# The Paper Kingdom
**The Paper Kingdom** (also referred to by fans as MCR5) is an unreleased fifth studio album by the American rock band [My Chemical Romance](https://www.edgepedia.org/my-chemical-romance). Written and recorded in 2012 as the follow-up to *[Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys](https://www.edgepedia.org/danger-days-the-true-lives-of-the-fabulous-killjoys)* (2010), it was scrapped before completion, and the band broke up in 2013 without releasing it.[1](https://fnewsmagazine.com/2026/03/the-unofficial-path-to-the-paper-kingdom/) The album was a concept record set around a support group for parents who had lost their children, and the band described it as their darkest music.[2](https://www.loudersound.com/features/ten-years-of-danger-days-the-most-important-album-my-chemical-romance-ever-made) In early 2026 a full set of unfinished demo recordings leaked online, bringing the long-rumored project back into wide discussion.[3](https://chorus.fm/news/unfinished-the-paper-kingdom-songs-leak/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Status | Unreleased fifth album by My Chemical Romance; written and recorded in 2012, scrapped before the band's 2013 breakup[1](https://fnewsmagazine.com/2026/03/the-unofficial-path-to-the-paper-kingdom/) |
| Concept | A support group for parents who had lost their children in horrible ways; described by Gerard Way as extremely dark[2](https://www.loudersound.com/features/ten-years-of-danger-days-the-most-important-album-my-chemical-romance-ever-made) |
| Only released track | "Fake Your Death", the sole new song on the 2014 greatest hits album *May Death Never Stop You*[1](https://fnewsmagazine.com/2026/03/the-unofficial-path-to-the-paper-kingdom/) |
| 2022 leak | Watermarked snippets of "Witch", "Wake Up", and "Dark Cloud" circulated by a user known as "Excalibur"[4](https://www.last.fm/music/My%2BChemical%2BRomance/The%2BPaper%2BKingdom/%2Bwiki) |
| 2026 leak | A full set of scratch tapes and demos, 16 tracks, leaked by an anonymous person; not officially released or endorsed by the band[3](https://chorus.fm/news/unfinished-the-paper-kingdom-songs-leak/) |
| Live performance | "War Beneath the Rain" performed at Dodger Stadium in 2025, introduced by Gerard Way as coming from a "record that never came out"[5](https://www.alt1051.com/my-chemical-romance-perform-unreleased-song/) |
| Catalog entry | MusicBrainz lists a canceled "Album + Demo" release on Warner Records dated 2012, 18 tracks, total length 1:18:02[6](https://musicbrainz.org/release/a2deae14-d015-42df-809c-1541cbca8def) |
## Background and concept
My Chemical Romance reconvened in early 2012, after touring for *Danger Days* concluded, to begin work on their fifth studio album under the working title The Paper Kingdom.[7](https://loudwire.com/my-chemical-romance-tour-questions-2026/) Frontman Gerard Way first publicly discussed the abandoned album in a 2014 interview with Grantland Podcasts, revealing its intended title.[8](https://whatculture.com/music/12-problems-only-my-chemical-romance-fans-will-understand?page=2)
The record was a concept album set around a support group for parents who had lost their children in horrible ways. Way described it as extremely dark, saying that *Danger Days* had not captured the culture in the same way *The Black Parade* had.[2](https://www.loudersound.com/features/ten-years-of-danger-days-the-most-important-album-my-chemical-romance-ever-made) In a 2017 podcast interview with Andrew Greenwald, Way explained the concept as the story of two people in a support group for parents who have lost a child.[1](https://fnewsmagazine.com/2026/03/the-unofficial-path-to-the-paper-kingdom/) In a 2014 interview, Way spoke of the album as a product of both the poor reception of *Danger Days* and his declining mental health,[1](https://fnewsmagazine.com/2026/03/the-unofficial-path-to-the-paper-kingdom/) and in an October 2013 interview he said that being in a poor mental health situation, together with the album's very dark concept, led him not to release it.[9](https://www.sopitas.com/musica/the-paper-kingdom-disco-my-chemical-romance-quinto-disco-perdido/) Band members have cited the project as one of the reasons for the breakup.[1](https://fnewsmagazine.com/2026/03/the-unofficial-path-to-the-paper-kingdom/)
