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Favorite Track: "House of Wolves" Least Favorite Track: "N/A"
The Black Parade, by infamous emo-rock outfit My Chemical Romance, is one of those records that is just exceptionally special. Every so often, you will find a musical work that is everything a genre should exemplify, The Black Parade is just that for the Emo-Rock scene. It has everything that the essential Emo record should have. Heartfelt songs, brutal rock tracks that are blunt and to the point, and even a few novelty songs that make it stick in your head that much more. The album is gripping from start to finish, following the narrative of The Patient, a normal guy who is terminally ill with cancer. The album recounts his last thoughts, before going into his death and experiences in the afterlife. The album shows him reflecting on things in his life on tracks like “Famous Last Words” and “Welcome to the Black Parade”, as well as recounting his actual death and the difficulties of letting go on the potently beautiful “Cancer” and “I Don’t Love You”. There are some incredibly hard-hitting rock tracks on here like “The Sharpest Lives”, and my personal favorite “House of Wolves”. This album shows so much versatility from MCR that culminates into a record you walk away from feeling completely stupored by. The sheer level of musical ability on display here, especially the astonishing crescendo on the closing track “Famous Last Words”, is something to behold. It shows why The Black Parade is a record that has stood the test of time, being released in 2006 and still being just as relevant today with the youth, as well as the people who were instantly hooked when it first came out. This record was one that personally shaped my adolescence and my journey as a musician, and there are few records that I think would have done a better job. This 14 song, 51 minute cultural giant is definitely something to behold. It has remained relevant for almost 15 years, and it will surely remain just as important for the next 15 to come.