The Black Parade is the third studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance,first released on October 23,2006,through Reprise Records. It was produced by the band with Rob Cavallo,known for having produced several albums for the Goo Goo Dolls and Green Day. It is a rock opera and concept album centered on a dying man with cancer known as "The Patient". The album tells the story of his apparent death,experiences in the afterlife,and subsequent reflections on his life. It is the band's only studio album to feature Bob Bryar on drums before his departure in 2010.
The Black Parade was supported by four singles:"Welcome to the Black Parade",which was the band's first number one single in the United Kingdom,"Famous Last Words","I Don't Love You",and "Teenagers". My Chemical Romance began The Black Parade World Tour on February 22,2007,in the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester,New Hampshire. The tour featured 133 performances worldwide,as well as several festival and condensed shows. The tour was the longest and most internationally comprehensive headlining tour the band played,featuring three legs in North America,two legs in Europe,and one in Asia,Australia,and Latin America.
The Black Parade received generally favorable reviews from critics,with the limited edition boxed set also earning a nomination at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in 2008. The album was also a commercial success,debuting at number two on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart. It has been certified as 4×platinum in the United States,3×platinum in the United Kingdom,as well as gold in both Argentina and Chile. The Black Parade was given the Platinum Europe Award by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for one million sales in Europe. The Black Parade has sold three million copies in the United States as of 2016,and four million worldwide. The record was reissued as The Black Parade/Living with Ghosts on September 23,2016,in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the album's release. In 2020,Rolling Stone ranked the album number 361 in its updated list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
Composition and themes
The Black Parade is a rock opera centered on the character of "The Patient". It is about his passage out of life and the memories he has of it. "The Patient" dies and death comes for him in the form of a parade.[1][2][3] This is based on singer Gerard Way's notion of death appearing to a person in the form of their fondest memory,in this case seeing a marching band as a child.[3]
The album also saw the creation of the alter-ego band the Black Parade. My Chemical Romance performed the album live in costume as the Black Parade until their October 7,2007,Mexico City performance.[4][5] On stage,the band donned black marching uniforms similar to those worn by the Beatles for the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). The live performance was theatrical,with Way assuming the character of a member of the Black Parade. His mannerisms were compared to Bob Geldof's performance of the lead character in the movie adaptation of Pink Floyd's The Wall (1979),David Bowie's performance as Ziggy Stardust,and with Freddie Mercury's stage presence.[5] The video Welcome to the Black Parade directed by Samuel Bayer and stars Lukas Haas as "The Patient" being taken by death while the band performs on a float.[6]
Way has cited the bands Queen and Pink Floyd as major influences on the album.[7] Similarities have been noted between the guitar orchestration in "Welcome to the Black Parade",and the arrangements of Queen. Additionally,Pink Floyd's The Wall,the Beatles’Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,Queen's A Night at the Opera (1975) and David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) are noted as major influences for the album,especially when comparing the album's opening track,"The End.",to the first tracks on The Wall,"In the Flesh?",and on Ziggy Stardust,"Five Years".[8] Way has also said one of their biggest influences was the Smashing Pumpkins,often giving them credit for their thematic videos.[9] "The intention was to make something that was classic,something timeless," explained guitarist Ray Toro.
"Something that 20 or 30 years from now,parents could play for their kids and say,'This is what I was listening to when I was your age. Check it out,it’s still cool.' We wanted to make a record you could pass down. There’s a lot of music out now that doesn’t feel like that."[10]
Looking back at the creation of the album,guitarist Frank Iero was "blaséabout people hating on the band for this decidedly 'non-scene' record":[10]
"When we did Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge,we didn't fit in," he said. "There was a little less screaming and a little more melody,but it was still us. Never was it a case of,'Don't put that melody there because Hardcore Chuck,who took me to my first show at Fairfield American Legion Hall,is really going to be bummed at me.' I don’t care:If I had to work at McDonald's for the rest of my life to play shows and ride in a van on tour? I've done it. I'll do it again."[10]
Release and promotion
On July 31,2006,the band announced their third studio album.[30] On August 25,they revealed the album's name was The Black Parade. They also revealed several details about the album,such as song titles and touring information.[31] Six days later,the band performed at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards pre-show in New York,and debuted "Welcome to the Black Parade" during their performance.[32] The song was released for streaming two days later.[33] On September 12,the album's artwork and the full track list was revealed.[34] The music video for "Welcome to the Black Parade" was released on September 28.[35] On October 21,the band was the musical guest on an episode of Saturday Night Live,where they performed "Welcome to the Black Parade" and "Cancer".[36]
