There is a lot of emotion in this album. You real get to see into the minds of someone in a lot of pain. In his last album he dealt a lot with demons and anti-war, and it seems to be a continuing trend, but on a lot more mature level. MCR is really trying to prove they are more than just another punk/pop emo band, they have substance. Breaking the mold, they really seem to successfully shake that stereotype.

Very emotionally inept, the first track, "The End," it takes place at a funeral, where the narrator reveals how he wants to not end up like the person who died, and either wants to be saved or end it now. The next track, "Dead!," it continues the backwards cycle of the album, starting with the end, and going in reverse order. Later on, or should I say earlier, it appears someone he loved greatly that broke his heart had cancer, and now he is saying how this person's, probably female, most painful thing they did was start dying during the operation, and not able to hear him. This track is very important because you get the impression that he was never really mad at her, but that he loved her so much that he deserved better than to see her like this. He is so passionate that he questions life, and thinks of it as a joke from God, and that heaven is a place for the wicked.

In the next track, we find out more about the situation. "This is How I Disappear" is about how he regrets what he did, and wishes that he never hurt the person he loved. This gives you the assumption that in the previous track, that he blames himself for her death. The emotion in this song is really great. He wants to be let go, so he can do no more harm, but is in the debacle that he can not leave her.

In "The Shaprest Lives" he goes on to reveal his alcohol and drug problem and how he can break the habit, and doesn't want her to get caught in it. He is creating his own pain and downward spiral, but just like in his last cd with "Ghost of You," he is constantly haunted by the demons of addiction.

"Welcome to the Black Parade" I think is symbolic for rehab. In the song, his father showed him the door, but based on the other songs, it seems like he decided to not go, and it totally destroyed his life. The first single from the album, it is very powerful and remeniscent of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day, but without the commercial success.

"I Don't Love You" is about how he is trying to justify why he doesn't deserve the girl. Him in his drunked state is very abusive and uncontrollable, and doesn't want to pull her into his darkness. He wants her to leave while she can, and uses this to push her away, when in reality, he needs her the most.

I really didn't know what to make out of "House of Wolves." My assumption would be that he's burying himself, and wants the angel of death to take him away for his bad sins. He repeats how he's going to burn in hell and wants to be taken to his grave to being his flaming afterlife.

"Cancer" is probably one of the saddest songs I've ever heard. Very reminscent of "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails, the song is describing how the most pain from his cancer is counting down the days until he leaves her. He's abandoned all hope at life, knows that he'll never get to do accomplish anything he ever wanted in life, and will end in a lot of pain before he could spend a lifetime with his girl.

"Mama" is a very different pace for the album. It gives the assumption that he resents his mother for disowning him for being somehow involved in the war, and how if he was a girl, that the mother wouldn't have to disown her child. This song is very lyrically and musically different. Not one of my favorites.

"Sleep" continues a theme of the people he loves not being able to let him go. He wants to just be given his final kiss and put to sleep to begin his enternal slumber. "Teenagers" is about how in the birth of your adulthood, people will begin trying to control you, make you a certain way. The song seems to get a lot of influence from Pink Floyd's "The Wall," and Pink's struggle through life and inability to conform. "Disenchanted" is about how he is sick of being picked on and teased, called names.

From this point in the album, the dots start connecting. You start to realize how his hellacious young adulthood was unbarable, and caused him to pick up habits that hurt him so much the ones he loved were harmed. The last track, "Famous Last Words" implies they were the last thoughts he had before the incident causing "The End." This tracks makes the album come full circle, starting from the end, going to the beginning, and ending up back towards the end.

Lyrically, I am beginning to see a step up in MCR, but musically, they still have a while to go. They are still in their young phase, their punk/pop phase, but with a more adult mindset. I really look forward to their next album and see how they will continue to evolve. A great album, but I think the best is just yet to come.

Okay, I'll be the first to admit... I had my hopes that this album would be amazing, but at the same time I couldn't bring myself to believe that My Chemical Romance could possibly exceed both of their previous albums. After I heard the rumors that the new CD's title would be "The Rise and Fall of My Chemical Romance", my hopes kind of fell into a rather large hole. You'd be amazed to know how something as small as a CD title can affect my brain--it seems silly, but I began to not expect much from them.

Finally, I heard about The Black Parade... my hopes skyrocketted because I started hearing more and more good things about the album. And upon purchasing it yesterday, it has not left my home, car, and work CD player. It's on constant repeat. I'm so, so, so happy to say that I was not disappointed by MCR. This album has only served to increase my absolute love of this band.

Okay. They've changed their sound. The music isn't as dark... but the LYRICS. The lyrics are still MCR. They still scream bloody murder WE. ARE. MY. CHEMICAL. ROMANCE. Even if the music or Gerard's voice are both different from their first two albums, who cares? The band is growing. I happen to like Three Cheers and Bullets equally. I don't think MCR would want to sound the same time after time after time... To me, an album is an expression of where you are in life at that particular moment. The lyrics and music SHOULD reflect this, and it shouldn't matter if it's creating a different sound or not. MCR's music is just about as much for them as it is for their fans, if not more. We should remember this as fans of their music and not write them off as complete has-beens because they've been featured on MTV one too many times. Just because they have a new sound DOES NOT mean they've sold out.

I digress. The effort put into this album is apparent from the very beginning as you tear off the wrapping and take your first glimpse at the album's enchantingly beautiful artwork. The amount of work that went into creating this concept must've been brilliant--it just looks perfect. The music itself gives off this air of being reborn, or that no matter what situation you're in, there's always hope for you. That death (The Black Parade?) is something to never fear because it's only the beginning of something new. The lyrics still speak to us of death and darkness and blood, but, again, they give us faith. We'll make it through this thing we call life. Death isn't as scary as you think. Don't worry anymore.

I just want to say, this album is a great way to start off as an MCR fan. If you've never listened to them before, or only heard one or two songs off their other albums--now's your chance to hear one of the best things they've ever done. You won't be disappointed. I promise.

I'll be the first to admit it: I was not a fan of My Chemical Romance. This was exactly the type of band I had taken to ignoring; it sounded like pop-punk, so it had to be worthless in my eyes. My Chemical Romance was nothing more than a derivative band with no identity, a group who were more interesting in vampires and selling T-Shirts than in crafting essential music. My disinterest was such that when told by a friend that the new single (the epic "Welcome to the Black Parade") was actually good, I distractedly listened to the first three minutes and said I liked them. After all, I couldn't be missing much, could I?

It turns out that I was missing a lot, and in writing this, I'm going to eat my words. It was easy to dismiss My Chemical Romance before, but now it will be impossible. With The Black Parade, an urgent, passionate, insane, awesome piece of music, this band has become essential to the musical landscape. This is an album for the ages.

The Black Parade is a concept album, and tells the story of a man known only as The Patient, a victim of cancer. The album starts with the Patient's death, spends its midsection ruminating on the life he left behind, and ends with his good-byes. It's a hugely ambitious work, and it would have been so easy for it to implode into a sloppy, incoherent mish-mash of "sensitive", junior high level poetry and forgettable power chords.

That's the kind of thing the old MCR would do. It's what characterized their first two albums, their Goth-oriented fashion sense, everything about them. But that's the thing about this album: more than anything, it's a coming out for the new My Chemical Romance--a glorious, unapologetically theatrical behemoth. The Black Parade of the title is as much a celebration of this new sound as it is a rite of passage for the deceased protagonist.

Here we see MCR dipping their toe into all sorts of musical styles. "Mama" starts out as a baroque number reminiscent of The Decemberists, before evolving into an exuberantly nasty cabaret number (complete with a cameo by Liza Minelli). "Teenagers" is a throwback to some of the best punk rock of the 70's. The lyrics may not exactly be poetry, but they don't have to be. The juxtaposition between the bombastic grandiosity of the musical arrangements themselves and the direct, bruising quality of the lyrics (Cancer's icky "I'm soggy from the chemo" sticks in the mind) make for a sort of abrasive splendor; this is possibly the most triumphant album about death and dying that has ever been recorded.

None of this would matter of course, if the music itself wasn't up to snuff. Here, frontman Gerard Way reveals a previously untapped musicianship, an ability to make the hugeness of The Black Parade's sound remain fresh through the use of diverse instrumentation and irresistible hooks (something The Killers failed to do in their similarly anthemic but overcooked sophomore album). It isn't every band that manages not only to stick a tra-la-la sing-along at the end of a song song, but dare you not to sing along with it.

And now, as the Patient joins his Black Parade, as the hype dies down, as the implications of this astounding achievement make themselves known, questions arise: was it a fluke? Did My Chemical Romance always have this untapped potential? And, perhaps most importantly: what's next? All I have to say is this: Gerard, the ball is in your court.

10/10

My Chemical Romance is by far one of the best bands out there, and this album proves it. You can see how much this band put into their work and how empowering everything is. I have this limited edition version of the Black Parade and it is amazing. The extra cards are so cool and the booklet is hard to put down. Then there's the cd...oh the cd. It's one of the best cd's I own and it really shows MCR's growth.

The End- A great opening that shows you just what to expect in the other tracks

Dead!- One of my favorite MCR songs ever. It has a great beat that never gets old

This is how I Disappear- Amazing song, It sounds really cool towards the end

The Sharpest Lives- I love this song! Great lyrics and also a good beat

Welcome to the Black Parade- This is the definition of a rock opera. It has all sorts of different parts to it that makes it so epic.

I Don't Love You- Such a sad song, watch the music video and see how emotional Gerard Way (the lead singer) is. so sad! (I love Gerard!!)

House of Wolves- Another of my favorite songs, it is so energetic and lively!!!

Cancer- Also sad, not one of my personal favorites but it is a really beautiful song

Mama- A different song, but still awesome. It sounds so cool...enough said

Sleep- Very, very sad. Especially when you hear a man at the end say "I can't even wake up." *tear*

Teenagers- The chorus of this song is so addictive. It's a song that make you want to get up and jump around...

Disenchanted- Yet another sad song with a little bit of a faster pace. I can't describe this song really, just listen to it...it's good.

Famous Last Words- WOW!!!!!!!!! Most definately the BEST SONG EVER!!!! My favorite song by MCR!! In the lyrics, music, and video they are really giving it there all.

Hidden Track: Blood- A hilarious song that has sort of the music style like Mama in a way.

My Chemical Romance is an amazing band. At first I hated them, thinking that they were just some Green Day wannabe's because they dressed like them and now had the same producer. But I never listened to them and I was so0o0o0o0o0o0o0o wrong. They are totally different in a good way, and I love both Green Day and My Chemical Romance. They have incredibly enchanting lyrics and riffs that just blow me away. They are not emo, or goth. They consider themselves punk rock or simply just rock for the most part. Don't judge them before you listen to them with an open mind. Just listen and you'll see....

MCR has done a fine job channeling Queen through a Green Day megaphone. Kudos to these Jersey Boys for showing that relevancy doesn't mean you have to abandon the past. Derivative, nope; (re)inventive is probably a better way to describe this solid album. The special edition packaging is pure brilliance. The pseudo-daguerrotypes and the graphics accompanying the lyrics add to the overall feel of the album and are as integral to the album as the music itself. Black Parade demonstrates that MCR is more than a gothic token act for the TRL crowd. Bravo.