The Black Parade review

The New Concept Album

The Black Parade is the third studio album of the talented American band My Chemical Romance. The producer of the album was the famous Rob Cavallo, who produced all the albums of the band Green Day, beginning from 1994. The name of the future creation of My Chemical Romance was long kept secret, as well as its contents, the band even having cancelled a few life performances to fully indulge themselves in the recording. Finally, the long-awaited album hit the stores. As well as the two preceding albums, The Black Parade is a concept album, all the tracks being linked by one topic. The concept builds around the main character named the Patient, who suffers an untimely death of cancer. The name of the album was chosen due to the bandleader Gerard Way’s belief that death comes to a man in the form of his most vivid life impression. The main character of the album remembers how his Dad took him to the parade when he was little, so his death comes to him as The Black Parade. To create the full image, Way even cut and dyed his hair to resemble a person undergoing chemotherapy. By the release of their new album My Chemical Romance once more proved their devotion to the punk-rock, though it is difficult to define the major musical genre of the record.

An Ambitious and Imaginative Creation

Despite the really dark topic of The Black Parade, the musicians managed to create a very ambitious, imaginative and highly positive album. The first track, though entitled The End, begins with the introduction of the acoustic guitar, resembling the beating of the heart on a monitor, which is later joined by the subtle piano chords, succeeded by the drums and the bass. The following composition Dead! amazes by the variety of sound, that masterfully combines the bass and the drums, as well as piano and horns, that altogether create the sound, bursting with drive and adrenalin. One of the highlights of The Black Parade is the track Mama, an Italian folk song in My Chemical Romance’s punk performance, accompanied by Liza Minelli’s back vocals. One more definite highlight of the record is the song Teenagers, that opens with the abrasive guitar, breaking into the real electro-rock, creating an ideal background for Gerard Way’s screaming vocals. Perhaps, one of the most unusual tracks of the album is Hidden Track, half of which is an absolute silence, which on the third minute of its duration breaks into the vivacious vocals accompanied by the piano, being a great soundtrack to the mute movie.

One of the Most Sparkling and Creative Releases This Year

My Chemical Romance refuse to squeeze themselves and their music into any kind of style boundaries, thus setting new quality standards and achieving new goals. The quality of the album has improved incredibly, compared to the first two records – it is definitely more cohesive, plus the professional level of the instrumental performance and the vocals has risen drastically. Despite the fact that The Black Parade was greatly influenced by the creations of such eminent classic rock and punk performers as Queen, Pink Floyd, David Bowie and Smashing Pumpkins, My Chemical Romance have proved that you can learn from the past, nevertheless, preserving your own identity and creating unique music. The result is the album that will not let itself fit one exact style, obviously being one of the most sparkling and creative releases this year. The Black Parade is the creation that will please the ears of the band’s admirers, arouse interest of those who are not yet familiar with My Chemical Romance and will certainly bring a nostalgic smile to the faces of the connoisseurs of the 70s and 80s classic rock.