Frank Iero

Frank started playing in local bands on the New Jersey punk scene at age 11. Before joining My Chemical Romance he served as frontman for the punk band Pencey Prep. The band released an album, Heartbreak in Stereo, on the independent Eyeball Records before disbanding. Whilst playing with Pencey Prep he became friends with Gerard Way and the other My Chemical Romance members, and became a fan of their original demo and helped them get their first shows. After his band broke up Frank played in several bands including I Am A Graveyard, Hybrid, and Sector 12 before being offered the slot of rhythm guitar in My Chemical Romance.

Iero (far left) with My Chemical Romance in 2007.

Iero joined My Chemical Romance in 2002 and was featured on two tracks, "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us" and "Early Sunsets Over Monroeville", on their debut album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. Iero performed on the band's second studio album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, released on June 8, 2004. My Chemical Romance released their third studio album The Black Parade, on October 24, 2006. My Chemical Romance's fourth and final studio album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys was released on November 22, 2010. The band announced their breakup on March 22, 2013.

Iero fronted the hardcore punk quintet Leathermouth, who released their debut album XO in January 2009 on Epitaph Records. The band split later in 2010. He is involved in a tribute band to The Cure named The Love Cats, after the song of the same name, and played bass with Reggie and the Full Effect on their farewell tour. His first solo song This Song Is A Curse was released as a bonus track on the official soundtrack to the Tim Burton film Frankenweenie. He later posted an anti-Xmas track he recorded as a joke in 15 minutes and followed that up with a cover of the song 'Be My Baby', originally made famous by The Ronettes.

On December 7, 2010, Iero left the record company Skeleton Crew that he and his wife had co-founded in order to concentrate on his family and his music with My Chemical Romance, stating that although he would have loved to carry on, he could not juggle his career with the band, the new additions to his family (newborn daughters), and co-running a business .[7] He was a judge for the 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.[8]

In early 2013 Iero and James Dewees announced that they were working on a new project, a digital hardcore act called Death Spells. They also announced a tour supporting Mindless Self Indulgence and a performance at the Skate and Surf Festival in New Jersey. Starting a week before the Mindless Self Indulgence tour Death Spells posted a short demo of a new song each night at midnight, culminating this with their first full single Where Are My Fucking Pills? and an accompanying music video.[9] A full-length album was expected to be released in late 2013[10] but was delayed until 2016, when their album Nothing Above, Nothing Below was released on July 29 of that year.[11]

During Death Spells' initial inactivity in 2013 Iero performed new solo songs live and posted others to his SoundCloud, then implied he had a full album worth of songs wrote with more content being created on a continuous basis. This was confirmed to be for a solo album.[12]

On November 28, 2013 he announced via his official website and his Twitter account that a two-track release entitled "For Jamia..." would be released digitally and via limited vinyl on December 10.[13] After his former band broke up Frank began writing songs in his home studio. Throughout the rest of 2013 he started playing a couple of songs live at events, posted a demo of "joyriding", and recorded a full-length album. Frank plays everything on the album except for drums which were handled by former My Chemical Romance drummer Jarrod Alexander. He also assembled a touring band composed of Evan Nestor, Rob Hughes and Matt Olsson.[14] In June 2014 he announced his signing to Staples Records and his debut album called Stomachaches due out August 25, under the moniker frnkiero andthe cellabration. This was followed up with tour dates (a support slot on the Taking Back Sunday and The Used co-headline US fall tour) and a debut single called "Weighted". On August 4, 2014 he released the music video for this song. A second single and accompanying video for the song "Joyriding" was released. The band opened for Mallory Knox in the UK in November 2014 on their first overseas run. The band announced headline dates for 2015 in Mexico, the US, and Europe and played the Reading and Leeds festivals of that year. The band also opened for Against Me in the US on a summer tour and ended the year on a headline run.

Frank Iero and the Future Violents performing in Chile, as part of their Southamerican Tour 2019

They performed two acoustic shows in New Jersey showcasing new material and announcing they were go into studio to record a second album in two weeks. On May 22, 2016 they officially announced recording a new album and an Australian tour, with a name change to the band, to be then known as Frank Iero and the Patience. The band performed at Shadow of the City with The 1975 in New Jersey and played both Riot Fest dates (Denver and Chicago) in September 2016. After a motor vehicle accident that injured Iero and his bandmates, all remaining 2016 dates were canceled.[15] Iero released his second studio album titled Parachutes on October 28 and returned to touring during 2017.[16]

On December 31, 2018 Iero announced his new solo moniker Frank Iero and the Future Violents.[17] He released his third solo studio album, Barriers, under the new moniker on May 31, 2019. Loudwire named it one of the 50 best rock albums of 2019.[18]

Frank Iero and the Future Violents[19][20]

• Frank Iero – lead vocals, guitars
• Evan Nestor – guitars, percussion, backing vocals
• Matt Armstrong – bass guitar
• Tucker Rule – drums, percussion
• Kayleigh Goldsworthy – keyboards, violin, mandolin, backing vocals

Frank Iero and the Patience[21]

• Frank Iero – lead vocals, guitars
• Evan Nestor – guitars, backing vocals
• Steve Evetts – bass guitar
• Matt Olson – drums, percussion, backing vocals

frnkiero andthe cellabration.[22]

• Frank Iero – lead vocals, guitars
• Evan Nestor – guitars, backing vocals
• Rob Hughes – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Matt Olson – drums, percussion, backing vocals

On October 31, 2019, My Chemical Romance announced they would be reuniting with a date in Los Angeles on December 20 and a new merchandise line.[23] They announced that they would also be playing shows in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan in 2020.[24] The tour was later postponed to 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[25][26] The last concert of the tour took place on March 26, 2023, in Osaka, Japan, The status of the band post-tour is currently unknown.

The Epiphone Wilshire Phant-o-matic is an electric guitar designed by Frank Iero alongside Epiphone. It is based on an Epiphone Wilshire body with many components off of an Epiphone Les Paul, such as the neck and pickups. The guitar was birthed from Iero's long-lasting relationship with Epiphone guitars, saying in an interview that back when the band was first starting out they would need to be careful with money and spend it only where they needed, and stated that between him and lead guitarist Ray Toro, Epiphone guitars were always a cheap alternative to the likes of Fender and Gibson guitars that would also hold up on the road. When Epiphone reached out to Iero about supplying guitars for their upcoming tours and the idea of a signature was thrown in the air, Iero swooped on it to create a guitar that retained the Les Paul tone and feel whilst shedding the weight of a Les Paul to reduce fatigue and back strain. The Phant-o-matic was available in Antique Ivory and Emerald Green.