recognizable as, say, “Helena” or “I’m Not Okay (I Promise),” our readers consider it an essential Three Cheers track. Gerard’s doomed, gruff vocals remain a highlight two decades later, buoyed by thrashy moments that stay melodic. The song is a total banger, reflective of the melding of emo and post-hardcore that they started on Bullets but sounding more mature — and doubles as an exceptional soundtrack for a date night in a graveyard, if that’s your vibe.
1. “Thank You for the Venom”
Our readers leaned toward the less popular songs for this one, and “Thank You for the Venom” came out on top. It’s classic MCR, featuring Gerard’s bright belts, fast riffs, and evocative lyricism that only this band could write. “The story [of Three Cheers] is a metaphor for what you’re willing to go through for either somebody else or to prove yourself,” Way told us. “It’s almost like your revenge is living your life the way you want and doing exactly what you want to do.” Indeed, “Thank You for the Venom” embodies that sentiment brilliantly, encouraging you to take the poison and use it to become stronger — which is ultimately the greatest form of revenge.