The Black Parade was made available for streaming on October 19,[37] and was released through Reprise on October 23 in Europe,with the official release date as October 24.[30] The band played a record release show at Vintage Vinyl in the parking lot to celebrate its release on October 23.[38] In Japan,the album was released on an enhanced CD,and also contains the song "Heaven Help Us" and a music video for "Welcome to the Black Parade."[39] The album was supported by four singles,including the aforementioned "Welcome to the Black Parade".[40] The album's second single,"Famous Last Words",was released on January 22,2007.[41] It was followed by "I Don't Love You" and "Teenagers",which were released on April 2 and July 9 respectively.[42][43] In 2009,a compilation of B-sides from the album's singles was released,titled The Black Parade:The B-Sides.[44]
In July 2016,the band announced a 10th anniversary reissue of the album,titled The Black Parade/Living with Ghosts.[45][46] It was released on September 23,and features The Black Parade alongside a second disc titled Living With Ghosts. The second disc contains 11 demos and live tracks,many of which were for previously unreleased songs.[46] It also contains an early version of "Welcome To The Black Parade",titled "The Five of Us Are Dying",which was released on streaming services two months before the reissue's release.[47]
Tours
My Chemical Romance performing during The Black Parade World Tour in 2007
My Chemical Romance began The Black Parade World Tour on February 22,2007,in Manchester,New Hampshire's Verizon Wireless Arena.[48] Throughout the tour,the band would play The Black Parade in its entirety[49] as the "Black Parade",an alter-ego band that the album was named after.[50] The tour featured 133 performances worldwide.[51] The tour concluded on October 7,2007,at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City,Mexico,where the "Black Parade" alter-ego was killed off.[52] The final show,alongside another standalone show that the band performed later that month in New Jersey,was recorded for The Black Parade Is Dead!,a live album and DVD released in June 2008.[53]
During the tour,there were several cancellations and some members had to leave the tour for personal or medical reasons. Six shows were cancelled from April 29,2007,to May 4,2007,after the band and crew contracted food poisoning.[54] The band Circa Survive had to replace Muse,whose members also suffered from the same food poisoning. On January 11,2007,Frank Iero left the tour because of an unspecified illness. He was replaced by Drive By guitarist Todd Price.[55]Mikey Way took time off to get married and spend time with his new wife,Alicia Simmons,and was replaced by guitar tech Matt Cortez from April 18,2007,until October 4,2007.[56]Bob Bryar suffered injuries relating to his wrists during the tour which led to the cancellation of the show at the University of Maine on October 27,2007. Bryar left the tour on November 9,2007,and was replaced by a friend of the band,who wished to remain anonymous.[57][58] Following the November 11,2007,show in Newcastle upon Tyne,Frank Iero left the tour to return home after learning about a family member's illness. He was replaced by Matt Cortez.[59]
In October 2024,the band performed The Black Parade in its entirety for the first time since 2007 at When We Were Young 2024. A month later,the band announced a second tour centered around the album,Long Live The Black Parade. The tour is set to begin at Seattle's T-Mobile Park on July 11,2025,and conclude at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa,Florida on September 13.[60]
The Black Parade has received critical acclaim. At Metacritic,which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics,the album received an average score of 79,based on 24 professional critic reviews,which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[61]
Dan Martin from NME compared the album to Green Day's American Idiot,positing that "it's a piece of work that will challenge every preconception you ever had about the people who made it."[3] Tim Karan of Alternative Press called The Black Parade "MCR's whole raison d'etre rolled up into one mega-decibel calling card".[61]IGN's Ed Thompson wrote,"The Black Parade is a rock and roll gem that celebrates everything that was over the top about the 1970s rock scene."[13] David Fricke of Rolling Stone praised the classic rock feel of the album.[70]Entertainment Weekly stated that "On their third studio album,a musical H-bomb of an effort,the Jersey quintet combine the rock-opera pomp of Queen with the darker,dirtier tones of their screamo past:Call it a Bro-hemian Rhapsody. Even without its broad concept —a dying cancer patient seeks revenge and redemption —Parade stands as one of the most cohesive,engaging rock records of 2006."[8]Robert Christgau gave the album a two-star honorable mention saying,"In prog,a good sense of humor means so much."[71]
The album was not without its share of criticism,and was panned by The Observer. Jamie Hodgson of The Observer gave it one star saying,"...it reeks of a band with ideas above its station."[72] Theon Weber of Stylus praised the album's use of Queen influences,but went on to summarize the album as "...a goofy record of bubblegum punk,with Queen lapping at its edges and enough good tracks to justify the smattering of empty screamfests."[2]
Accolades
The Black Parade was ranked by several publications as among the best albums to release in 2006. Among those publications was Rolling Stone,Kerrang!,and Rock Sound.[73][74][8][75] Additionally,Wizard magazine praised the album in their "Best of 2006" issue,declaring it "an instant classic."[76]
