My Chemical Romance Splits With Drummer

New Jersey emo-rockers My Chemical Romance and drummer Bob Bryar have parted ways, the band announced on their website.

“We wanted this news to come from us and not some bullshit gossip site,” guitarist Frank Iero wrote. “As of four weeks ago, My Chemical Romance and Bob Bryar parted ways. This was a painful decision for all of us to make and was not taken lightly.”

Last December, the band’s fourth album appeared to be on target for a Spring release, but now the remaining members are heading back into the studio, making a Fall 2010 on-sale date more likely. “We have been writing some very powerful new songs, so this week the four of us entered the studio once again, and what has been ending up on tape each night is some of the most exciting and honest work we have ever created,” Iero continued.

Reps for MCR’s label played seven new songs for SPIN staffers in December, which featured Bryar’s drum work, but now, with the band writing and recording again, it’s unclear how many of those tracks will make the final album.

At the time, Way spoke to SPIN.com about what to expect from the new material. Unlike 2006′s The Black Parade, the singer promised that the new album would not be conceptual. “At this point, the best way to describe the new album is My Chemical Romance being the purest, most distilled version of itself,” Way said. “No bells and whistles.”

Thematically, Way said the music was influenced by the band members’ New Jersey childhoods, the Springsteen-esque notion of “getting up and blowing out of town,” and how “a band and an audience can be immortal through rock’n'roll, even if just for one night.”

MCR previewed three new songs last August at a performance in Los Angeles — with Bryar on drums — including the Hives-inspired “Death By Disco.” You can watch video of the performance here.

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