The Black Parade - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way has alternately described his band's third album as "completely over the top" and "borderline psychotic." But even those words can't adequately prepare fans of the group's 2004 platinum major-label debut, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, for the onslaught of twisted song suites, glam-rock cannon fire and drama-club theatrics that make up The Black Parade. Tracks like "Mama" and "The End" make "Bohemian Rhapsody" sound like "Blitzkrieg Bop." It's no coincidence that the disc feels as dizzyingly monumental as Green Day's American Idiot--after all, the two albums share the same label, producer, studio, janitorial team, and sense of apocalyptic dread. Similarly, The Black Parade will cast its creators in a completely new light. Despite its overly histrionic tendencies and a totally oddball cameo from Liza Minelli, it offers a clear signal that My Chemical Romance is ready to be taken seriously. --Aidin Vaziri

Album Description
The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance's follow-up to its 2004 platinum major-label debut Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, "is way more dramatic, way more theatrical, completely over the top, borderline psychotic," says Gerard Way. "It's the most pure, intense thing we've ever been involved in." Producer by Rob Cavallo (Green Day), the album is a celebration of lvoe and death and darkness. Join The Black Parade.

Album Description
The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance's follow-up to its 2004 platinum major-label debut Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, "is way more dramatic, way more theatrical, completely over the top, borderline psychotic," says Gerard Way. "It's the most pure, intense thing we've ever been involved in." Producer by Rob Cavallo (Green Day), the album is a celebration of lvoe and death and darkness. Join The Black Parade.

Customer Reviews: Read 229 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Dark, Depressing, and Energetic...A Winning Combination for My Chemical Romance. October 24, 2006
91 out of 109 found this review helpful

New Jersey has been the breeding ground for some very interesting and disparate musical sounds. Musicians like Springsteen and Bon Jovi paved the way for the hard working, blue-collar musical pedigree that symbolizes Jersey's everyman roots. Work hard, work often, and make music you enjoy. My Chemical Romance is a band whose work ethic and energy match that of their musical talent. Incorporating sounds from three generations of punk, rock, metal, and pop and even a bit of Broadway,"The Black Parade" delivers dark and morbid with enough punch and emotion to make it a record that needs to find a way into your collection.

The themes of death and dying are frequent on this album, especially in the first few tracks. The opener "The End" is a bombastic track that could have fit perfectly on Pink Floyd's "The Wall". It's symbolically abrupt ending segues into the energetic and fast-paced track "Dead". Heavy guitars propel the metal pounding of "This is How I Disappear" and continue on the gothic and melodic sound of "The Sharpest Lives". First single "Welcome to the Black Parade" showcases the signature sound of the band: loud, melodic, and anthemic. Though death is a constant in each track, ironically, so is life. Vocalist Gerard Way and company lace each track with enough melody and spirit to break through the dark themes.

Toning down with Way's emotionally pained vocals of "I Don't Love You", MCR kicks the guitars back up with the bass-driven hard sound of "House of Wolves". "Cancer" has a haunting and depressing chorus,"The hardest part of this, is leaving you.." but is a beautifully bitter look at a man dying in his hospital bed. "Mama" is another great track, starting with a jaunty melody that kicks into a lively chorus. "Sleep" doesn't really stand out, but "Teenagers" and "Disenchanted" are quite impressive. "Famous Last Words" is one of the best tracks on the album, blending multiple musical styles into a cohesive and entertaining mix that ends the album on a great note (there is a one minute long, bizarre and Beatle-esque hidden track called "Blood").

Clocking in at just over 52 minutes, "The Black Parade" is a wonderful collection of tracks. Elements of bands from Kiss to Queen to Green Day are clearly present, but so are shades of Broadway and opera; clearly My Chemical Romance has a sound incorporating many musical influences. The record's production values are solid; Frank Iero and Ray Toro's guitars are right in your face but Way's vocals get buried at times. Though dark thematically, emotionally, and lyrically, this album has enough life and commercial viability that it should meet with the same success as "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge". Fans of the band will find plenty to enjoy, and this could be the album that breaks them into the mainstream. For these Jersey boys, though, I think they will be quite content building their fan base the blue-collar way, one grand album at a time. Highly Recommended.

A.G. Corwin
St.Louis, MO

5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful. October 25, 2006
58 out of 72 found this review helpful

(Note: Copy and pasted from my review on the limited edition. I figured this is the CD people will be looking at mostly, since it's the less expensive version. I have both versions, though, and, let me say, the limited edition is well worth the money. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about it if you need to. I've pretty much examined the entire thing about a gazillion times by now, lol.)

Okay, I'll be the first to admit... I had my hopes that this album would be amazing, but at the same time I couldn't bring myself to believe that My Chemical Romance could possibly exceed both of their previous albums. After I heard the rumors that the new CD's title would be "The Rise and Fall of My Chemical Romance", my hopes kind of fell into a rather large hole. You'd be amazed to know how something as small as a CD title can affect my brain--it seems silly, but I began to not expect much from them.

