Gerard Way was severely depressed in the wake of My Chemical Romance's breakup.
The emo band announced their split in 2013 and left fans distraught. But frontman Gerard Way was also left feeling low and admits it's the most down he's ever been.
"Doing the right think is usually the hardest thing. I was the most depressed I've been in my whole life," Gerard recalled to British magazine Q.
Luckily Doug McKean, who had worked as the band's producer/engineer, convinced the 37-year-old to pull himself out of bed and get writing new material.
As a result Gerard was back in the studio a month after the band dissolved, penning and recording new tracks.
"At a certain point after the band had broken up, I realised this was the therapy that helped get me through it," he smiled. "But I'd written an album by then."
Gerard's debut solo album is due out in September, with the musician taking a lighter approach to making music.
My Chemical Romance enjoyed 11 years in the limelight and were well known for their bleak tunes. However Gerard's new material is much more upbeat and aimed at fellow 30-somethings, as well as his current fan base.
"Towards the end [of MCR], I wasn't being true to myself. It was when I decided to be honest with myself that I started to get better," he said.
He'll be performing new tracks at this year's Reading and Leeds festival in the UK in August and cites David Bowie as the influence behind one of his new songs, No Shows.
"[Bowie] was trying to escape the stress of his career trajectory. I was trying to get out of the stress of being [part of] a machine," he explained.