Way's ambitions for the material extended beyond a record. By the time the band split, he described The Paper Kingdom as a musical about a support group dealing with the deaths of their children, which he planned to stage at Los Angeles's Disney Concert Hall.[10](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/2014/NME-2014-08-23.pdf)
## The songs
The unofficial track listing published with the 2026 leak runs to 16 titles: [Fake Your Death](https://www.edgepedia.org/fake-your-death), Witch, Bike Thief, Operation Day, Falling Down, Birthday Girl, Dark Cloud, Wake Up, Louder, Narita Airport, War Beneath the Rain, Paper Swords, Dive, High Hopes, Dogs, and Perfectly Well.[3](https://chorus.fm/news/unfinished-the-paper-kingdom-songs-leak/) A MusicBrainz entry cataloguing the canceled release as an "Album + Demo" on [Warner Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/warner-records) lists 18 tracks, adding "Into Your Arms" and "Behind that Bus", with a total length of 1:18:02 and a release event dated 2012.[6](https://musicbrainz.org/release/a2deae14-d015-42df-809c-1541cbca8def)
Only one song reached an official release. "Fake Your Death", long believed to be the band's final song, appeared as the only new track on the 2014 greatest hits compilation *May Death Never Stop You*.[1](https://fnewsmagazine.com/2026/03/the-unofficial-path-to-the-paper-kingdom/) According to guitarist [Frank Iero](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-iero), it was the only song from The Paper Kingdom suitable for release, and the rest of the material was likely unsalvageable.[11](https://www.sputnikmusic.com/list.php?listid=209120)
## Leaks and live appearances
Material from the album reached the public in stages. In 2022, a user going by "Excalibur" leaked watermarked snippets of "Witch", "Wake Up", and "Dark Cloud", with the watermark delivered as an audio clip of the name being spoken.[4](https://www.last.fm/music/My%2BChemical%2BRomance/The%2BPaper%2BKingdom/%2Bwiki) The same user's forum posts named titles including "The War Beneath the Rain", and the user reportedly succeeded in selling a copy of the album.[12](https://jewelcitytimes.com/2026/06/01/the-paper-kingdom-leak-how-mcrs-scrapped-album-ended-up-online/) Later, on January 31, 2026, 15 unreleased songs from the scrapped album leaked to an online forum, and within days a full set of pre-existing scratch tapes and demos had spread widely.[12](https://jewelcitytimes.com/2026/06/01/the-paper-kingdom-leak-how-mcrs-scrapped-album-ended-up-online/) • [3](https://chorus.fm/news/unfinished-the-paper-kingdom-songs-leak/) The leaked recordings are not the finished songs, nor technically the full album, and My Chemical Romance has not officially released or endorsed any of this material.[3](https://chorus.fm/news/unfinished-the-paper-kingdom-songs-leak/)
The band has acknowledged the material on stage. At [Dodger Stadium](https://www.edgepedia.org/dodger-stadium) in Los Angeles, during the "Long Live The Black Parade" tour in July 2025, My Chemical Romance performed "War Beneath the Rain", a previously unplayed song that Way said came from a "record that never came out"; the report identified that record as likely The Paper Kingdom.[5](https://www.alt1051.com/my-chemical-romance-perform-unreleased-song/)
Producer Doug McKean produced the scrapped fifth album, which was recorded in 2012 but never released due to the band's breakup the following year.[13](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2007553/news/)
