In-depth Analysis of "A Summoning..."

01/30/2020, by Angel Duster

I will assume that you all have watched this video already, and if you haven’t, GO! It’s probably the most important video in all of this band’s history! Besides the “Desolation Row” music video, of course.

Let’s get into it:

Starting with the main character tying his shoes, who I will from now on be calling “the boy.” As he gets up, it pans over his bedside table, and we see...

Mikey's glasses and asthma inhaler! Both appeared in the "I'm Not Okay" music video prominently. Fun fact: Mikey Way, in reality, does not have asthma! He'll still sign your inahler if you ask him, though.

Next, the camera pans over a shot of him walking, and who do we see in the background?

Why, one of Frank Iero’s famous guitars! She is lovingly named Pansy, and it is very nice to see her out in the open again.

Next, we look at a shot of The Boy’s corkboard, with relatively normal things on it. Except for one blaring odd one out…

As we see on the bottom, there is a large Eye of Providence. To many, it is a symbol of the Illuminati, but it has its basis in Christianity. It means God is watching over all. In Freemasonry, it also means the all-seeing eye of God. It also serves as a reminder that humanity's actions are always observed by the “Great Architect of the Universe,” which is how they refer to God.

Whatever the case, it is a common symbol that means omniscient.

It also could be a reference to the Phoenix Witch's mailbox from the "True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys" comic book series, written by Gerard (see below). Supposedly, you put letters inside to speak to your loved ones, and personal items if you want that loved one to be able to pass into the afterlife.

There is also a stylized coffin next to the eye, which is a typical symbol we see in much of early 2000’s emo media.

Above, there is a pentagram, a symbol of protection. A sticker that says “Ice Palace,” which I don’t believe is a real company/brand/anything.

Finally, there is a crowd shot of a My Chemical Romance concert, with fans reaching towards the stage, holding a sign that says thank you, and donning a Black Parade era shirt.

From what I can gather so far, The Boy is a fan of our dear MCR. He may represent the fanbase!

Next, we enter the kitchen area. He pours himself a hot cup of coffee into…

… this New Jersey mug! A simple callback to the band’s roots, I presume.

We see the side of the fridge after this shot, and it features a prolific black metal singer.

The left side is what we see on the fridge, and if you know anything about heavy/black metal, you know this guy: King Diamond! His album Conspiracy features abrasive, halloween-esque tunes, which is very on brand for MCR. This genre is a favorite among many of the band, but the most outspoken about is Frank Iero. His side project, Bloodnun, was death metal in its most truest.

We then go to a shot of The Boy’s closet, as he searches for his cloak. We see a familiar jacket design hanging on the racks.

It’s Jet Star’s jacket! I must admit, I was very excited to see that this lovely piece of craftsmanship was not thrown away. On the side panel, there is an Ace of Spades, commonly known to represent the Death tarot card. This is not as grim as it seems, however, as Death symbolizes new beginnings and the cyclical part of life.

As we move forward into his room, he pulls out a very special record to play as he works on his summoning circle. That record being...

… I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, My Chemical Romance’s debut album all the way from 2002! The opening track “Romance” sets a haunting tone for the events that follow.

Before we head to the pentagram, The Boy lights a candle on top of a very well-decorated cabinet. Let’s observe what exactly is on said cabinet.

I believe that these are all family photos, perhaps from The Boy, or even the members of My Chemical Romance. The macabre skulls and doll head, along with the various statues of Mary, really pulls it all together.

The centerpiece is of Mary, but this is Our Lady of Sorrows. Seven swords pierce her heart, representing the seven sorrows she experienced in her life. If you did not know “Our Lady of Sorrows” is track five out of eleven songs on I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, the album The Boy is currently playing. Gerard, and the rest of the band in turn, was very enamored with the art and symbolism within Catholicism, and that has bled into their return.

We pan over a wall as The Boy is going to the summoning circle with a candle in hand. Top right of the photo below is what we see on the wall, very quickly.

Many would recognize this as some of Gerard Way’s art, and they would be correct! I knew I had seen this image before, but where? I went through many Pinterests and many Blogspots, but someone very kind in a Discord server of mine was able to help me locate fanart of it. Through that, I found out it was originally the Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge CD tray art.

As you can tell, the art on the wall, and the actual art from the tray differs quite a bit. The blood splatter is a heart, and the scene is more zoomed out. There is only so much we can see from the low quality. I believe it may just be a redraw, or perhaps its just another version of it from the same period.

