My Chemical Romance has announced that they are currently in the studio recording a follow-up album to 2006's "The Black Parade". Producing the album is Brendan O'Brien, who has worked with Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, and Bruce Springsteen.

"At this point, the best way to describe the new album is My Chemical Romance being the purest, most distilled version of itself," Gerard Way said in a statement. "No bells and whistles, as the focus has been on melody and songwriting. If it doesn't work in a room with just the five of us, we arent trying to make it work in the studio with effects and string sections."

About working with O'Brien, Way says "Brendan is the kind of producer who really likes a lot of things going on at once, so we're tracking and he's going right across the hall and mixing. It's a process that always keeps everyone involved the whole time."

The band's guitarist Ray Toro has been posting short videos from the studio on the band's website. "What we're bringing from "Black Parade" to the new album is that sense of creative spark, where anything can feel possible, except distilled into a three minute, 30-second song," Toro said. "I can say, hands down, this is our best record yet."