Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge (Parental Advisory) [PA] - My Chemical Romance > Reviews > You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Average
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	A couple of top quality tracks .
Disadvantages:	The album is largely lacklustre .

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

Released in 2004, 'Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge' is the second studio album from the Rock quintet that is My Chemical Romance. The band have been going since 2001 and are an extremely popular worldwide phenomenon having had great success with this album and with their latest 'The Black Parade' release also. 'Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge' was the bands major label and has sold in excess of a million copies thanks largely to the success of the singles 'Helena', 'I'm Not Okay (I Promise)' and 'The Ghost of You'.

The 'Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge' begins with the single 'Helena', an explosive start to the album which sets up nicely the listener expectations for the rest of the release. While this is by no means my favourite track of the album, it is admittedly still a decent offering which shows My Chemical Romance to be extremely strong at what they do, and that is creating catchy Rock music. I think the problem with this one lies in the fact that it is a little on the long side and by the time it comes to an end I find myself a little bored. Not the best opening in the world, but a competent one nonetheless - the band progress from this point with great style and flair. 'Give 'em Hell Kid' follows straight on from here, a track with great energy and excitement. In my opinion however it is when the band get to fourth track 'You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison' that the album really begins to get going. This one is by far my favourite of the album, right from the very first time I heard it the track had me hooked in fact. Everything about this one just seems to work and with some fantastic guitar work, excellent vocals and volatile drum beats - each and every element of the music seems to fit and make for a masterpiece of a Rock track.

When My Chemical Romance released their hit single 'I'm Not Okay (I Promise)', I was not at all a fan of the track. The video was cheesy as too was the music, I just didn't see what the appeal was about this one. I felt that My Chemical Romance were an over hyped and over played Rock band that simply didn't deserve the success that they had mustered. One thing I will say about it however is that it is extremely catchy and you can see why it appealed to so many. It is cheesy, this is true - however the catchiness of this track is what makes it what it is, not the poorly chosen lyrics, but the fact that it has the uncanny ability to get stuck in your head at a time when you least want it to be there. I would still not consider myself to be a fan of the tune, however I shan't deny the infectious nature of this track.

'The Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You' is another of my favourites from this album. For me, the highlights of this album are a little too few and far between to make for a great album but when they do come they are certainly well worth waiting for. There is a great chorus in this one, and the guitars are utilised well in order to make the track as powerful and hard hitting as humanly possible. Whilst at times my mind tends to wander when listening to this album, 'The Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You' is always one that perks me up and pleases me greatly with each and every listen.

The album ends on a high with both the penultimate and ultimate tracks proving pleasing to listen to. 'Cemetery Drive' starts off as a bog standard and somewhat disappointing offering from the band however it gets going about thirty seconds in and actually turns out to be quite an interesting offering. Closing track 'I Never Told You What I Do For A Living' is where the real energy is at however, with the album definitely finishing on a high and My Chemical Romance sounding at their best for one final time. That said, looking at this one objectively rather than comparatively to the rest of the release, it is really nothing that special and is by no means a great closing track. There is definitely something lacklustre about the music of My Chemical Romance, and whilst 'The Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You' and 'You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison' are good tracks by any bands standards, as a general rule the album is largely disappointing and even at times when the band sound quite good, compared to other bands of the sort they are really quite bland.

My Chemical Romance often get tagged in the genre of 'Emo', however to suggest that this is so is really rather ridiculous. Sure, there are emotive qualities which the lyrics possess, however without emotion then music would be lifeless and very, very dull. It would be lazy journalism to label My Chemical Romance as 'Emo', and to me their album 'Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge' does not fit into this debatable 'genre' whatsoever and is purely a Rock album. The album is a bit hit and miss for me, there are some tracks that impressed me greatly whilst others failed to grab me whatsoever. My Chemical Romance are by no means a great Rock band, but their 'Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge' album is certainly in possession of a decent track or two and most definitely contains a large number of highly catchy tracks which you will find difficult to forget in a hurry. Definitely a release for fans of the softer side of Rock, however probably not one that will be enjoyed by all.