The Black Parade debuted at number two in the United States on the Billboard 200 behind Hannah Montana (2006).[83][84] It also debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart,behind Robbie Williams' Rudebox (2006).[85] In its first week,the album sold 240,000 copies in the US,far surpassing the 38,000 best-week sales of the band's previous album,Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004).[86] The band achieved its first number one single in the United Kingdom with "Welcome to the Black Parade".[87] The album debuted at number three on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum after shipping more than 70,000 copies. It debuted atop the charts in New Zealand and was certified platinum there,with shipments of more than 15,000.[88] In 2012,The Black Parade was certified Platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for one million sales in Europe,[89] and was also certified four-times Platinum by the RIAA,selling over 1.1 million physical copies.[90] It has been certified 3×Platinum in the UK,and has sold just over 900,000 units there to date.[91] It received Gold certifications in both Argentina (by the CAPIF) and Chile (by the IFPI Chile).[92][93]The Black Parade was given the Platinum Europe Award by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for one million sales in Europe.[94] The limited edition boxed set also earned My Chemical Romance a nomination for Best Boxed/Special Limited Edition at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in 2008.[3][70] As of January 2018 the album had sold over three million copies in the U.S.[95] "Welcome to the Black Parade",a single from The Black Parade became My Chemical Romance's first and only top 10 single in the United States.[96]
Legacy and impact
The Black Parade has been considered an important album on the emo,punk rock,and pop-punk music genres,[97][98][99][100] as well as a defining work for the band[99][97] that made them a global phenomenon. It also left an impact on alternative culture and fashion.[97][98] Many have considered it to be the emo or pop-punk equivalent to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967);[98][100] in 2021,Kerrang! stated that the album "defined a generation and changed the landscape of rock forever",and was the "ultimate emo album".[101] In 2016,Luke Morgn Britton of NME described The Black Parade as an album that "exploded the boundaries of its genre".[98] Terry Bezer of Louder shared similar thoughts,writing that The Black Parade became a "way of life that changed the cultural landscape of the world". He further stated that themes illustrated on the album were "embraced by an entire generation".[97] In 2017,Clint Hale of Houston Press described The Black Parade as a "rock opera done right" and a "truly great record",the latter of which he believed most bands were unable to create,and that the album was "impossible to forget".[102]
The album's lead single,"Welcome to the Black Parade",has been considered an "emo anthem".[103][104] Bezer described it as the "anthem of a generation".[97]Kerrang! wrote that the song was one of the "biggest,best and most important rock songs of the 21st century",and a "rallying cry for all who feel the world’s dealt them a cruel hand".[101] Several publications have considered the song to be the best from My Chemical Romance,[105][106][107] and in 2017,its music video was considered MTV's "Greatest Music Video of the Century".[108]
In 2008,British tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail attacked My Chemical Romance over the popularity of The Black Parade,accusing them of promoting suicide and describing emo culture as a "cult".[109][110] In their story,the writers interpreted the idea of the "joining the black parade" as a genuine afterlife that emos seemingly believed in,and described emo culture as a whole as "characterised by depression,self-injury and suicide". They further highlighted the suicide of a young fan who started following the band shortly before her death.[111] In response,more than 300 fans of the band protested outside of the newspaper's office in London,criticizing the newspaper for its inaccuracies,and accusing it of taking advantage of the death of a young girl to prove a point,as well as an older audience that they believed was naturally more hostile towards alternative cultures.[110] The newspaper later edited the story and issued an apology.[110][111]
While The Black Parade did not receive much retroactive praise for several years,[112] it began receiving more acclaim in the 2020s.[100] In 2020,The Black Parade was included by Rolling Stone on their "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list at number 361.[113] The same publication later ranked it in 2022 as one of the best concept albums ever made.[114] In 2011,IGN named The Black Parade one of the best rock albums of the 2000s decade.[115] That same year,Kerrang! included the album in its "666 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die!" list with a score of 5 "K"'s,calling it a "genre-defining album".[116] In 2021,Kerrang! considered The Black Parade to be the greatest emo album ever made.[101] It was included in Rock Sound's 101 Modern Classics list at number nine,[117] and,in April 2019,was named the best album released since the publication's launch in March 1999.[79]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
↑ Greenwald, Andy (November 2006). "Like a Bat out of Hell". Spin. Vol.22, no.11. p.95. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
1 2 3 "My Chemical Romance desata locura en Chile". El Mercurio. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2011. Ni el llanto —y sí que lo hubo— les permitió estar presentes en la entrega de un disco de oro por las 7.500 copias vendidas de su último disco 'The Black Parade'
↑ オリコン年間 アルバムランキング 2007年度[Oricon Annual CD Album Ranking 2007] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
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