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Life on the Murder Scene

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Life on the Murder Scene
Cover art shows a couple having blood on their skin, facing eachother, along with the lettering at the top.
Live album and compilation album by
My Chemical Romance
ReleasedMarch 21, 2006 (2006-03-21)
Length
  • 35:45 (CD)
  • 120 minutes (DVD 1)
  • 126 minutes (DVD 2)
LabelReprise
My Chemical Romance chronology
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
(2004)		 Life on the Murder Scene
(2006)		 The Black Parade
(2006)

Life on the Murder Scene is a live and compilation album by the American rock band My Chemical Romance. It was released on March 21, 2006, through Reprise Records. Containing three discs—specifically two DVDs and one CD—the release includes several live recordings, a documentary of the band's history up to that point, two demo tracks, and the previously unreleased "Desert Song".

Life on the Murder Scene received mixed reviews from critics. Commercially, it charted in multiple countries, reaching number one on the UK Rock & Metal chart and the top ten in multiple others. It has been certified 2× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and platinum by the Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers (CAPIF) as a video, and gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) as an album.

Content

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Life on the Murder Scene consists of three discs, including two DVDs and one CD.[1][2] The first DVD contains footage of My Chemical Romance's live performances.[2][3] It also includes the music videos for the singles "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)", "Helena", and "The Ghost of You".[2] The other DVD contains a documentary of the band's history up to that point,[3] presented as a series of "video diaries".[2][4]

The CD also contains recordings of the band's live performances, specifically from MTV2 $2 Bill, Sessions@AOL, and a show at the Starland Ballroom. It also contains two demos:[2] "Bury Me in Black", an unfinished song that was included as a bonus track for the Japanese release of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge,[5] and a demo for "I Never Told You What I Do for a Living".[2] Also included is the previously unreleased "Desert Song",[3] another song that was scrapped from Revenge.[6]

Release and commercial performance

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Life on the Murder Scene was announced on October 14, 2005.[7] It was released on March 21, 2006,[1][8] through Reprise Records.[2] The album's cover art is a live reenactment of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge's cover, which depicts a couple covered in blood.[7] On April 17, 2020, the album was released on vinyl record for the first time as part of Record Store Day. A limited edition splatter vinyl was also released, limited to only 11,500 copies.[9]

In the United States, Life on the Murder Scene reached number 30 on the Billboard 200 chart,[10] number 9 on Top Rock Albums,[11] and number 3 on Music Video Sales.[12] It has been certified 2× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as a long-form video, indicating shipment of over 200,000 units.[13] In the United Kingdom, it peaked atop on the UK Rock & Metal chart[14] and number 53 on the UK Albums Chart.[15] The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has certified it gold as an album, indicating shipment of over 100,000 units.[16] Elsewhere, it reached number two on both the Australian Music DVD and New Zealand Music DVD charts,[17][18] number ten on the Mexican Albums chart,[19] 15 on the Canadian Albums chart,[20] and 40 on the Irish Albums chart.[21] It has also been certified platinum in Argentina.[22]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStar[4]
Prefix Magazine4/10[23]
Rolling StoneStarStarStar[24]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, writing for AllMusic, described Life on the Murder Scene as a snapshot of the band during their early career, combining two widespread ways for bands to preserve their history—namely a live album and live video—in one.[4] He praised the inclusion of the documentary, calling it an "insanely detailed two-hour documentary about a band that is on the cusp of breaking big" and a gift for fans.[4] Jenny Eliscu of Rolling Stone wrote that the release highlighted the band's "punk" nature during their live performances.[24] Billboard's Christa L. Titus considered the behind-the-scenes footage of the band's music videos to be the highlight of the release, describing them as where the "unique vision is brought to life".[25] Matt Liebowitz of Prefix Magazine criticized the band's performances, believing the band struggled with playing their songs on-stage and that the crowds were what made the release worth it.[23]

