My Chemical Romance
The Black Parade
Release Date: Oct 24, 2006
Genre(s): Rock, Alternative, Emo
Record label: Reprise
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Album Review: The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
Exceptionally Good, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 9/10
Like the Pumpkins, My Chemical Romance shares a love of classic metal that manifests itself in both pummeling riffs and soaring guitar solos, plus they also have a flair for melody, two things that give their solipsistic rock muscle and grandeur. If MCR didn't have these gifts, The Black Parade would collapse in a pile of drama club clichés, sophomoric self-pity, and an adolescent obsession with death, yet they manage to skirt such a disaster even if they flirt with it shamelessly. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the album is a triumph.
Based on rating 4/5
My Chemical Romance have killed emo, and any preconceived ideas about them should be buried along with it. Out go the vampires and adolescent caterwauling. In come alter ego the Black Parade and a concept album cum pantomime rock opera that should be on a West End stage rather than an iPod playlist. The story of a man's untimely death is told through the flamboyant drama and epic guitar solos of Queen, the multi-coloured marching band of Sgt Pepper, and the scary vaudeville of the Doors.
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