As they kick off the next leg of their ‘The Black Parade’ tour, My Chemical Romance have thrown a spanner in the works and started teasing something rather different.
The band posted the teaser to their social media on January 25, completely out of the blue. Showing off a green-lined logo depicting the word PHANTOM, it flickers into life, displaying its pointed edges and a single through line, a heartbeat of sorts, joining all the letters. It is accompanied by a simply but curious caption, “A GAME YOU WILL PLAY”.
The tease was posted just as the band were about to kick off their first show of 2026, taking place in Peru at the Estadio Nacional in Lima. It’s the first time that the band have posted something without any clear connection to the current iteration of their current show, in which they are playing their classic album ‘The Black Parade’ in full.
Though curiously, there are a few connections to the album within the very little we have to go on. Of course, in the song ‘Welcome To The Black Parade’, the lyric goes ‘Because one day, I’ll leave you a phantom / To lead you in the summer /To join the black parade’, so the word has always been at the heart of the story. The album also begins with a heartbeat from a hospital heart monitor, as part of the opening track ‘The End’.
Also, according to a Reddit user, five months ago at the band’s show in Arlington on August 02, vocalist Gerard Way spoke about ‘Phantom Of The Paradise’, a 1974 film that he explains was important to the band, but also important to ‘The Black Parade’ as well.
So, as usual, there are connections everywhere.
But in terms of the show in Peru, the logo appeared as well. flashing on the backdrop, flickering like a virus, or a warning, as a rendition of ‘Mama’ played out.
Either way, it is very exciting, isn’t it?
For now, the band will continue on their South American tour, the remaining dates looking like this:
JANUARY
29 – SANTIAGO Estadio Bicentenario
FEBRUARY
01 – BUENOS AIRES Estadio Huracán
05 – SÃO PAULO Allianz Parque
