My Chemical Romance
The Black Parade is Dead!

THE REVIEW

I noticed that no one has written a review about this "box set" by My Chemical Romance, and therefore, even if I don't know how many of you will be interested, I've decided to fill this gap on Debaser.

Firstly, "The Black Parade is Dead!" is composed of a DVD featuring two, in my opinion, stunning live performances, namely those in Mexico and Hoboken, and a CD containing the songs performed live in Mexico (essentially, it's the first concert on the DVD minus the video). I am a fan of Gerard Way's band, but despite that, I will try to remain as objective as possible in writing this review. The CD is very nice but doesn't add anything more to the studio "The Black Parade" released in 2006.

I loved the aforementioned album, and because of this, I can't help but love this live CD too, but it loses some points because it doesn't add anything new to what was already in the original CD. Live performances always offer something extra, but despite this, I find it pointless to buy a product that's particularly similar to the previous one. Fans already know the songs, and several reviews detailing the tracklist step by step have already been written, so I don't want to bore you with a list of songs that are already known. Regarding the songs, I just want to praise "Cancer" because these two minutes on the CD are truly intense and manage to deliver an emotional depth that perhaps the original album didn't fully convey. It's known that many songs perform much better live than in the studio, and "Cancer" live evokes great emotions in the listener; after all, Gerard Way considers it his best song, and I think he's quite right. The DVD is the strong part of the package, and I must say I was very satisfied, especially with the live performance in Mexico, which allows you to fully appreciate the masterpiece of My Chemical Romance. This concert turns out to be really beautiful with a truly impactful entrance by Gerard Way and a spectacular stage production.

I believe this live performance fully does justice to the album "The Black Parade," and there's a perfection in playing and singing the pieces that the band has rarely reached (I've always liked their live performances, but here there's a refinement that was missing elsewhere). On the other hand, the second live performance on the DVD is more of a "family" show with a small stage in direct contact with the audience, where the MCR performs many of their great hits from various albums. Here, refinement goes to hell and a rawness that some fans will appreciate much more takes the upper hand, with Gerard in his original "junkie" guise XD. I recommend the purchase to fans of the band but also to all those who want to approach MCR for the first time. PS: I don't consider them a band for little girls, and if little girls listen to them, it's certainly not their fault but the fault of the low-level audience that decides to approach initially unknown bands and then remain fans.