My Chemical Romance
The Black Parade

THE REVIEW

For once, I distanced myself from my gothic listens to dedicate myself to My Chemical Romance, a band that, apart from their appearances on MTV and pseudo-dark teenagers nurturing the large crowd of Italian fans, managed to pique my interest, especially thanks to what I personally consider one of the most beautiful mainstream-rock songs of recent years: "Welcome To The Black Parade". Having abandoned the predominant emo-punk sounds up until the previous "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge", rock is the territory the band ventures into with "The Black Parade," a concept album that, despite tackling a rather dark theme like death, reveals a certain underlying positivity.

"The End" is a brief intro that serves as an opener, but it's from the second track that the fun yet reflective show of My Chemical Romance kicks off. "Dead" is a decidedly rock song with punk hints supported by never-banal riffs. "This Is How I Disappear" becomes slightly heavier than the previous track, and the vocal performance of singer Gerard Way, a candidate to dethrone Ville Valo of HIM from the podium of favorite singers among fake-dark teenagers amidst a hormonal storm that are so popular in Italy, becomes more melodic in creating a powerful yet "catchy" chorus at just the right point, and at the same time more aggressive in the bridge, where the guitars push to the maximum. "The Sharpest Lives" is more canonical and pop-oriented compared to the songs that preceded it. This shift is not entirely congenial because the reiteration of the chorus so many times in just over three minutes can make a song boring and repetitive, despite the consideration that it concludes in a decidedly enjoyable manner. "Welcome To The Black Parade" is the best track on the album: a continuous crescendo, emphatic from the piano note-based intro, through the martial rhythms marked by the drums, to the energetic and singable chorus and the almost pompous conclusion. There's also room for a rock ballad that is overall nice: "I don't Love You". "House Of Wolves" seems instead stolen from another group (I can't figure out which one among the many, but I think it's normal for a non-enthusiast), and despite the always singular vocal performance, it didn't convince me much. "Cancer" approaches a rock-flavored musical dimension: enjoyable, despite its short duration. "Mama" has a decidedly retro taste, I'd even say circus-cabaretesque, but it's contrasted by a layer of guitars on the verge of hard-rock. "Sleep" is another pretty intense rock song, yet less peculiar than the previous ones. A slight temptation of plagiarism in "Teenagers", where a very cheerful and decidedly Offspring-like vein peeks through. "Disenchanted" is perhaps a tribute to the band's past sound; unfortunately, they recur only in this episode, one of the best on the album with its acoustic guitars, background strings, and the melancholy mood of the chorus. "Famous Last Words" is another rather affable rock ballad, which was also chosen as the second single, but a very brief hidden track closes the album: here My Chemical Romance go back to being stage entertainers, thus showcasing their ironic vein.

A decidedly varied and well-played album, this "The Black Parade," which, despite its explicit marketability, is enjoyable to listen to, including several pleasant moments. Not a copy of Green Day's "American Idiot," not the emo version of Blink 182, but simply a qualitative response to all the pseudo-punk bands that have been so successful among teenagers in recent years.

To the band, which thanks to a decent technical background and decidedly varied influences (from classic metal to mainstream-rock, from emo-punk to the '70s), has been able to convincingly rework a formula that had already made (without due credit) the fortune of others, a well-deserved round of applause is due.