Black Parade, The (Parental Advisory) [PA] - My Chemical Romance > Reviews > The parade puts on a great show

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Good range of different songs, some classics, good guitar use, good album cover
Disadvantages:	A few poor slow songs

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This album has received many plaudits after being released so I felt I should purchase it to see what all the fuss is about.

The album cover is impressive and comes in two editions - the white cover and the black cover. Both work well and will stand out in your CD collection.

A lot of people believe that My Chemical Romance are simply a group that inspires troublesome teenagers to want to hurt themselves, but being a teenager myself I have enjoyed this album without feeling an urge to commit self-harm.

I have now written a song-by-song guide to My Chemical Romance's 'The Black Parade' album...

The End
This song is one of the worst on the album and I feel that it's not a good song to start 'The Black Parade'. Slow and pretty boring - it didn't impress me when this was the first song I listened to on the album.

Dead!
Meant to deliberately contrast to 'The End' and it does - even in terms of quality. This song is much more upbeat with a good rhythm and is good to sing along to. Good mix of styles in this song also. Impressive song that will probably never be made into a single unfortunately.

This is how I disappear
One of my favourite songs with some fantastic changes to the pace of the song. Good lyrics and a song that gets you singing along. Good guitar riffs too, but yet again I doubt it will be anything more than an album track.

The sharpest lives
A great song and easily one of the best on the album. Great lyrics and some great guitar playing. A good rhythm so great for dancing too. Another good album tune and the album just seems to get more and more impressive

Welcome to the black parade
A hugely popular song - regardless of whether you're a fan of My Chemical Romance. This song deserves to be a classic for years to come. Has an emotional start then gets livelier and faster. Even my dad adores it and he's not a fan of this music whatsoever. Brilliant song. Great video also by the way.

I don't love you
Slow, sorrowful song but nothing special - bit disappointing overall. Good guitar solo near the end though

House of wolves
One of the heaviest songs on the album. Brilliant rhythm and singalong lyrics make this song one of the best. Great variety to the song also

Cancer
Similar in style to 'I don't love you' but better because it sounds well structured. Sounds a bit mainstream also and could easily be made into a single. Very short song.

Mama
Another brilliant ballad that ought to be made into a single. Very original beginning and has some exciting twists towards the end. Varies a lot and has a lot of style. A poor man's 'Welcome to the black parade' but still very good.

Sleep
Almost sounds like an Oasis song, especially in the brilliant chorus. Gets very heavy towards the end and loses it's momentum but the best 'slow' song on the album by a fair distance.

Teenagers
Probably the best song on the album to sing along to. Popular and very original. Sort of has a country western style with a metal twist. Very impressive

Disenchanted
Not a good song - pretty unoriginal and uninspiring. Nothing much more to say, it's not one that will stick in your head.

Famous last words
All albums should end on a high, a thankfully this one is no different. A great ballad with some fantastic guitar riffs at the start. Was their second single of the album and proved fairly popular. Easily one of the best on the album and a great way to finish an excellent array of songs.

Overall it's an excellent buy and I would recommend it even if you're not really a fan of the punk/emo genre. Give it a try and you amy be surprised!