| The Foundations of Decay | |
| Cover: | My Chemical Romance - The Foundations of Decay.png |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | My Chemical Romance |
| Released: | May 12, 2022 |
| Length: | 6:00 |
| Label: | Reprise |
| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | Fake Your Death |
| Prev Year: | 2014 |
"The Foundations of Decay" is a song by American rock band My Chemical Romance. It is a six-minute long progressive rock, gothic rock, post-hardcore, and emo song that also incorporates elements from several other genres like doom metal and arena rock. The lyrics of the song mostly discuss the band's history, including its beginnings and events like the September 11 attacks. It was produced by Gerard Way, Ray Toro, and Doug McKean. The band's main lineup was joined by Jarrod Alexander and Jamie Muhoberac on drums and keyboard, respectively.
The song was released digitally on May 12, 2022, through Reprise without any prior announcement from the band. It was later released to mainstream rock radio on May 17 through Warner Records and made its live debut at the Eden Project that same day. The song received positive responses from critics and fans alike, with some considering the song to be among the best to release in 2022. The song also charted in several countries, reaching number 1 on the Rock & Metal chart in the United Kingdom and reaching 132 on the Billboard Global 200.
Several years after their breakup in 2013,[1] American rock band My Chemical Romance announced their reunion show on October 31, 2019, initially scheduled as a one-off event in Los Angeles on December 20, 2019.[2] Afterwards, the band subsequently scheduled further reunion shows worldwide, including a run of summer festival shows in mainland Europe, followed by a further announcement of a North American tour.[3] In June 2021, Gerard Way revealed in an interview that he was working on music with Doug McKean.[4]
With assistance from Way and Ray Toro, McKean produced "The Foundations of Decay". He also engineered the song, while Rich Costey and Jeff Cirton did the mixing and Mike Bozzi did the mastering. Alongside the main band lineup of lead singer Gerard Way, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way, the song features Jarrod Alexander on drums and Jamie Muhoberac on keyboard. Gerard Way also wrote the song, with assistance from the rest of the band. Additionally, James Bowman of Against Me! was backstage during the recording of the song.[5] The single's cover art was designed by Aaron Hymes, and depicts mounds of flies flying around.
"The Foundations of Decay" was released digitally on May 12, 2022 without any previous announcement through Reprise. It was the first song the band had released since "Fake Your Death", a single from their greatest hits album May Death Never Stop You (2014).[6] The song was later released to mainstream rock radio on May 17 through Warner Records. The song made its live debut at the Eden Project in Cornwall that same day as the concerts opening song; the show was also the first of the bands reunion tour in Europe.[7]
"The Foundations of Decay" is a six-minute long[8] progressive rock,[9] gothic rock,[10] post-hardcore,[11] and emo[9] song. It also incorporates elements of doom metal, basement punk, arena rock, post-metal, and metalcore.[12] [13] The New York Times described the song as "prog-emo".[14] It opens up with static noise, before introducing a mellow electric guitar, piano, and a "laid-back drumbeat" paired with Way's distorted vocals. It then crescendos into the chorus, with Billboard describing it as a "full-blown head banger", with "anthemic force" in a similar vein to the band's 2006 single "Welcome to the Black Parade". They also said that the song "surges between electric guitar-stamped rage fests and simmering moments of storytelling". Ali Shutler of NME felt that the songs composition combined elements from their past studio albums, viewing the "guitar breakdown" to be similar to one from The Black Parade.[15]
The lyrics of the song discusses the band's origins and its legacy; Shutler described the songs opening as Way "wrestling" his legacy and age. When discussing the band's beginnings, the song references the September 11 attacks by depicting Way’s own experiences that day and what inspired him to found My Chemical Romance. Shutler also described some of the songs lines as Way battling nihilism and nostalgia, as well as questioning the continued existence of the band. As the song continues, it becomes more optimistic and hopeful as Way states "let's flip out against faith". At the end of the track, Way softly expresses his desire to continue doing nothing, before yelling "get up, coward" in what Billboard described as a "scream-filled free-for-all". Cassie Whitt of Alternative Press viewed the songs lyrics to be similar to the hero's journey tropes present across several stories, particularly in the verse about the September 11 attacks. They also wrote that the song could be interpreted as someone refusing to accept their call to duty until a "supernatural force" intervenes.
The song was met with a positive response from fans and critics. In a Billboard readers poll on the week of its release, "The Foundations of Decay" was voted by over 40% of readers as the best song to release that week.[16] Ali Shutler of NME described the song as a "fierce, fearless return" for the band, with "fire, urgency and plenty of joy" throughout it. They believed that the song demonstrated that the band "have lost absolutely none of their fire in their time apart", and that while the band releasing new music could have been risky due to their hiatus, the song "never sounds bogged down with legacy". They also believed the track to be My Chemical Romance "reinventing themselves". Mitchell Peters of Billboard wrote that the song demonstrates My Chemical Romance's "epic storytelling", as well as Way's "impeccable" voice.
Sarah Jamieson of DIY wrote that the song was a "grand statement", highlighting the composition of the song as what she described to be a combination of the band's past works into one, as well as a track that "swells into frenetic life" throughout its runtime. She also stated that the song was a "return of epic proportions".[17] The Los Angeles Times ranked the song as the twenty-second best song to release in 2022, with Suzy Exposito describing it as a "fist, bursting defiantly from the soil" towards people who thought that emo music had faded out of relevancy.[18] Jack Rodgers of Rock Sound considered the song to be one of the ten best released that year, writing that it was a "defining moment" in the band's return, and unlike anything that the band had released up to that point.[19]
"The Foundations of Decay" debuted at number 132 on the Billboard Global 200. In the United States, "The Foundations of Decay" reached number 2 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, 7 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, 11 on Digital Song Sales, and 16 on Rock Airplay. On the year-end Billboard Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, "The Foundations of Decay" was 24th. In the United Kingdom, the song reached number 1 on the Rock & Metal chart, and number 37 on the singles chart. Elsewhere, the song reached number 7 in New Zealand, 56 in Ireland, 80 in Australia, and 92 in Canada.
Credits adapted from Tidal.[20]
My Chemical Romance
Additional
| Peak position | |
| Australia (ARIA)[21] | 80 |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA)[22] | 56 |
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[23] | 7 |
| Position | ||
| US Hot Hard Rock Songs (Billboard)[24] | 24 |
|---|
| Date | Format | Label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | May 12, 2022 | Reprise | |||
| United States | May 17, 2022 | Mainstream rock radio | Warner | [25] |