The Black Parade

Untitled

The Black Parade is the third studio album by New Jersey rock quintet My Chemical Romance. It was released on October 17, 2006, in Puerto Rico, October 19 in Ireland, on October 20 in Germany, internationally on October 23, and October 24, in the United States. Like the band's first two albums, it is a concept album, centering around a character known as "the Patient," who suffers an untimely death at a young age due to cancer. The album is produced by Rob Cavallo, who has produced every Green Day album since 1994, save for Warning:. The album was intentionally leaked in its entirety on October 19. In an interview with MTV, the band said that the name "The Black Parade" was chosen due to a belief that death comes to individuals as their most powerful memory. The main character in the concept went to a parade with his father at a young age, therefore death comes to him as a "Black Parade".

Pre-release and release

The band were very secretive about the new album when they were recording it. They played very few shows, and ended up canceling several concerts in July and August, mainly due to injuries sustained during the filming of the video for their second single.

The Rise and Fall of My Chemical Romance was originally thought to be the official title; however it was later confirmed as the working title by Gerard Way, the lead singer of My Chemical Romance, in a July interview with Kerrang! magazine. He stated "It was never the title of the album, more a spoof, or joke."

In mid-July, 2006, fans started hearing of The Black Parade. A page on the Warner Reprise website, and a Myspace profile were launched under this name. Many fans began to speculate as to what The Black Parade might be. Speculation suggested that The Black Parade would be the name of the new album, but Gerard Way refused to confirm this, saying in an interview with Kerrang! magazine that the title was "super-secret".

The title of the album was officially revealed at a concert played in London on 22 August, 2006. The show started with an announcement that My Chemical Romance were unable to play and that their "good friends 'The Black Parade'" would be playing instead. They later went on to announce the title of the album to the crowd, and that The Black Parade was also their alter ego. After the concert a long interview with the band was posted on www.theblackparade.com answering some of the questions asked by fans. The slogan "We Are the Black Parade" was also said to mean that the fans can also be a part of this and they are also The Black Parade by the band.

Concept

The concept of the album is Gerard Way's belief that when death comes, it comes in the form of one's strongest subconscious memory. The album is focused around a character called the Patient and how death comes to him. Gerard said in an interview released on iTunes that: "This album is a story of a man, known as The Patient who dies in a hospital. He goes on an odyssey and examines his life and the mistakes he has made. His strongest memory is his dad taking him to a parade when he was a child. So when death comes for him, it comes in the form of a black parade." The Patient dies of cancer, as proven on songs like "Cancer", and by Way cutting his hair short and bleaching it white to resemble a man who has undergone chemotherapy.

According to Way, the album contains "some really dark stuff and some touches of Queen and The Doors. And there's some really experimental parts that sound a bit like System Of A Down. But all of that is mixed with a big shot of My Chemical Romance". Way has also said that the album "is way more dramatic, way more theatrical, completely over the top, borderline psychotic. It's the most pure, intense thing we've ever been involved in. We just didn't mess around at all. To be honest with you, it felt like we did at the beginning when we did [our first record], that's the kind of intensity that we got."

Influences

Gerard has cited Queen as a major influence. The tonality of the guitar orchestration in "Welcome to the Black Parade" allegedly resembles the timbral qualities of the guitar orchestration done by Queen guitarist Brian May, especially in "It's a Hard Life" on the Queen album The Works. The opening and closing sections of "Welcome to the Black Parade" are highly reminiscent too of the Queen song "Innuendo", off the eponymous Queen album Innuendo.

Gerard has also stated that the three albums which have the most similarity to this album, and some of the influences on this record, are Queen's A Night at the Opera, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Pink Floyd's The Wall.

It has also recently been stated by Gerard that the Smashing Pumpkins album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was an influence on this record and that he considered this new album to be MCR's version of Mellon Collie. It can be noted that the album was released in the United States 11 years to the day after the release of Mellon Collie.

Mixed reception

The album has had mixed reviews, some reviews have been considerably negative, while others have been positive with many praising the sound the band has developed for the album.

NME has given it a rating of 9/10, saying "The Black Parade' is an ostentatious concept-album-rock-opera about death, and it's about to turn the late MCR into the biggest band on the planet." The review goes on to to say that "MCR have moved so far from the emo sound you know", and praises the album as something to put on your greatest U.S. rock albums shelf, along with the likes of Nirvana's "Nevermind", The Pixies "Doolittle" and Green Day's "American Idiot". Rolling Stone Magazine gave the album a 4/5, calling it "a rabid, ingenious paraphrasing of echoes and kitsch from rock's golden age of bombast."

The Observer Music Monthly gave the album a negative review, and one out of five stars, stating that it reeks of a band with ideas above their station, and employs a pseudo-theatrical element . Stylus gave the album a C+, describing the album as "a mixed bag". Aversion once described the album with just the word, "lame", and later expanded on that by stating, "you can't figure if you just heard the worst prog-rock album ever, the worst off-Broadway soundtrack ever or the worst Goth-punk album ever". Village Voice has also been harsh in its review as well. Canada.com criticized the Black Parade in a review commenting; "The result takes too much effort to comprehend and enjoy."

Blender Magazine gives the album 4.5/5 stars calling it the "Sgt. Pepper of screamo." NTLworld gives the album 3.5/4 stars calling it "no ordinary rock record." The review continues to claim "My Chemical Romance have just become one of the most important bands on the planet, of that there is no doubt." USA Today also gives the album 3.5/4 stars calling the record "one festive and flamboyant march into the great beyond." Alternative Press Magazine scores the album a 5/5 and adds "The Black Parade is MCR's raison d'etre rolled up into one mega-decibel calling card." The New York Times says "it may prove to be the best rock record of the year." Guardian Unlimited gave it a 4/5, and called it "the most bonkers album of the year, but one of the best". SPIN magazine, with 4/5 stars, hails it as "a savage, heartfelt, at times hilarious goth-mosh emopera." Total Guitar magazine, with a 9/10,:"Any good? Good, however, it certainly is. In fact, it's more than good, it's astonishing." They go on to call it "a stone cold (crazy) classic."

In addition it has received positive reviews from Kerrang! magazine (4/5: "It'll take a few listens but... you'll be dazzled by its brilliance"), All Music Guide, The Los Angeles Times, IGN, The Boston Globe ("MCR pretty brilliantly mashes classic rock's bloat with punk's lean, surging energy, which is no easy task.") The Washington Post, and Entertainment Weekly (A- "the album is not just the band's most adventurous but also its best").

Special Edition Version

A special edition of The Black Parade was made available for pre-sale. The product description is as follows... "The limited edition features a long skinny box with hinged lid, wrapped in black velveteen. The 72-page book in the box contains Gerard's drawings, making-of-the album notes from the band, and 4 special photo art cards, plus the CD." At the time of writing, the product has currently sold out on The Black Parade's website. The track "Kill All Your Friends" is a confirmed as a B-Side in the special edition commentary by lead guitarist Ray Toro.

Track listing

1. "The End" – 1:52
2. "Dead!" – 3:15
3. "This Is How I Disappear" – 3:59
4. "The Sharpest Lives" – 3:20
5. "Welcome to the Black Parade" – 5:11
6. "I Don't Love You" – 3:58
7. "House of Wolves" – 3:04
8. "Cancer" – 2:22
9. "Mama" – 4:38
10. "Sleep" – 4:43
11. "Teenagers" – 2:41
12. "Disenchanted" – 4:55
13. "Famous Last Words" – 4:59
14. "Blood" (Hidden Track) – 2:53

Currently, all tracks aside from "Blood" (Hidden Track) can be heard on http://www.theblackparade.com/

"Blood" (Hidden Track) can be heard on http://www.mychemicalromance.com/ in a journey to complete the quest of "The Patient" (the quest can be started by clicking on a gas mask link).

B-Sides

1. "Heaven Help Us" – 2:56
2. "Kill All Your Friends" - (Yet to Be Released)

Singles

• "Welcome to the Black Parade" - (2006)
• "Famous Last Words" - (2007)

Personnel

• Gerard Way - Lead vocals
• Mikey Way - Bass guitar
• Frank Iero - Rhythm guitar
• Ray Toro - Lead guitar
• Bob Bryar - Drums
• Additional musicians
  • Rob Cavallo: Piano
  • Jamie Muhoberac: Hammond organ, Synthesizer, Piano on "Blood"
  • Cheech Iero: Additional percussion on "Welcome to the Black Parade"
  • Linda Iero, Donald James, Donna Lee Way: Additional vocals on "Mama"
  • Liza Minnelli: Guest Vocals on "Mama"

Favorite Songs

When asked by a fan what their favorite song was from the record in a video on The Black Parade website, Gerard and Mikey both responded with "Welcome to the Black Parade" because it best represents the album, Frank Iero said "Cancer" because it's their only really stripped down song, Ray Toro said "Famous Last Words" because it ends the journey of the record with a sense of hope, and Bob Bryar said that on that day it was "I Don't Love You", because they recently had played it and he thought it was a great song.