My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade Record Label: Reprise Release Date: October 24 2006 It’s always hard when a beloved band breaks up, whether it’s a band you love, or a band loved by many. When news broke that alternative rock band My Chemical Romance broke up this year, I was a bit saddened, because they were a band I grew up with a bit. But another part of me was indifferent, because I was never a huge fan. The only record I know very well is 2006’s The Black Parade, which is a record that means a lot to me. It’s important to me, because it’s one of the first records I’ve ever listened to. As an angsty 13-year-old, this was a record I went crazy about, and going back to it years later, I still enjoy it. Well, most of it, anyway. I know fans may tear me apart for saying that I don’t like a song or two, but when I was younger, I loved this album for everything is had to offer. Now that I’m older, I love it in a nostalgic way. That may sound like I don’t love the record itself, but I still enjoy a lot of songs on the album. I’m not the same kid I used to be when I first heard it, so this record does not affect me as much as it used to. One thing that really drew me to this album was its interesting concept. The Black Parade is centered around a character named “the Patient,” and around the Patient’s death, and when death comes for him, coming in the form of a parade. Frankly, one of the shortcomings of the record was I never could follow the narrative. I still can’t, because it doesn’t come off clearly. The songs themselves are still entertaining, and taken individually, they hold up nicely. Intro track “The End” is very interesting, because based on the title, it shouldn’t be at the beginning. It’s does a nice job of setting up the album very nicely. It leads right into second song, “Dead!” which is another really cool song. It’s not one of my favorites, but the song is a very straightforward rocker that features some really cool instrumentation and makes sense about the Patient talking about his death and the memories of his life. Vocalist/lyricist Gerard Way was another part of this record that stood out to me. He has a very interesting and unique voice, but I never loved it. He’s not one of my favorite singers, and it just never really hit me all that much. His voice really shines on a couple of songs, which are ultimately my favorites, such as fifth track “Welcome to the Black Parade.” This is where the album slows down slightly, and this song is a huge epic, essentially. It builds up slowly throughout the track, and the payoff is wonderful. It’s where the theme of the album really comes into play. The first half of this album is absolutely great, right up until seventh track “House of Wolves.” The record goes a bit south after this. Not that these songs are bad, but they don’t really hit me in a good way or bad way, they’re tracks I ultimately skip. Things finally pick up again with tenth and eleventh tracks “Teenagers,” and “Disenchanted.” These are my two favorite songs, and well, it’s quite evident why. The former was always a rather silly song, because the song is just about teenagers “scare the living sh*t” out of Way, and that’s it. The latter is my favorite because it’s one of the few times that Way’s voice really hits me. It’s an acoustic song with very saddening lyrics, then again, the whole record is quite sad, but this song is the epitome of that sadness. It’s an emotional track, and ultimately my favorite. I don’t really care for the band, and I don’t listen to The Black Parade as much as I used to, but it was rather saddening to see them go. Sometimes bands you love break up, it happens. You got to respect what they want to do in their lives, and you can always go back and listen to their other records. Those records won’t be going away anytime soon, and I’m glad they won’t, because this album was a very important part of my adolescence. I don’t know what kind of music I would be listening to without it, honestly. Overall rating: 9/10 -Bradley
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 05:00:01 +0000
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