I do not feel as though it is necessary to screenshot every sigil and symbol that appears on the television in The Boy’s room, as they are all repeats of every one that they have used in the past. Email us if you’re curious about those, however, we’re happy to help!

Moving on, we get to see some of our old Draculoid pals from the Danger Days era!

As soon as The Boy used the ouija board, and saw the sigils, these Draculoids arrived. If you have any further theories or speculation regarding their roles, email us! I’m very curious to know your theories.

There are not many clear shots of their ID cards, but I was able to snag the best I could:

What I can make out is the BL/ind logo and name, a photo of the masked Draculoid, and what I believe is the name, which is just “Draculoid.” Real creative, isn’t it?

Next, we have the very real Hotel Bella Muerte’s keychain!

It reads:

“HOTEL BELLA MUERTE
61 WILLET STREET
PASSAIC, NJ 07055
519”

This is a reference to the lyric from their song “The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You:”

“...Lost in the prescription
She's got something else in mind
Check into the Hotel Bella Muerte...”

Bella muerte means “beautiful death” in Spanish, and that is exactly what the woman is chasing. She is looking for a rather hedonistic suicide, the end destination being this fabled Hotel Bella Muerte.

Within this context, however, it means something different. There is a legitimate address on the keychain. I am not encouraging you to go there. It seems as though it is just an alleyway with a water tower. Here’s what it looks like as of September 2018:

What really gets me is the Room 519, what does it mean? There is nothing MCR-related within my memory, nor catalogues, that have to do with that number. If I am mistaken, yet again, please email! I know they wouldn’t be dumb enough to have something without a meaning in this video.

EDIT: Tumblr user ibroughtyoubullets has informed me that My Chemical Romance's last concert before their break-up was May 19th, 2012, at the festival Bamboozle. This date, numerically, is 5/19!

Now, let’s slingshot through the different eras! First, Bullets.

The first thing we see in this underground vampire club is Ray Toro’s medic helmet from “The Ghost of You” music video. Fun callback!

Let’s transcribe the various graffiti that we can:

1. “SAINTS PROTECT HER NOW”
2. “UNLEASH THE BATS!”
3. “MERCI POUR LE VENIN”
4. “SHE LOVES YOU”
5. “ALWAYS INNOCENT LIKE ROLLER COASTERS…”
6. “...GHOSTS IN THE SNOW”

“Saints protect her now” is a lyric from the song “Interlude,” in which a man prays for his wife’s safety while he is away.

“Unleash the bats” is a play on the Birthday Party song “Release the Bats,” because Gerard is a very big fan of Ian McCaye, who he claims to have been part of that band. It is a phrase that has been part of MCR history for as long as I can remember.

“Merci Pour le Venin” is the French translation of their song “Thank You For The Venom.” However, the French phrase first appeared on the inside cover of their first album, on which this song did not appear. Guess they’ve been holding onto that title for a while now!

I’m not so sure what “she loves you” could allude to, but it appears nonstop on the wall, as well as “XOXO.” This could allude to Gerard Way and Frank Iero’s signatures, as they both include XO.

EDIT: A friend from a Discord server I am in informed that "she loves you" alludes to the words painted on the stage during the Projekt Revolution show:

The last two are together, forming:

“...ALWAYS INNOCENT LIKE ROLLER COASTERS
FATALITY IS LIKE GHOSTS IN THE SNOW...”

This excerpt is from “Vampires Will Never Hurt You,” from their debut album. One could delve very deep into the metaphors and gothic deepness of the entire quote, but I don’t believe that will aid us on this journey.

There is a very large piece of graffiti that can only be seen in this shot, of the Draculoids entering:

“DIE IN THE DESERT”

It seems to be foreshadowing for them, as we will see later in the video.

As we mentioned before, Ray’s helmet was on the back bar. Now, clips from that same music video appear on a TV set behind the bar, next to the register.

There is another peculiar thing behind the counter: a skull impaled onto a flag that reads:

“STARVED
- TO -
?”

It most likely says "STARVED TO DEATH IN A LAND OF PLENTY," a popular phrase commenting on the disparity between the rich and the poor. Those who are not wealthy often starve on the streets, while the higher ups gorge themselves. This phrase was often toted around on protest signs from the unemployed and less well off. It was also featured on a sign next to the Black Parade character Mother of War, more importantly (see below). Another fun thing featuring it was crust/hardcore punk band Decay's album cover with the same name, which featured the very sign on the cover.

Onto the next era, Revenge!

As The Boy walks into this new room, he picks up a piece of paper, which is, yet again, very familiar!

