The Light Behind Your Eyes is my favourite deep cut track from the emo legends My Chemical Romance. Coming off of their Conventional Weapons EP Series, which was a generally overlooked collection of tracks, I think it's one of their more unique songs, albeit mostly because of how different of a flavour it is compared to their usual catalogue. It's become one of my favourite soft emo songs of all time, like a gem in the rubble.
This song is quite different for them and you can immediately tell the moment the song starts. Symphonic elements lead the start of the song and overlook the entire track, half the song is on an acoustic guitar and without drums. His voice is soft but firm, not loud but equally emotive. The atmosphere of hopefulness that they paint with such simple but strong musical elements is at the very core of this song, even as they transition to a more powerful anthemic sound later on.
I love how the rest of the band comes in for the second chorus, just in time to amp up the energy and let Gerard sing louder. I love the little guitar licks going on in the background, and the soulful guitar solo wailing in the background of the bridge. The drum pattern isn't complex but it does the job, holding the fort down so that the song as a whole can sound more powerful.
The sentiment of the song is strongest in the lyrics, and as much as I love the passion and genuine emotion in Gerard Way's voice, I fell in love with this song for its words, its meaning. It's equal parts comforting and motivating, never trying to hide the ugly truth of life but standing steadfast in his declaration of belief in the listener to stay strong. It's such a cathartic experience to listen to this song, especially for people who felt like giving up. This song still gives me goosebumps every now and then, for what it meant to me then and what it means to me now.
Compared to the punkier party-esque sound of Danger Days, the iconic emo sound of The Black Parade and the rougher emo/screamo sound of Three Cheers and I Gave You My Bullets, it's hard to say that The Light Behind Your Eyes is anywhere near one of their best sounds. In fact, it's quite barebones for a song in essence. I guess that's the beauty of personal sentiment, both being able to acknowledge that it's nowhere near their best works but at the same time being able to proudly say that it is one of my favourites.
Rating: 5/5