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Back view of a musician with signature voluminous dark curls holding a guitar on a concert stage.

Musician and songwriter

Ray Toro

Best known for Lead guitarist and backing vocalist for My Chemical Romance

Born
1977
From
American
Working since
2001
Also known as
Raymond Toro

You can't talk about 2000s rock without talking about Ray Toro's soaring lead guitar. As the musical engine behind My Chemical Romance, he helped turn emo into massive arena anthems with riffs that sounded straight out of classic heavy metal. He was never the loudest guy in the room, but his playing did all the heavy lifting.

When the band called it quits in 2013, he kept busy dropping solo tracks and scoring indie films. Still, nothing beats the real thing. When MCR got back together to pack out stadiums across the globe, fans rushed right back to watch that iconic halo of curls tearing up the fretboard all over again.

Follows: X @raytoro · instagram @ray.toro

Latest: My Chemical Romance Just Dropped The Biggest New Album Hint Yet · 13 September 2026

Ray Toro in brief

  • —Co-founded My Chemical Romance in New Jersey in 2001.
  • —Built the searing guitar riffs that defined the multi-platinum album The Black Parade.
  • —Dropped his debut solo album Remember the Laughter in 2016.
  • —Returned to sold-out global arena stages for the massive MCR reunion run.

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