CD Review: My Chemical Romance

The Black Parade

By Cari Holland

Debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 album chart, The Black Parade is My Chemical Romance’s third full-length album release.

For their junior attempt, My Chemical Romance just might have established themselves within the bustling emo/post-punk market, having sold 240,000 copies of their album the first week of release, according to the band’s publicist.

A noteworthy approach to graphics and text caught my attention as I first inspected the new CD and opened the accompanying booklet. The booklet folds out to be a poster. In the photograph the lead singer, Gerard Way, looks scarily like Billy Corgan with his freshly dyed blonde hair.

Typically with the first listen of a CD, tracks one through the last are listened to in succession, but after one minute and fifteen seconds of song number one I found myself skipping ahead to songs that had interesting titles.

The title track, “Welcome to the Black Parade,” is an anthem that may take some time to get used to. I almost didn’t give it that long, but once I had, I heard a triumphant and loud marching parade resounding from my speakers.

The song that followed is one titled “I Don’t Love You,” which I found to be my favorite on the disc. A much slower song than the previous, this track almost sounds like a completely different band. This song could be a plausible radio release.

The song “Cancer,” is one that begins with a simple voice and piano, an unexpected sound compared to most of the disc.

“Mama” is a disgrace to the progress the band has made with this album. “Mama” has a confusing song structure, a polka beat I could live without, and a harsh ending that leads into an accompaniment by Liza Minelli.

Songs on this CD to download to your iPod: “Disenchanted,” “I Don’t Love You” and “The Sharpest Lives.”

Songs you can live without ever hearing: “Blood (the hidden track),” “Mama” and “Teenagers.”