In most high schools, the punks and drama dorks never sit together at lunch, let alone talk about music. Emo must be the great equalizer, then — there’s no other explanation for an album at once so theatrical and hysterical as My Chemical Romance’s major-label debut. Singer Gerard Way used to draw comic books for a living, until a bad breakup and 9/11 inspired him to form a band that conflates ex-girlfriends with vampires. These songs (with inspired titles like “You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison” and “It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Deathwish”) come off like the Cure gone hyper, clearly inspired by Way’s screamy buddies Geoff Rickly (from Thursday) and the Used’s Bert McCracken. Way’s gulping, gasping whine turns stompers like “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” into after-school poetry — perfect for pissing off your parents, carving into your binder or auditioning for summer-stock Phantom of the Opera.

DOWNLOAD THESE “I’m Not Okay (I Promise),” “Helena,” “The Ghost of You”