The Black Parade
by My Chemical Romance
  • Record Label: Reprise
  • Release Date: Oct 24, 2006
User Score
8.8

Universal acclaim- based on 790 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 708 out of 790
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 790
  3. Negative: 63 out of 790

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  1. JudS.
    Jan 20, 2007
    0
    No. No. No. These ratings are way too high. Emo gets its name from "emotional," but all music is supposed to express some sort of emotion. So what is it that defines emo music? No amount of skillful instrumentation or melodies can compensate for the music's core message: unadulterated crybaby bullshit. If you are a whiny teenager who enjoys creating drama where drama doesn't No. No. No. These ratings are way too high. Emo gets its name from "emotional," but all music is supposed to express some sort of emotion. So what is it that defines emo music? No amount of skillful instrumentation or melodies can compensate for the music's core message: unadulterated crybaby bullshit. If you are a whiny teenager who enjoys creating drama where drama doesn't exist, then by all means buy this record.… Expand
  2. GuyH
    Oct 24, 2006
    0
    Ok - I'm only reviewing the single but if that is any indication of the 'quality' to be found on this disc then it deserves a screeching, flouncy, unimaginative, soulless ZERO!
  3. Stormwatch
    Jun 7, 2008
    3
    Decent compositions, but the super-loud production ruins it. If I were a member of the band, I'd murder whoever did the mastering!
  4. MikeR
    Sep 24, 2008
    1
    This album fails from the first song. The music feels manufactured and is a huge cliche for the Emo genre.
  5. WayneU
    Oct 25, 2006
    0
    They cite Queen and System of a Down as influences on the new album and people relate it to "American Idiot", its just too bad that this pop punk orchestral pretentious record is nothing more than a band's desperate attempt at mediocrity.
  6. MikeyC
    Jan 2, 2007
    0
    To put it bluntly, My Chemical Romance is a massive step towards leading all the impressionable youth of the world to be musically ignorant. MCR have repeatedly overused lyrical themes (ie. anyone sick of Death, Drugs, Guns?), and they have blantantly stolen guitar from Queen. Try and pick out what song it is. Come on. If anyone reading this even REMOTELY considers purchasing this album, To put it bluntly, My Chemical Romance is a massive step towards leading all the impressionable youth of the world to be musically ignorant. MCR have repeatedly overused lyrical themes (ie. anyone sick of Death, Drugs, Guns?), and they have blantantly stolen guitar from Queen. Try and pick out what song it is. Come on. If anyone reading this even REMOTELY considers purchasing this album, please, look beyond the top 30 charts for a better band and check out Radiohead or Muse or something.… Expand
  7. JoshuaM
    Mar 10, 2008
    0
    Absolute pop-punk filth. Cliched lyrics, annoying vocals. Talentless, soulless schlock.
  8. DrunkenMaster
    Nov 2, 2006
    0
    If this album is the "soundtrack to your life" you should kill yourself. NOW.
  9. JeffG
    Nov 28, 2006
    0
    Whiny- Ass Emo Bitch Music!!!
  10. NickM
    Nov 6, 2006
    3
    Over produced and underthought. MCR hyped up this album in their interviews and from the title it sounded like it would be a darker album, a heavier album. I tried to sit through at least one of the songs but couldn't due to poor guitar tone and seemingly half ass musical compositions.
  11. PerspicaciousCritic
    Nov 7, 2006
    2
    I agree with All Music Guide that
  12. ToddW
    Oct 24, 2006
    3
    AFI, HiM, Angels and Airwaves, My Chemical Romance, et al. Don't any of these Maybelline model cross-dressing wanna-be's have anything remotely interesting to say? Nope. MCR's costumery is vaguely amusing, sort of a cross between a Tim Burton character and an X-ray, but their music is like so much of the other "darkness" being foister upon us by these Alice Cooper and Ozzy AFI, HiM, Angels and Airwaves, My Chemical Romance, et al. Don't any of these Maybelline model cross-dressing wanna-be's have anything remotely interesting to say? Nope. MCR's costumery is vaguely amusing, sort of a cross between a Tim Burton character and an X-ray, but their music is like so much of the other "darkness" being foister upon us by these Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne clones. It lacks originality and spontaneity. Three power chords and a shriek. Didn't Def Leppard do something similar? And much better? My three teenage boys love this, um, music. I prefer to reach for Mastodon or my ear plugs, I don't remember which.… Expand
  13. steve
    Oct 25, 2006
    0
    Well said, Todd W. It's amazing, how derivative, uninventive and plain boring pop music has become. By all appearences, today's youth hasn't got one original idea musically, and doesn't call for one either. Pitiful pretension all over the place, the single authentic message being: "I'm a product, buy me, I'm just as dumb as you. "
  14. DubyaU
    Oct 25, 2006
    0
    Want artsy and exciting music with high pitch vocals and screamies? Stick to the Blood Brothers, this rubbish is nothing but a new CD for the kiddies to pick up cause it's "cool." The can posture and look as odd as they like, but they aren't good enough to back it up musically.
