My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
Released October 20th, 2006
Bob Bryar, Frank Iero, Ray Toro, Gerard Way, Mikey Way
Genre: Alternative rock / Pop punk
Suggested by: Jake
Intro
I won't lie, I've never liked My Chemical Romance. They have seemed like that big poser emo band- and a little too mainstream for my liking. That being said however, I am VERY FUCKING surprised with how much I enjoy a lot of these songs. This album is great and does exactly what it needs to do for a rock opera. Everything clicks, the songs are fantastic, and my hated views are put to rest permanently.
Thoughts & Feelings?
This album makes me feel like I'm walking through the woods, and there's a secret party going on where everyone is dancing going crazy, but they've also made like a giant totem in the middle to be burned, and everyone is dancing around in circles around the huge fire and I'm like what the FUCK kind of cult shit did I just walk into? Don't ask me to elaborate further.
I'm VERY surprised by this album. I appreciate it VERY much. There are a lot of great songs to appreciate here, and I'm sure there are underrated gems that people love here. I'm a big sucker for the fast paced punk rock songs, so that's what I'm here to eat. Thankfully I get a good dose of a few songs that satiate that appetite. I'm very surprised, because going into this I thought My Chemical Romance kinda sucked. Actually listening to them- I'm definitely wrong. These guys rock, and I should have shown them more respect. There's a lot to love for every genre, here.
Smash or Pass?
The End - Smash. This song is a short intro to the album, and is a little ominous but louder than I expected the intro to be. Overall a good introduction to the story and all. I'm told that this is a rock opera, so I'm guessing this song is very plot relevant.
Dead - SMASH. I fucking love the way this song sounds. How have I never heard this song? This is PLEASANTLY surprising. It's a good mix of fast pace high energy action and just enough punk rock to please the old soul inside me. So far I'm getting a lot of death vibes from the story of this album. I'd say this song is almost playlist worthy. So far this is a high song for me. Sweet ass guitar in this song.
This Is How I Disappear - SMAASSHH. This song sounds like a Foo Fighters track. OKAY WHAT THE FUCK? No one told me that MCR is actually banging. This song is AWESOME. I'm getting fucking chills listening to this. Holy fuck I have done this band a great disservice by not listening to them. This honestly sounds like some classic punk rock, why the fuck is this considered pop punk? This song is SERIOUSLY playlist worthy. The FUCK? I'm so surprised at how much I love this song.
The Sharpest Lives - Smash. I'm definitely not as into this song as the last 2, but it still sounds surprisingly great. Honestly another banger punk rock track, this one definitely can hold it's own against the last 2. I'd be a little scared going into the next song since these last 3 songs have been very similar, but I know what's coming next- everyone and their mums has heard the next one. This song is great though, it shows up.
Welcome to the Black Parade - SMASH. I mean everyone likes this song, but I'm going to be SUPER objective here. This song is iconic, and I can't deny that. I just think this song is a little too over the top for me. I much preferred the last 3 over this song, but I know this is the most popular. I'm glad they kick back into the punk rock vibe after the dramatic opening though. I can see why people like this song a lot, but it really isn't for me. It's still a good song, I really love the chorus, but it's just a little too much going on for my liking. All the power to everyone that loves this song though, makes complete sense.
I Don't Love You - Smash. I knew sooner or later there had to be a slower song on this album so here it is. Makes sense, and it's much needed. The production quality is really peak in this song. It's not over the top too much, it's a good balance. Makes sense, most shit was well produced in the 2000s in my personal opinion. Yeah this song is a slow ballad and no doubt important to the overall story they're trying to tell. It's objectively a really good song, everything works. The sudden explosion near the end was surprising to me. That was great.
House of Wolves - Smash. NOW we're back into fast punk rock vibes. This song is definitely better than I Don't Love You and Welcome to the Black Parade (sorry, my opinion). It's not amazing though. It's probably in between Dead and The Sharpest Lives, probably underneath Sharpest Lives but just barely. This song honestly sounds like something by Turbonegro or Wolfmother. It's crazy to me how good these songs are though.
Cancer - Smash. I mean naturally every song is going to be a smash at this point just because objectively they're great songs and don't do anything wrong- they are correct. I think the vocals are a little off in this one, maybe a little too processed, but it's fine. I don't have anything to complain about- rock operas NEED songs like these to change the pace- so I have zero complaints. This song is required, but I wouldn't listen to it outside of this album unless I was having a really bad day and needed to get a good cry out. Soft slow piano ballad, and that's completely great. Much needed.
Mama - Smash. What the heck is this intro? It's interesting for sure. Oh man I really hope this song goes the way I think it's about to go to. What Green Day song does this remind me of... Viva La Gloria (Little Girl). That's exactly what this song sounds like. This song is great though. I can understand it, but I'm a little disappointed where it went. I was hoping it would just stay really fast and heavy the entire song but it's only during the pre-chorus / chorus. That's fine, this is a great song but I wouldn't listen to this outside of the album cause the vocals annoy me a little bit.
Sleep - SMASH. Now we're talking. This is the kind of shit I live for. I was a little nervous at the intro, but it didn't disappoint going into the actual song. This song is definitely better than the last couple, I just love the guitar in the background. I hate to say it, but it's surprising to see how similar this band is to Green Day in terms of song structure and overall sound. Probably why I'm enjoying this song much. I like this song a lot but I don't think I like it as much as the first couple songs that I was going crazy over. I don't think I'd put this in a playlist, but I would play this outside of the album once in a while. The screaming part is AWESOME and a pleasant surprise.
Teenagers - SMMAAASSHHH. Okay one of the few MCR songs that I and the entire world knows, and this song gets stuck in my and EVERYONE'S head all the time. It's super catchy and bouncy and fun. It's a LITTLE too... bitchy pop punk than I would want, and that's honestly what I thought this entire album was going to be- EXACTLY like this song. So I'm glad we have this song and the fact the other songs don't sound like it. Great song though.
Disenchanted - Smash. This one surprised me a lot. Starts off slow, then gets straight into it. Love that. This is another song that is an important piece to this album, so objectively it's a good song. This one is pretty generic though so I'm a little let down but it's not really doing anything wrong. It's just another song on the album and besides that intro, nothing else surprises me. I like that it drops back to the intro at the end, that's nicely done.
Famous Last Words - SMASH. I'm excited, because usually these 2nd last songs are some of the best and most underrated of rock opera albums. I'm super excited for this one, please don't let me down. YEEEESSSSSS. This is great. Songs like these are what I need. I'm so excited listening to this song because I have faith that it's going to be great. YEEEESSSS this song is awesome. Tough to know if I like this one more than Dead, definitely not as much as This Is How I Disappear though. The guitar kicks ASS in this one. Not as good as Dead though.
Blood - Smash I guess???? RIGHT, this is the bonus song. Sorry I forgot that the last song was the last one, and this was the actual last song- but this is a bonus song. This is a strange song but sure why not.
Conclusion
This album caught me way off guard. If you know MCR and only know them for Welcome to the Black Parade and Teenagers, that's a disservice. There are some great songs on here that deserve to be listened to. If you don't know this band very well, I highly recommend listening to this album. There are some great punk rock songs on here and I'm highly appreciative of them.
RANK: A
What do you guys think? Thanks Jake for the suggestion as always, he usually catches me off guard with his album requests. Do you guys have any requests? Let me know below. Thanks, much love! Enjoy your Friday, everyone.
- Sharky
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