The Black Parade (studio album) by My Chemical Romance

The band's strongest and most consistent performance. Maybe it's because this is the album that introduced me to music, but I consider it one of the best of all time.
Conceptually, lyrically, musically this album succeeds in everything it attempts.
My favourite tracks are: Dead! Welcome to the Black Parade, and Mama
There are no bad tracks.

Average track rating: 84/100
Average album rating: 71/100

Seems about right for this site. I just hope one day the album average score does go up higher than it is now, but I know this site isn't very fond of pop punk. Either way, this dissonance is odd.

EDIT: Perhaps I should discuss my feelings about this album as a whole; make it a review. Out of the albums I listened to regularly in high school, this one holds up for me the most - even above American Idiot and Demon Days. This album has everything you could want and more: a strong concept, kickass vocals, memorable melodies, and captivating lyrics. My only complaint is the song Teenagers, while very good in its own right, doesn't have much to do with the story of the album. Perhaps it serves as a bit of a break from the anguish of the prior songs, but it is my least favorite song of the album because of this very reason. Overall, I find this album to be an experience you'll never forget, and I assure you, no matter your taste, chances are, if you like rock music, you'll like this album. You don't have to be emo or in any of the scene communities to enjoy it or admit to enjoying it.

From corenfro 04/01/2020 05:40

Apparently it's cool to like this now? No but for real it's good and singular.

Incredible album. Not usually a fan of emo music but this is great.

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One of the best albums of the 2000s. Probably the most iconic "emo" album of all time.

Favorite tracks
1) The Sharpest Lives
2) Teenagers
3) Welcome to the Black Parade/Dead!

Just look at the average track rating on here. This album gets unfairly shit on due to their association with the term ‘emo.’ It may not be groundbreaking but it’s better than much of what’s out there.

Frankly, it was not won. I must say that I was never a big fan of pop punk and emo. But a friend managed to convince me to listen to the famous "The Black Parade" by My Chemical Romance, considered as a classic of the genre, so why not ... And I admit that it's not a bad album, it's even a good surprise! So it's a opera-rock album that mixes alternative rock, pop punk and pop rock and contains some of the most iconic songs of the band and the musical genre. It's a treat from start to finish with varied and mastered tracks, an opera-rock efficient for certainly one of the most memorable pop-punk albums. With this record, Gerard Way and his band emerge the listener in a singular universe inspired by Tim Burton. This is sincerely great.

8/10

Best track: "Welcome To The Black Parade",

One of the best rock albums ever.

I feel like this album is often passed off as typical pretentious emo garbage. But the thing is that this album is hardly emo, it's pop punk. The band themselves said that they hate being classified as emo. You see, this album has something that most other emo albums don't have: energy. The reason a large amount of emo isn't fun to listen to is that it's boring and uninteresting. This album is interesting from start to finish. There isn't a dull moment on the entire project. Every track has something unique that makes it stand out from the other tracks, yet it all flows naturally and feels coherent. Gerard's vocals are brimming with emotion and personality, the lead guitar work is surprisingly complex when compared with other pop punk albums, especially on tracks like "Dead!" which features multiple guitar solos. The lyricism is also a stand-out element of this album. The lyrics are full of wordplay and fantastic imagery relating to death, the album's main topic. Every song involves death in some way, which is probably the most emo thing about the album (besides the band's appearance in music videos). However, the album never comes off as pretentious, and actually manages to be pretty emotional in parts, like the piano-driven ballad "Cancer", which is about a man dying of cancer and is giving his final goodbyes to all the important people in his life. The imagery in this song is especially strong in this song, with lines like "I'm just soggy from the chemo" and "all my hair's abandoned all my body". This album also contains one of the greatest songs of the 21st century, "Welcome To The Black Parade". This track is like the bohemian rhapsody of pop punk, as it seamlessly transitions through different segments with different tempos, drumming patterns, and even manages to pull off a key change well near the end. The song has an anthem-like feel to it akin to songs like "Baba O' Reily" by The Who or "Teen Age Riot" by Sonic Youth, including one of the best sing-along choruses ever. All in all, this album is fantastic from beginning to end and is definitely worth a listen.

Favorite Track(s): The End, Dead, Welcome To The Black Parade, Cancer
Least Favorite Track(s): Mama, Sleep

95/100