  15. nickc
    Dec 6, 2006
    1
    Generic pop-screamo. Copletely unlistenable, regurgitated grabage. Why one would suffer to listen to this agonizingly empty vapid band is quite beyond me. Ridiculous overproduction and Pro-Tools don't make a good album. A bad singer with auto-tune is still a bad singer. Scream/sing/scream/sing= Lame/Lame. Listen to the Used or the Killers for more of the same.
  16. Joel
    Oct 26, 2006
    1
    Nothing new here, mall punk with annoying Queen style rock.
  17. whatever
    Jun 11, 2007
    0
    The Observer review says all. Unimaginative, uncreative and plain boring. The world didn't need a band covering/riping-off "The Wall" or "Sgt. Pepper's" for the millionth time... specially one with annoying emo kids... PS: Stop tagging this as alternative rock!!!
  18. rotten777
    Mar 10, 2008
    1
    Pathetic fashion rock playing to the minds of young teens and guys who think its ok to wear makeup. Songwriting is terrible. The execution is terrible and typical of something you'd see on MTV.
  19. mukoron
    Nov 14, 2006
    1
    suxk!!
  20. Nib
    Nov 8, 2006
    0
    "The Black Parade" is one of the worst songs i've ever heard!!!! It can't decide what song it wants to be and spends 3 minutes changing it's mind. It starts off as a poor Green Day, changes into a second rate Blink 182, then switches to an awful Queen tribute band. At one point it seems the songs speeds up so much, the lead singer Gerard Way-overated, seems to struggle to "The Black Parade" is one of the worst songs i've ever heard!!!! It can't decide what song it wants to be and spends 3 minutes changing it's mind. It starts off as a poor Green Day, changes into a second rate Blink 182, then switches to an awful Queen tribute band. At one point it seems the songs speeds up so much, the lead singer Gerard Way-overated, seems to struggle to catch up like a drunk 14 year old a karaoke contest. This band are appaling and the sooner the radio stations take them off their playlists and we forget about them the better.… Expand
  21. billym
    Nov 9, 2006
    2
    this record sucks. anyone born before 1990 should pretty much understand that. if you want something like this, try green day or something, they're at least not so total douche whiny puss styles.....it's kinda like if you had some cheeseball metal singer from the 80s totally scream-complaining about stuff and posing down with like Everclear as the super sweet back up band. or something.
  22. JohnnyT
    Dec 10, 2006
    1
    I don't get it. I saw these guys play in a garage two years ago and a year later they're number one on TRL. We've all seen where this goes. The Baha Men, anyone? But instead of retiring to the used bin like the boys from Jamaica, MCR somehow still get people to buy into this crap.
  23. Fred
    Dec 14, 2006
    0
    this album was such a huge letdown, the singing is soooo boring and most of the tunes are iritating, this album will never touch the awsomeness of MCRs"I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love" P.S i dident say all that cuase i dont like emo music, cuase i do... but this album is awful
  24. TomH
    Oct 25, 2006
    0
    Sorry bout being a old school MCR fan i was really hoping to see more punk sound from them cos i heard they were completely changing their sound but didnt realize they'd do a damn britney spears on us and produce nothing but pure pop trash. This album could quite possibly be the worst album of the year, even the lead singer sounds more gay
  25. jim
    Oct 26, 2006
    0
    if you love music, than you will hate this. and btw nme: american idiot is not a good album.
  26. MikeN
    Oct 28, 2006
    1
    The fact that this record and Sgt. Pepper are even mentioned on the same page makes me break out in hives. This is emo-pop high school bombast and self-indulgence dressed up with second rate def leopard hooks and queen histrionics. How is this so well reviewed, I feel like I am taking crazy pills here!?!
  27. RichardE
    Jan 13, 2007
    2
    overrated crap
  28. Cretni
    Jan 28, 2007
    0
    This is what is wrong with music today.
