Saturday, February 15, 2014

#11 My Chemical Romance The Black Parade (Ian Albrecht's Favourite Albums, Thus Far...)


Ian Albrecht’s Top Albums Thus Far…  By: Ian Albrecht  #11

My Favourite Albums To Date:  #11
Artist- My Chemical Romance
Album- Welcome To The Black Parade
Genre- Emo/ alternative

Lyrics 84/100, Vocals 82/100, Instrumental 87/100

Released on October 24, 2006 Welcome to the Black Parade is a lot more unique then the others on this list due to the album being a Rock Opera telling the story of a character (“The Patient”) dying of cancer. The songs tell the story of his apparent death, experiences that he faces in the afterlife, and a reflection of his life. This whole album's concept came from Gerard Way's feeling about death, and how, while dying, you relive your fondest memory - for this album - a young child seeing a parade. Since this is the concept for this album, it’s hard to talk about single songs because they all feed off each other, but I will do my best.

I suggest if you already like the concept of this album, listen to the album in its entirety as it is truly a beautiful story. The first track on this album that I love is, "The Sharpest Lives". It is a fast, upbeat song that has a great intro - a very simple instrumental, with an almost whispered verse from Gerard Way. The song "Cancer" might be this band’s ultimately depressing song. I have never heard a song quite as sad as this one. After listening to this song, I pray that no one I know and care for will ever get cancer. The lyrics describe it too well for my liking. Another cool song is "Mama" which follows after. "Mama" is a kinda creepy song with odd moments of haunting laughter layered over Gerard singing. It almost seems like he is taunting the idea of war, which I find frightening, considering this band formed due to the events during 9/11. The song that emphasizes their feelings towards 9/11 is in the following song called "Sleep" which makes me want to cry as it reminds me of the jumpers during that awful event in history. Especially at the beginning, when you hear the recording of someone talking about how they felt while they watched the buildings go down. But this song is also about The Patient finally giving in to death and accepting the idea. So yeah, that song has a double meaning - take it as you wish. I see it more as a song about that horrible event, but that's just me.

The lyrics in the album are great because this album is pretty much one big song, but sadly the lyrics aren't overly special in my books. Gerard’s vocals are well done, but sadly his vocal range isn't amazing, but for the band and within this album, it works surprisingly well. The instrumental throughout the album is amazing. You could take out the singing and just listen to the instrumental; that alone would tell you the story. All in all, it’s a great album, and if you are at all interested, I suggest you go and purchase it. My Chemical Romance disbanded on March 22, 2013.

Songs To Check Out: Famous Last Words, Sleep, Mama, The Sharpest Lives, House Of Wolves





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