## Aftermath
The band's cryptic online activity has repeatedly fueled speculation about a release. In November 2024, Kerrang! noted Instagram posts captioned "Good Boy" and "Opera", alongside a logo that could read either MCR or the initials of the scrapped album, and fans connected the captions to the Paper Kingdom titles "Dogs" and "Operation Day".[14](https://www.kerrang.com/are-my-chemical-romance-teasing-new-song-titles/) Kerrang!'s own telling of the unreleased record described it as conceptually centered on a support group made up of parents whose children had died, with those present at the sessions calling it the darkest music the band had ever written and drawing comparisons to [Radiohead](https://www.edgepedia.org/radiohead).[14](https://www.kerrang.com/are-my-chemical-romance-teasing-new-song-titles/)
Since the band's 2019 reunion, the only new music released has been the 2022 single "The Foundations of Decay".[15](https://stereogum.com/2287108/my-chemical-romance-tease-mysterious-graphic-fans-speculate-release-of-scrapped-final-album-the-paper-kingdom/news) In September 2026, addressing the absence of new MCR music during the band's show at [San Antonio](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-antonio)'s Alamodome, Way told the audience, "You Guys Deserve Another Record, and We'd Love to Make It".[13](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2007553/news/)
## References
1. [The Unofficial Path to 'The Paper Kingdom', F Newsmagazine (March 18, 2026)](https://fnewsmagazine.com/2026/03/the-unofficial-path-to-the-paper-kingdom/)
2. [Ten years of Danger Days: The most important album My Chemical Romance ever made, Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/features/ten-years-of-danger-days-the-most-important-album-my-chemical-romance-ever-made)
3. [Unfinished 'The Paper Kingdom' Songs Leak, Chorus.fm (February 2, 2026)](https://chorus.fm/news/unfinished-the-paper-kingdom-songs-leak/)
4. [The Paper Kingdom wiki, Last.fm](https://www.last.fm/music/My%2BChemical%2BRomance/The%2BPaper%2BKingdom/%2Bwiki)
5. [My Chemical Romance Perform Unreleased Song, ALT 105.1 (July 27, 2025)](https://www.alt1051.com/my-chemical-romance-perform-unreleased-song/)
6. [The Paper Kingdom release, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/release/a2deae14-d015-42df-809c-1541cbca8def)
7. [3 Lingering Questions My Chemical Romance Need to Answer After Their 'Black Parade' North American Tour, Loudwire (September 15, 2026)](https://loudwire.com/my-chemical-romance-tour-questions-2026/)
8. [12 Problems Only My Chemical Romance Fans Will Understand, WhatCulture](https://whatculture.com/music/12-problems-only-my-chemical-romance-fans-will-understand?page=2)
9. [The Paper Kingdom: El disco de My Chemical Romance que nunca vio la luz, Sopitas](https://www.sopitas.com/musica/the-paper-kingdom-disco-my-chemical-romance-quinto-disco-perdido/)
10. [NME, August 23, 2014 issue](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/2014/NME-2014-08-23.pdf)
11. [Feather: MCR Demo Album Leak, Sputnikmusic](https://www.sputnikmusic.com/list.php?listid=209120)
12. [The Paper Kingdom leak: how MCR's scrapped album ended up online, Jewel City Times (June 1, 2026)](https://jewelcitytimes.com/2026/06/01/the-paper-kingdom-leak-how-mcrs-scrapped-album-ended-up-online/)
13. [Gerard Way news, Rolling Stone via IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2007553/news/)
14. [Are My Chemical Romance teasing new song titles?, Kerrang! (November 15, 2024)](https://www.kerrang.com/are-my-chemical-romance-teasing-new-song-titles/)
15. [My Chemical Romance Tease Mysterious Graphic, Fans Speculate Release Of Scrapped Final Album The Paper Kingdom, Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/2287108/my-chemical-romance-tease-mysterious-graphic-fans-speculate-release-of-scrapped-final-album-the-paper-kingdom/news)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Bootlegs and unreleased recordings*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license