The premiere of emo heroes My Chemical Romance’s “A summoning…” video sent the internet into meltdown yesterday, as it announced that the band would be touring the U.S. and Canada from Sept. 9 to Oct. 11, with tickets on sale on Friday at noon local time.

This follows the previous announcement of a host of European shows for the summer, as well as those in Australia and Japan.

Obviously, the news of tour dates is incredibly exciting, but the video for “A summoning” is so grandiose in scale that it seems to be hinting at something more than a mere tour.

Here, Note To Scene is going to unpack all the Easter eggs and references to MCR lore that appear in “A summoning,” as well as the hints it provides regarding the future direction of the band. We’ve also included some reaction and theories from members of the MCRmy.

Set phasers — or ray guns — to stun and strap in…

First up, in the opening scene in the protagonist’s house, we see one of Frank Iero’s iconic guitars, as well as fellow guitarist Ray Toro’s Jet Star jacket from the Danger Days era. There’s also the Mother War gas mask from the “Welcome to the Black Parade” video hanging from a door.

The idea of this seems to be to create a “greatest hits” of My Chem in visual form, an all-encompassing look at the band’s entire career within one setting, perhaps a nod to the devotion of their fan base, or a suggestion that the set list for the announced tour will be a career-spanning one, with a focus on each era of the band.

The young man at the heart of the video is then seen lighting candles around an array of old photos which include pictures of family members of Gerard Way, Mikey Way, Iero and Toro (plus Iero’s dog, shout-out Sweet Pea). There are also photographs of Craig Aaronson and Lauren Valencia, two individuals who worked closely with the band during their first run and who are both credited with helping MCR achieve global success.

This scene is focusing on the past and family, so does that mean the clues to My Chemical Romance’s future actually lie in their past?

As we continue to move around the room we get more references to MCR lore of old, including a shot of a Gerard Way sketch from the Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge album booklet. There’s also a set of keys to the Hotel Bella Muerte, a location referenced in the song “The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You.” The keys are for room 519, and it’s the 5 that could be important here—more on that shortly. In addition, it’s worth noting that My Chem played their final show on May 19 — that’s 5/19 —  in 2012.

If you look even closer on the keyring, you’ll notice the address 61 Willet Street, Passaic, NJ, which fans on Twitter have been speculating relates to an old practice space the band used.

Then, Danger Days villains the Draculoids show up and chase the protagonist throughout the rest of the video. At first, he enters a room with the candle logo the band have teased on the door and arrives at a bar filled with vampires, which is most likely a nod to the prevalence of blood-suckers in the lyrics of MCR’s debut album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love.

The video for “The Ghost of You” is referenced here, too, as it plays on a TV in the bar and a helmet mirroring those from the video sits in the background. The “starved to death in a world of plenty” flag from the “Welcome to the Black Parade” video also hangs. All of this adds to the idea that we’re taking a visual tour of MCR’s discography.

Throughout, the individual we follow is running from the evil the Draculoids represent and is placing his trust in the clues My Chem leave him. It’s quite possible he’s meant to represent the fan base — MCR, after all, are a band that appeal to the outcasts, those of us who feel like we’re on the fringes, running away from society’s norms. Running away was also a theme of Danger Days mentioned in songs such as “Bulletproof Heart” and “Summertime.”

The next scene revolves around the video for “Helena,” as the dancer from the iconic Three Cheers-era video returns to haunt the wedding of the Demolition Lovers that adorn the album’s artwork, as well as that of live CD / DVD Life on the Murder Scene. A match also is lit from a box that bears the words “fire at will,” lyrics from the track “Thank You for the Venom.”

Now, it’s time for The Black Parade. We arrive in a hospital where the monitor from “The End” is beeping. Instead of seeing The Black Parade character the Patient, though, he flat-lines and vanishes before we can catch a glimpse of him. The heart rate monitor by his bed displays the number 5. We’re nearly there with the significance of this “5” thing, stay with us.

Next, we’re thrust into the world of California 2019, as the Danger Days Trans-Am speeds by playing “Na Na Na.” Fast-forward to the end of the video past all the tour announcement shenanigans, and the skeleton in the military jacket from the “Na Na Na” video, which symbolized the end of The Black Parade era at the time of its release, lies in the desert, as does the body of the Draculoids, destroyed by a gargantuan explosion.

MY Chemical Romance YouTube
MY Chemical Romance YouTube
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This, if you ask us, is representative of the death of the Danger Days era, and therefore, the birth of a new album cycle. And it’s there, as the world of Danger Days lies in tatters and the video comes to an end, that the camera looks to the horizon and foreshadows the start of something new.

Danger Days was My Chem’s fourth album-proper, so the continued references to the number 5 are likely some not-so-subtle hints that the band’s fifth album is on the way. The roman numeral V, meaning 5, has been present throughout My Chemical Romance’s promotion for what is now essentially their 2020 World Tour (the location of their U.K. shows, STADIUM MK, has been changed to ‘STADIVM MK’ on the posters, for example.)

You might think we’re reading too much into things and getting our hopes up too soon, but with a host of shows now announced and MCR very much playing the cryptic game with us once more, it’s not a stretch to speculate that 2020 might just be the year that My Chemical Romance gift us not just with shows, but with a storming new album, too.

See some reactions from the members of MCR themselves below.

Special nod to everyone on Twitter digging deep for references, and be sure to let us know your theories about the video.

Find MCR tour dates here.

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