Forget hitting writers’ block – My Chemical Romance’s third album, The Black Parade, is a lesson in meaningful song-writing. Described by lead singer Gerard Way as “way more dramatic, way more theatrical, completely over-the-top, borderline psychotic,” the album takes the band’s themes of death, darkness and love to another level of emo-punk heights.
The first single off the album, “Welcome to the Black Parade,” can be summed up in one word: epic. A soft piano intro fades into the line, “Will you be the savior of the broken, the beaten and the damned?” Not as daring or grandiose as Queen was, but they sure are trying.
And, as if the 5-minute, 8-second track wasn’t enough, the quintet also donned matching black marching band uniforms, heavy Hot Topic makeup and included a dead guy wandering around in the music video for their single – a natural progression from their goth-ballad “Helena,” of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge.
Throughout the album, there is a notable development of concept and an unmistakable change in attitude from the group’s first album. Sweet Revenge, full of anti-popularity, anti-high school anthems, could be defined by the adolescent bitterness in their first single “I’m Not OK (I Promise)”: “Forget about the dirty looks/The photographs your boyfriend took/You said you read me like a book/But the pages are all torn and frayed.” In contrast, Black Parade veers between self-pitying and hopeful, from the first track “The End” (“When I grow up, I want to be nothing at all”) to “Famous Last Words” (“I’m not afraid to keep on living”).
Black Parade also balances slow-building, ballad-like tracks that deal with love or death with faster, more traditionally punk anthems that explore life itself – and the darkness within.
“Cancer” and “I Don’t Love You” are sprinkled with pretty unsubtle metaphors for death and are also heavy on the theatrics. In contrast, “House of Wolves” and “Teenagers” are reminiscent of punk veterans The Misfits and have the potential to be hard-hitting, hair-thrashing singles.
Among music circles, The Black Parade is sparking a debate over whether My Chemical Romance wanted its third album to be along the lines of Green Day’s punk-rock opus American Idiot. After all, producer Rob Cavallo did oversee both albums, and the band toured with Green Day last year.
But among all this speculation, one thing is certain: Hot Topic stores nationwide are sure to have plenty of the band’s merchandise on hand, just in case you decide (as you should) to join The Black Parade.
Contact reporter Michelle Miller at diversions@dbk.umd.edu.