These flyers are for a funeral service, that of Helena. She is the representation of Gerard and Mikey’s late grandmother, Elena, who passed on November 4th, 2003. The song was fictionalized partially to fit into the Revenge narrative, but was still a tribute to her.

The Boy then looks up to a couple standing at the altar, facing the cross…

… the couple from the album cover! My assumption from the last article of it was correct! Not to pat myself on the back, or anything.

I added both the Life on the Murder Scene and Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge covers for good measure. The actor and actress in this video are not the same as the pair on the DVD cover, even if they do share a striking resemblance.

Another familiar face pops up, I wonder who it could be…

… Helena, how could they go a whole video without mentioning her? A very beautiful homage to the original video. Yet again, it is not the actual original dancer (Tracy Phillips), but a lookalike. Still got the moves, though!

To the next era… Black Parade.

Before we fling ourselves into that, The Boy runs into a confessional booth, and lights a match. The design on the matchbox caught my eye, please excuse the less than decent screencap. They don’t make this easy!

“FIRE AT WILL”

This is a reference to the background vocals in the last bout of the chorus of “Thank You For The Venom.” Yet again, the ace of spades returns, with another fun skull design!

Now we’re really in the Black Parade era. The Boy walks into a room with a beeping heart monitor.

We’ve seen the covered body before, on the top right. That was posted on My Chemical Romance’s Twitter and Instagram on January 14th. The Boy pulls the sheet from the body, and the heart monitor flatlines. There was never a body there. I assumed that this was a reference to the “Welcome to the Black Parade” music video, where Lukas Haas plays a dying patient.

That was pretty much it for Black Parade. Now, for the final era, Danger Days!

If your memory works, you’ll remember MCR posted a teaser captioned with the American flag emoji, which featured the legendary Trans Am driving in the desert sun.

Now this car is not new whatsoever, but let’s read the stickers regardless.

“LOOK ALIVE SUNSHINE”
“THE MAD GEAR AND MISSILE KID”
“WKIL 109 FMX”

“Look Alive, Sunshine” is the well known opener to Danger Days, spoken by the one and only Dr. Death Defying, also known as Steve, Righ? from Mindless Self Indulgence.

The Mad Gear and Missile Kid is a fictional music “duo” from the True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys comic series. The Mad Gear was created by Missile Kid as a means to take down BL/ind, using only loud, abrasive music.

WKIL 109 FMX is the fictional radio station that Dr. Death Defying runs, and has for ten years, as of 2019.

This shot is a clear steer away from Danger Days, as it is a direct reference to the “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” music video. In that video, they use croquet mallets as weapons to defeat their high school bullies. And to play croquet, I guess.

Now, for something only ever mentioned by name, and never witnessed.

This is what I presume to be part of the Helium Wars, or Analog Wars if you’re reading the comics. It is obviously a nuclear blast, which completely knocks out the Draculoids.

Back to the real world!

The Boy wakes up to being surrounded by five hooded figures, whilst he is inside of a circle surround by lit candles.

None of the figures appear to be members of My Chemical Romance, as they all seem to be too young.

The Boy walks from the circle towards a long corridor, lined with candles, yet again. It leads him to a ouija board in the middle of an expansive, place. The planchette moves to “YES,” and that seems to be the answer The Boy was looking for.

Lights turn on, and it turns out to be the Forum, a very large venue in Los Angeles, California. And, yes, I know there were dates, but I’m not here to analyze facts!

After the dates finish being listed, the camera cuts back to the desert, and we see another familiar scene.

The bottom photo is what is in the new video, and the top one is in the “Na Na Na” music video. Both are skeletons of someone in a Black Parade marching band outfit. Am I supposed to see humor in this? It just makes me sad.

It then pans over to the dead Draculoids, all without bodies. It’s a pretty gruesome scene...

… except for the fact that the remains in the below photo have no mask. Depending on what facts you believe, Dracs either are free to do whatever they want, and are party animals, or the mask controls their brain and therefore actions. Obviously, both of these options are trained to kill, well, killjoys. Let’s believe the latter for now, as that’s the most used. Why would someone take something that despicable? I can’t even begin to contemplate who would do so.

Besides all that, we have a lovely new sigil!

“MYCHMLRM” = “MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE”

A sigil referring to themselves! I wonder if this will be a very well-used symbol for their new era.

I am looking forward to the next show I get to see of theirs, and I am absolutely excited for this new era we’re all walking into! I’ve waited too damn long for this.

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