Eliscu praised the performances of vocalist Gerard Way present on the release, calling it "top form". She also described the selection of songs present on the record as pulling "all the right guns" from their discography.[24] Erlewine felt that the release was repetitious to non-fans of the band, criticizing the abundance of different performances of certain songs—particularly the several versions of "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"—and calling it a "test of patience". However, he felt that these problems were less apparent with the live recordings present on the CD, saying they were "enhanced by rhythms" that worked better on-stage than in studio recordings and meshed well with Way's vocals.[4] Liebowitz and Titus also criticized the track selection's repetition, the latter calling it "overkill".[25][23]

Track listing

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Personnel

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Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[2]

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications and sales for Life on the Murder Scene
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[22]
video 		Platinum 8,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[16]
album 		Gold 100,000‡
United States (RIAA)[13]
video 		2× Platinum 200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. 1 2 "My Chemical Romance reveal DVD details". NME. January 17, 2006. Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Anon. (2006). Life on the Murder Scene (Liner notes). My Chemical Romance. Reprise Records.
  3. 1 2 3 Rogers, Jack (January 3, 2023). "My Chemical Romance's 'Life On The Murder Scene' Certified Gold In UK". Rock Sound. Archived from the original on February 17, 2026. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "My Chemical Romance – Life on the Murder Scene". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  5. ↑ "10 lesser known My Chemical Romance songs that everyone needs to hear". Kerrang!. August 20, 2021. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  6. ↑ Bryant 2014, p. 83.
  7. 1 2 Montgomery, James (October 14, 2005). "My Chemical Romance Plot 'Murder' For Early Next Year". MTV News. Archived from the original on September 15, 2006. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Remembering 2006: When emo conquered the world and changed music forever". Kerrang!. April 9, 2021. Archived from the original on August 6, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  9. ↑ Young, Alex (March 6, 2020). "My Chemical Romance announce first-ever vinyl release of Life on the Murder Scene". Consequence. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  10. 1 2 "My Chemical Romance Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  11. 1 2 "My Chemical Romance Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  12. 1 2 "My Chemical Romance Chart History (Music Video Sales)". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  13. 1 2 "American video certifications – My Chemical Romance – Life on the Murder Scene". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  14. 1 2 "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. March 26, 2006. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  15. 1 2 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. March 26, 2006. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  16. 1 2 "British album certifications – My Chemical Romance – Life on the Murder Scene". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 23, 2022. Select albums in the Formats field. Type Life on the Murder Scene My Chemical Romance in the "Search:" field.
  17. 1 2 "Top 40 DVD Chart - Australian Record Industry Association". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on February 23, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  18. 1 2 "The Official New Zealand Music Chart – Chart 1510" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. May 1, 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 18, 2025. Retrieved October 18, 2025 – via Scoop.
  19. 1 2 3 "Top 100 Album – De enero a diciembre de 2006" (PDF) (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2010. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
  20. 1 2 "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. March 26, 2006. Archived from the original on April 5, 2006. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  21. 1 2 "Irish-charts.com – Discography My Chemical Romance". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  22. 1 2 "Discos de Oro y Platino – My Chemical Romance" (in Spanish). Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  23. 1 2 3 Liebowitz, Matt (June 28, 2006). "My Chemical Romance – Life on the Murder Scene Album Review". Prefix Magazine. Archived from the original on June 23, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  24. 1 2 3 Eliscu, Jenny (March 9, 2006). "My Chemical Romance: Life On The Murder Scene". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  25. 1 2 Titus, Christa L. (March 25, 2006). "Life on the Murder Scene". Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 12. ISSN 0006-2510.
  26. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 26/3/2006 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  27. ↑ "My Chemical Romance Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  28. ↑ "My Chemical Romance Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  29. ↑ "Ranking Mensual de DVD Abril – 2006 (Repertorio Popular)" (in Spanish). Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers. Archived from the original on June 15, 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Fat Freddy's at top of album charts for year" (Press release). Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. December 18, 2006. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2025 – via Scoop.

Sources

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