  29. RockMusicLover
    Jul 17, 2007
    3
    If you all expected "The Black Parade" to be the next BIG THING, then it sure as hell ISN'T! I had high hopes for this album when I heard "Welcome to The Black Parade"and I was honestly hoping for another "Three Cheers" and "I Bought My Bullets..." with a more "opera" flare to it, but upon hearing it it turned out to be just another "Wall/Sgt. Peppers"and Green Day re-hash thanks to If you all expected "The Black Parade" to be the next BIG THING, then it sure as hell ISN'T! I had high hopes for this album when I heard "Welcome to The Black Parade"and I was honestly hoping for another "Three Cheers" and "I Bought My Bullets..." with a more "opera" flare to it, but upon hearing it it turned out to be just another "Wall/Sgt. Peppers"and Green Day re-hash thanks to it's repetitive and bland musical performances. MCR isn't a GREAT band as Pink Floyd and Queen, just a mere "OK" band. You'll probably buy it for "W.T.T.B.P." and "Famous Last Words" but that's about it.… Expand
  30. Jo
    Aug 24, 2007
    1
    This popdrama-album gets higher ratings than Ryan Adams, And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead's masterpiece "Worlds Apart", all of Interpol's efforts, Editors, latest Manic Street Preachers and even Zeitgeist?! Well, you reviewers just lost all of their credibility. This well-calculated act (alongside with Fall out boy, Panic! etc) illustrates exactly what 's wrong w/ This popdrama-album gets higher ratings than Ryan Adams, And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead's masterpiece "Worlds Apart", all of Interpol's efforts, Editors, latest Manic Street Preachers and even Zeitgeist?! Well, you reviewers just lost all of their credibility. This well-calculated act (alongside with Fall out boy, Panic! etc) illustrates exactly what 's wrong w/ rockmusic today. I still find it hilarious to see them in that 'Tonight Tonight' video rip-off (that is 'The Black Parade') going nuts on their softly -bearly distorted- popguitars like they rock. That some reviewers even dare to compare them with Smashing Pumpkins is beyond any respect and musical knowledge, they have musically nothing in common! Even the melodies aren't good, really I gave it a chance. Maybe if your young full of drama and just discovering music, but if your life's really drenched in teenangst I beg you to please buy 'Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness' instead, a rock monumentum that greatly influenced all of the formentioned bands. You will love it.… Expand
  31. RigobertoR
    Mar 19, 2009
    0
    Terrible music, pretentious and awful record.
  32. AnOnymous
    Nov 16, 2006
    3
    Meh. MCR wants to be big and important and high-minded, but this mostly sounds exactly like all the other chugga-chugga pop-punk out there. It's all just so pretentious, and the marketing hype makes it more annoying - it's a concept album! cancer! whatever! If you need to explain how deep and meaningful it is ad nauseum, well, you paint your audience into a corne, eh? Better Meh. MCR wants to be big and important and high-minded, but this mostly sounds exactly like all the other chugga-chugga pop-punk out there. It's all just so pretentious, and the marketing hype makes it more annoying - it's a concept album! cancer! whatever! If you need to explain how deep and meaningful it is ad nauseum, well, you paint your audience into a corne, eh? Better bands than this have stolen from Queen and Pink Floyd, and without being so obvious about it. Frankly all the slobbering over this album just puzzles me.… Expand
  33. LC
    Oct 23, 2006
    3
    Pure crap.
  34. ColbyS
    Oct 23, 2006
    3
    Nothing new here, just another pussy emo album meant for whining along with. Welcome To The Black Parade simply adds squealing hair metal elements in hopes of brownie points for being unique. It doesn't work.
  35. TomP
    Oct 28, 2006
    0
    The former underground kings of emo turned Queen cover band deliver a disc full of cheesy powerpop with lyrics that rival Aaron Carter. Fashioncore taken to a new low.
  36. AlexW.
    Oct 14, 2007
    0
    This album was an assault on my ears. No musicality or talent beyond working an overwrought 'emo' image that is slowly but surely falling out of favour.
  37. SteveG
    Jan 27, 2007
    0
    Why does everone think this band is so good?! Just listen to the guys voice.
  38. TristanV
    Jan 28, 2007
    2
    i agree with Jud S 100%. i gave them a 2 bedause their guitar player is pretty good. other than then that the band is nothing
  39. Matt
    Nov 11, 2006
    0
    Shit production for something made in 2006, whining, shit voice, shit guitar work, shit song structures and wont stand the test of time, ever to people who think their die hard MCR fans today, 10 years time no one will ever remember it unlike metallicas, megadeths and slayers first albums.

Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Most Discussed Album of 2006
3
#3 Most Shared Album of 2006

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 24
  3. Negative: 1 out of 24
  1. The Guardian
    80
    The most bonkers album of the year, but one of the best.
    Read full review
  2. Alternative Press
    100
    The Black Parade is MCR's whole raison d'etre rolled up into one mega-decibel calling card. [Nov 2006, p.179]
  3. Blender
    90
    They've created the Sgt. Pepper of screamo.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »