Track Listing

1. The End.
2. Dead!
3. This Is How I Disappear
4. The Sharpest Lives
5. Welcome To The Black Parade
6. I Don't Love You
7. House Of Wolves
8. Cancer
9. Mama
10. Sleep
11. Teenagers
12. Disenchanted
13. Famous Last Words

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #862 in Music
• Released on: 2006-10-31
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics

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

A winner whether you like it or not
The biggest cry that people make against My Chemical Romance is that they are an emo copy-cat band. They have said time and time again that they originally were this way to get into the industry. However, as they evolved from their first album to their second (VERY easily noticed) their third takes yet another massive step forward as it delves into the realms of classic rock at its best.

The biggest and most obvious influences here, notably even mentioned by the band itself in multiple interviews, are three rock masterpieces. These are The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," Pink Floyd's "The Wall," and Queen's "A Night at the Opera."

Sgt. Pepper's influence is noticable right before you even put the CD in the player. Open up the booklet and the first two things you'll notice are the old newspaper-styled formatting and the photo of the band in black and white "death" versions of the clothes of the band members of "Sgt. Pepper's..." Beyond that, there is notably the very experimental feel in entire album, and some songs even seem to have a gentle yet brilliant anthem-like sound to them.

Queen's influence, as well as Pink Floyd's, comes in the overall quirkiness in the album, which can also somewhat be said about Sgt. Pepper's. The track "Mama" sounds like it could be right off "The Wall" (no pun intended) both in its sound and its lyrical content as well as possibly taking a certain level of direct inspiration from "Bohemian Rhapsody." The final hidden track of the album, Blood, sounds an awful lot like the short but brilliant Queen track "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon," albeit being a tad more vulgar (though offering the same sort of hilarity in the song on both the uncut AND edited versions of the album nonetheless).

Where the album stands strong is with its catchiness and its power to hook you in. Even though the first single, "Welcome to the Black Parade," was overplayed to the point no one wanted to hear it anymore (similar to with Green Day. I still say American Idiot was a genuine masterpiece), it really does strike a nerve somewhere. It's a powerful song and truly one of the best on the album.

Two other singles, "Famous Last Words" and "Teenagers" are also among the many highlights on this album. The latter of the two is so catchy that you will find yourself screaming everywhere "TEENAGERS SCARE THE LIVING S--T OUTTA ME!" The last single, "I Don't Love You," is a solid song, but there was a much greater potential in songs like "Dead!", "House of Wolves" and the true winner on this album "Cancer." The last song mentioned there is especially powerful when you have seen a person die or dying of cancer as the song is told from the perspective of someone with it. It's very grim and very sad.

Where many will consider them to be "emo" is in the overlying and highly prevalent theme of death. However, where this theme is most commonly and strongly used here is in the idea of moving on past death and understanding it better. I personally feel the examination into it is very thorough and almost feels like you're seeing a person's life in your mind as you listen to this album.

Overall, as mentioned in the very title, this album is a winner, whether you believe they are "emo" or not. This is a band with a future and a lot of potential. I, like many others, will keep an eye on them in the future and I highly recommend that if you have not yet picked up this album, do so. You may find yourself with the same sort of fixated eye as myself.

*****5 stars*****

Easily In My Top 5 Albums of ALL Time
Honestly regardless of what people summarize My Chemical Romances 'true' genre to be, one thing is for certain "The Black Parade" is amongst the top albums available. From production to intricacy, to the depth each song brings to the table, and lastly the high replay value the album fortifies.

I listen to everything, Jazz, Metal, Rock, Blues, Classical, Hardcore etc, and still this album remains a staple in my collection. Upon receiving it Oct,31,2006 I was hooked.

Starting off with reminiscence to Pink Floyd's "In The Flesh", "The End" is truly only the beginning. A all too sarcastic yet dark tone alerts one that this is going to be a conceptual album (as it connects so nicely with proceeding songs and lyrical content), the pulsing bleeps show signs of fading. Abruptly "Dead!" follows directly where "The End" left off with a flat lining monitor, now shifting to an oddly deranged upright beat. "Dead!" has a Beatles like outro, although they swap the friendly lyrics a Beatles tune would incorporate for chiming chants of life (and death). Next in line is the 'dark séance below' solemn yearning song "This Is How I Disappear". "Sharpest Lives" is amongst one of my favorites really bass heavy, cynical but redemptive taunting lyrics.

The contrast is great as "Welcome To The Black Parade" marches upon us with militant drums and the first sub hooking notes. The song takes on a Queen like quality which is phenomenal. As the song paints a picture it's
a ever progressing one at that. Combining a thematic intro with a pop-punk sound and making it sound marvelous is quite a feat. The mourning "I Don't Love You" feels cold, hollow, and upsetting. "House Of Wolves" is the hard rocker of the album. "Cancer" is the tearjerker of the album, focusing upon simplicity with piano to intently focus on the vocal and upsetting reality of the matter. "Mama" can be interpreted in so many different scenarios and perspectives even each of the band members see it differently. "Mama" is the epic, "Mama" is the nauseating disturbing song of the album.It plays with war like themes and factious carnival tones. The last minute is truly disturbing, from the siren like sounds, to the chorus in the back round. Screeching notes randomly jerking in and out and Liza Minelli's singing exports this to a higher realm of layering. After such a powerful song you get the slower repetitive "Sleep". "Teenagers" stirred a bit of controversy upon the time its music video was released, the controversy can easily be linked to the lyrical content. Probably not the best time to release a song a bout tormented gun wielding teens. The song is a chiseling tune, crisply power chord driven.

Reeling toward the end we get to the all too fatigued song "Disenchanted", sad song really. Revealing a burnt out persons views and tying it ironically to a nice radio single ready package. While the acoustic plucking the remaining notes feels like a true ending to an album it isn't in this case. MCR have made room for an upbeat ending "Famous Last Words". It's as thematic as "Welcome To The Black Parade" and is the final link to the stories resolution. Truly an inspiring song, one of the best sung endings I've ever herd.

While MCR are claimed to be emo listen to the lyrics, their is always a glimpse of light in the Black Parade. And through it all, the rise and fall MCR have created a conceptual masterpiece capable of ascending the ranks up their with "The Wall" and "Tommy". Great listen, highly worth price!

AWESOME album...
I bought this album expecting it to be almost like MCR's first two hits, not realizing that they had grown since then. The songs, along with the copncept, are amazing, to say the least. I listen to this album all the time. Every song has a meaning that I can relate to, and I recommend this album to anyone who is looking for a band that won't let you down.