The Black Parade [Vinyl] [Special Edition]

My Chemical Romance | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (December 11, 2007)
• Original Release Date: December 15, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Special Edition
• Label: Reprise / Wea
• ASIN: B000W02TDO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,401 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #51 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Post Hardcore
  • #98 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Emo

Editorial Reviews

HIGHLY COLLECTABLE SPECIAL EDITION BOX SET Limited sealed special deluxe edition box set, with audiophile 180 gram quality vinyl. Includes "making the black parade" featuring the bands recording experience, and extended art & photographs

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stunning Achievement, October 24, 2006

By 

Matthew Lingo (Northridge, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Black Parade (Audio CD)

I'll be the first to admit it: I was not a fan of My Chemical Romance. This was exactly the type of band I had taken to ignoring; it sounded like pop-punk, so it had to be worthless in my eyes. My Chemical Romance was nothing more than a derivative band with no identity, a group who were more interesting in vampires and selling T-Shirts than in crafting essential music. My disinterest was such that when told by a friend that the new single (the epic "Welcome to the Black Parade") was actually good, I distractedly listened to the first three minutes and said I liked them. After all, I couldn't be missing much, could I?

It turns out that I was missing a lot, and in writing this, I'm going to eat my words. It was easy to dismiss My Chemical Romance before, but now it will be impossible. With The Black Parade, an urgent, passionate, insane, awesome piece of music, this band has become essential to the musical landscape. This is an album for the ages.

The Black Parade is a concept album, and tells the story of a man known only as The Patient, a victim of cancer. The album starts with the Patient's death, spends its midsection ruminating on the life he left behind, and ends with his good-byes. It's a hugely ambitious work, and it would have been so easy for it to implode into a sloppy, incoherent mish-mash of "sensitive", junior high level poetry and forgettable power chords.

That's the kind of thing the old MCR would do. It's what characterized their first two albums, their Goth-oriented fashion sense, everything about them. But that's the thing about this album: more than anything, it's a coming out for the new My Chemical Romance--a glorious, unapologetically theatrical behemoth. The Black Parade of the title is as much a celebration of this new sound as it is a rite of passage for the deceased protagonist.

Here we see MCR dipping their toe into all sorts of musical styles. "Mama" starts out as a baroque number reminiscent of The Decemberists, before evolving into an exuberantly nasty cabaret number (complete with a cameo by Liza Minelli). "Teenagers" is a throwback to some of the best punk rock of the 70's. The lyrics may not exactly be poetry, but they don't have to be. The juxtaposition between the bombastic grandiosity of the musical arrangements themselves and the direct, bruising quality of the lyrics (Cancer's icky "I'm soggy from the chemo" sticks in the mind) make for a sort of abrasive splendor; this is possibly the most triumphant album about death and dying that has ever been recorded.

None of this would matter of course, if the music itself wasn't up to snuff. Here, frontman Gerard Way reveals a previously untapped musicianship, an ability to make the hugeness of The Black Parade's sound remain fresh through the use of diverse instrumentation and irresistible hooks (something The Killers failed to do in their similarly anthemic but overcooked sophomore album). It isn't every band that manages not only to stick a tra-la-la sing-along at the end of a song song, but dare you not to sing along with it.

And now, as the Patient joins his Black Parade, as the hype dies down, as the implications of this astounding achievement make themselves known, questions arise: was it a fluke? Did My Chemical Romance always have this untapped potential? And, perhaps most importantly: what's next? All I have to say is this: Gerard, the ball is in your court.

10/10

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful., October 25, 2006

By 

Shannon Wright "graveyardghosts" (Woodstock, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Black Parade (Audio CD)

Okay, I'll be the first to admit... I had my hopes that this album would be amazing, but at the same time I couldn't bring myself to believe that My Chemical Romance could possibly exceed both of their previous albums. After I heard the rumors that the new CD's title would be "The Rise and Fall of My Chemical Romance", my hopes kind of fell into a rather large hole. You'd be amazed to know how something as small as a CD title can affect my brain--it seems silly, but I began to not expect much from them.

Finally, I heard about The Black Parade... my hopes skyrocketted because I started hearing more and more good things about the album. And upon purchasing it yesterday, it has not left my home, car, and work CD player. It's on constant repeat. I'm so, so, so happy to say that I was not disappointed by MCR. This album has only served to increase my absolute love of this band.

Okay. They've changed their sound. The music isn't as dark... but the LYRICS. The lyrics are still MCR. They still scream bloody murder WE. ARE. MY. CHEMICAL. ROMANCE. Even if the music or Gerard's voice are both different from their first two albums, who cares? The band is growing. I happen to like Three Cheers and Bullets equally. I don't think MCR would want to sound the same time after time after time... To me, an album is an expression of where you are in life at that particular moment. The lyrics and music SHOULD reflect this, and it shouldn't matter if it's creating a different sound or not. MCR's music is just about as much for them as it is for their fans, if not more. We should remember this as fans of their music and not write them off as complete has-beens because they've been featured on MTV one too many times. Just because they have a new sound DOES NOT mean they've sold out.

I digress. The effort put into this album is apparent from the very beginning as you tear off the wrapping and take your first glimpse at the album's enchantingly beautiful artwork. The amount of work that went into creating this concept must've been brilliant--it just looks perfect. The music itself gives off this air of being reborn, or that no matter what situation you're in, there's always hope for you. That death (The Black Parade?) is something to never fear because it's only the beginning of something new. The lyrics still speak to us of death and darkness and blood, but, again, they give us faith. We'll make it through this thing we call life. Death isn't as scary as you think. Don't worry anymore.

I just want to say, this album is a great way to start off as an MCR fan. If you've never listened to them before, or only heard one or two songs off their other albums--now's your chance to hear one of the best things they've ever done. You won't be disappointed. I promise.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Day for a Parade, February 21, 2007

By 

Darry Johnson "Darry" (Poughquag, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Black Parade (Audio CD)

MCR has done a fine job channeling Queen through a Green Day megaphone. Kudos to these Jersey Boys for showing that relevancy doesn't mean you have to abandon the past. Derivative, nope; (re)inventive is probably a better way to describe this solid album. The special edition packaging is pure brilliance. The pseudo-daguerrotypes and the graphics accompanying the lyrics add to the overall feel of the album and are as integral to the album as the music itself. Black Parade demonstrates that MCR is more than a gothic token act for the TRL crowd. Bravo.