Coming up to its 20th anniversary, it is one of the greatest rock operas ever. It’s the album that showed the genre’s MCR pulled from are capable of balancing their passion with narrative and concept, whilst still being an incredible display of musicianship. ‘The Black Parade’ has only improved with time as its contemporaries have risen and fallen between bad taste, trends and scandals, whilst this sits high on the shelf as one of the best rock records of the 2000s, and a genre-defining album for Emo.
The narrative of a dying man passing into the afterlife is at the forefront of the record and anchors the record to mortality and loss. But these ideas aren’t new to MCR who already had ‘Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge’ under their belt, which remains a classic in its own right before this one. The lead single and title track shows a mix between ‘The Wall’ and Alice Cooper whilst still keeping a Rites of Spring pace to the chorus. It’s everything and the kitchen sink but the blend is an anthem that is a rock essential.
The other choice cut off of the record is the closer ‘Famous Last Words’ which brings the house down with some of the most memorable and passionate deliveries in recent memory from the band. But rock ballads aside, the tender (‘Cancer’) and tense (’Sleep’) moments show more of the band’s muscle in crafting songs beyond just typical emo sounds.
This is only scratching the surface of what can be said about the record. There’s the parallels to ‘Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band' and the stories behind the shows, the fans and the videos. Ensuing rock stardom couldn’t have happened to a band more introverted and the results are lore. But all that is only true if it lies above solid work, and this is a perfect record and holds the hype to account.
Essential listening for all, and a classic.
‘The Black Parade’ is available in the Store now.