Finally, I heard about The Black Parade... my hopes skyrocketted because I started hearing more and more good things about the album. And upon purchasing it yesterday, it has not left my home, car, and work CD player. It's on constant repeat. I'm so, so, so happy to say that I was not disappointed by MCR. This album has only served to increase my absolute love of this band.

Okay. They've changed their sound. The music isn't as dark... but the LYRICS. The lyrics are still MCR. They still scream bloody murder WE. ARE. MY. CHEMICAL. ROMANCE. Even if the music or Gerard's voice are both different from their first two albums, who cares? The band is growing. I happen to like Three Cheers and Bullets equally. I don't think MCR would want to sound the same time after time after time... To me, an album is an expression of where you are in life at that particular moment. The lyrics and music SHOULD reflect this, and it shouldn't matter if it's creating a different sound or not. MCR's music is just about as much for them as it is for their fans, if not more. We should remember this as fans of their music and not write them off as complete has-beens because they've been featured on MTV one too many times. Just because they have a new sound DOES NOT mean they've sold out.

I digress. The effort put into this album is apparent from the very beginning as you tear off the wrapping and take your first glimpse at the album's enchantingly beautiful artwork. The amount of work that went into creating this concept must've been brilliant--it just looks perfect. The music itself gives off this air of being reborn, or that no matter what situation you're in, there's always hope for you. That death (The Black Parade?) is something to never fear because it's only the beginning of something new. The lyrics still speak to us of death and darkness and blood, but, again, they give us faith. We'll make it through this thing we call life. Death isn't as scary as you think. Don't worry anymore.

I just want to say, this album is a great way to start off as an MCR fan. If you've never listened to them before, or only heard one or two songs off their other albums--now's your chance to hear one of the best things they've ever done. You won't be disappointed. I promise.

1 out of 5 stars

Please, go back to whatever wretched, cliche and money hungry place you came from. October 26, 2006
23 out of 63 found this review helpful

Another My Chemical Romance record? What have we as a society done that was such an atrocity that we deserved this?? This makes me sick. This is more of the same emo trash plastered over mtv. Enjoy your trends, they won't be lasting much longer. The singer, made an interesting comment "We tried not to talk about death on this cd, but its allaround us as a band. We just couldn't" Very dark, very real. Gimme a break. Before I get a back lash of blabbermouth.net psuedo intellect comments, trying to justify MCR as a whole. Please, go listen to music that has real atmosphere and puts real and intense emotions out there. Then we can talk.

1 out of 5 stars

FAIL December 12, 2006
15 out of 41 found this review helpful

I never thought that there could be a musical genre even more worthless than nu-metal. Emo music is the new "abomination" of commercialized garbage that is sold to the youth of America. There is nothing worthwhile on this disc. Ultimately, these CD's are only destined for two places -- the landfill and/or one of those horrible compilation discs of rehashed garbage (like the best hits of the 80's). There is nothing of value in this music... It simply sells an identity and a sense of belonging to bored suburban teenagers. In the end, there is not much of a difference between emo and nu-metal. Both genres wallow in self-pity and put an emphasis on unreality and self-absorption. Rock music used to simply be about hedonism. Nowadays it is about personal drama and self-pity. Oh, look at me... look at my problems... Being "dark" and writing whiny lyrics has been equated with art nowadays, but there is nothing original and/or artistic about it. It is simply what it is -- corporate rock. So, when you drag your parents down to the local hot topics, just think... what am I really buying into here? Those gosh darn preps... Maybe you should realize that there is no difference between this music and the likes of Brittany Spears. You are just the "alternative" target audience.

5 out of 5 stars

Pop music? What do you mean by pop music? December 3, 2006
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Some people crack me up; punk rock is over thirty years old and we hear the same old arguments. They are selling out! It's poppy! WTF? Punk music CREATED what "pop" music would become--it was a way to sell mediocre bands for massive amounts of money, a.k.a. the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. And do not even try to argue that these later bands were musically talented. They were fun, but they were not Mozart. God. So please, do not even bring these "sell out" arguments into analyzing The Black Parade.

MCR was out to sell an album, but they were out to sell a GOOD album; they were out to make a musical composition. The Black Parade flows, and it all works together. It is not one or two good songs and a bunch of filler. It has a theme, and the music is correlated and emotional. Is it as dark as their other tunes? Probably not, but who the hell cares? Why do we have to be "as dark" in our music as humanly possible? What's wrong with a little bit of sweet melancholy?

Music isn't about being an identity or a culture. It's about making music. If it sells records, it doesn't mean its a bad album either. If you can listen to The Black Parade five times in a row and still not have it memorized, and still find yourself impacted emotionally, its a five star album. I think I've listened to this piece 8 or 9 times and I'm still loving it. So Buy it. Or download it. Whatever you do, don't knock on it because it wasn't what you expected.

If it wasn't what you expected that should be a GOOD thing. It means a band is experimenting, and MCR is taking this in a good direction. They're more developed than they used to be, and they're more musically complex. If a band isn't experimenting, they're dead.

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