“When I lost my mum, this album really captured how I felt”: The Hunna’s Ryan Potter on the record that changed his life

In 2006, My Chemical Romance were already one of the fastest-rising bands on Earth. Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge had seen them shooting upward, going from playing Manchester’s Night And Day Café to London’s O2 Academy Brixton almost as if the whole thing was pre-ordained. They were being talked about as a new Nirvana, while Gerard Way had found himself all of a sudden in the spotlight as a singer an entire generation weren’t just listening to, but looking to as well.

When their third album The Black Parade arrived, it sent everything nuclear. More ambitious than what had gone before, adding heavy theatricality, a Queen-like flamboyance and an appearance from Liza Minelli, as well as a huge theme about death, My Chemical Romance became not just one of the biggest bands of their time, but arguably the most important and era-defining.

Already a fan, The Hunna’s Ryan Potter says it was a game-changer. Its themes would provide a deep, real-world connection through the worst of times, while seeing Gerard become one of the finest performers in rock impacted on the budding frontman’s own ambitions for what was possible onstage…

“The Black Parade was a huge one. It just took over my whole life. I became obsessed with My Chemical Romance, everything about them. The first thing of MCR that I saw was on Kerrang! TV, which was the Helena video, and then The Ghost Of You, which I loved. But then The Black Parade came and absolutely blew me away.

“There’s so many amazing moments on that album. And the whole thing is just so grand – the story of it is so huge and ambitious, almost like an opera. It just really stood out.

“It took my appreciation for them and love for them to a whole new level. I had everything – the MCR bags, the calendars, I saw them live loads of times. There were so many things about them that impacted me on my journey as a musician and performer, and seeing them live was such a huge thing. They're incredible live, and especially Gerard Way as the frontman, it all really had an impact on me as a frontman and how I am onstage.

“The songs on The Black Parade are so explosive. They're very dramatic, and it's such a huge sound. They way they go from the intro [The End] and then into Dead! is such a huge beginning to an album – the production of it, the guitars, the guitar tones just ripping through, it’s really dramatic, and a real statement. Even now, when you know what’s going to come, you still really feel it in your chest. I remember putting it on and sitting there as a teenager, being absolutely blown away, picking apart every little piece of it. And Gerard’s voice is so unique, so emotive. You really feel everything that he's saying and whatever he's going through.

“There’s a lot of great songs on there, but Cancer really spoke to me. Gerard has a way of almost romanticising pain, but also truly speaking to you through it as well, and making something really strong and powerful with it. I lost my mum to cancer when I was 21, and that song, even though it's quite a sad topic, my experience of what I went through to and then hearing that song, there were things in there that really captured the emotions and the feelings of it.

“They created a world on that album, and the concept is very profound and thought-provoking. And for a young teenager, it’s pretty macabre as well. It’s a really big thing to think about, but for some reason, it worked. It just connected so much.”

The Hunna's EP Blue Transitions is out now. My Chemical Romance tour the UK from June 30 – July 11, 2026.

Read this next:

• The story of My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade: “When it was done, I knew that we’d created a monster”
• “People turn up expecting to see one of the greatest shows of their lives”: How My Chemical Romance took over the UK
• The Hunna: Ryan Potter’s track-by-track guide to their self-titled album