black parade

The album is produced by Rob Cavallo, who has also produced albums for Green Day. It was intentionally leaked in its entirety on October 19, 2006.^[2] In an interview with MTV, the band said that the name "The Black Parade" was chosen because "black" symbolized death and "parade" symbolized celebration.^[3] It debuted at number two on the UK album chart, and number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, losing the top spot to Disney's Hannah Montana Soundtrack. The Black Parade sold 240,000 copies, far surpassing the 38,000 in first week sales of Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, the band's previous album. The album debuted at number three on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and was certified Gold after shipping more than 35,000 copies. It debuted atop the charts in New Zealand and was certified Platinum there, with shipments of more than 15,000.^[4]

Influences

Gerard Way has cited Queen as a major influence.^[5] The tonality of the guitar orchestration in "Welcome to the Black Parade," supposedly resembles the timbral qualities of the guitar orchestration done by Queen guitarist Brian May, especially in "It's a Hard Life" on the Queen album The Works. The opening and closing sections of "Welcome to the Black Parade" are highly reminiscent of the Suit of Lights song, "Goodbye Silk City".^[6]

Way has also stated that the three albums which have the most similarity to this album, and some of the influences on this record, are Queen's A Night at the Opera, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Pink Floyd's The Wall.^[7]

Gerard Way has also acknowledged that The Smashing Pumpkins album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was an influence on this record and that he wishes the new album to echo the aesthetics of Mellon Collie.^[8]

Reception

The Black Parade received generally favorable reviews from critics, with some mixed and negative reviews as well.

Some of the positive reviews were from AMG NME, IGN, and Rolling Stone. Dan Martin from NME compared the album to Green Day's American Idiot dubbing My Chemical Romance the new kings of the world.^[9] Ed Thompson of IGN stated "The Black Parade, is a rock and roll gem that celebrates everything that was over the top about the 1970s rock scene."^[10] David Frike of Rolling Stone praised the classic rock feel of the album.^[6] They also went onto rank it # 20 on their top 50 albums of 2006.^[11] TheMagazine also named The Black Parade as its official album of the year in their 2006 year in review issue.^[12]

The album wasn't without its share of criticism, and reviewers like The Observer and Aversion both panned the album, while Stylus gave a mixed review. Jamie Hodgson of The Observer stated "...it reeks of a band with ideas above it's station."^[13] Whereas Matt Schild of Aversion thought the album was "over-the-top" and "lame".^[14] Theon Weber of Stylus praised the Queen influence on the album however went on to sumararize 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."^[15]

The album holds a 79/100 score based on 24 reviews at metacritic, which equates to "generally favorable reviews" according to the site.^[16]

Versions

There are three versions of The Black Parade, all with the same tracks. One has a cardboard sleeve with a white background. Another has a black background. There is also special edition of the album. The product description is as follows:

"The Limited Edition special packaging features an 11-11/16" x 5-13/16", long skinny box with hinged lid, wrapped in black velveteen material, with a debossed design on the top. The 64-page bound paperback book inside the box is modeled after a Victorian-style photo album, and contains Gerard's drawings, making-of-the-album notes, and more."^[17]

A clean version of The Black Parade was released on December 19, 2006; this version also contains "Blood" (Hidden Track).^[18]

Track Listing

1. "The End." – 1:52
2. "Dead!" – 3:15
3. "This Is How I Disappear" – 3:59
4. "The Sharpest Lives" – 3:20
5. "Welcome to the Black Parade" – 5:11
6. "I Don't Love You" – 3:58
7. "House of Wolves" – 3:04
8. "Cancer" – 2:22
9. "Mama" – 4:39 (featuring Liza Minnelli)
10. "Sleep" – 4:43
11. "Teenagers" – 2:41
12. "Disenchanted" – 4:54
13. "Famous Last Words" – 4:59
14. "Blood" (Hidden Track) – 2:53

B-Sides

1. "Heaven Help Us" – 2:56
2. "My Way Home is Through You" - 2:58
3. "Kill All Your Friends" - 4:28

Singles

• "Welcome to the Black Parade" - (2006)
• "Famous Last Words" - (2007)

Personnel

• Gerard Way - Lead vocals
• Mikey Way - Bass guitar
• Frank Iero - Rhythm guitar
• Ray Toro - Lead guitar
• Bob Bryar - Drums

Additional musicians

• Rob Cavallo: Piano
• Jamie Muhoberac: Hammond organ, Synthesizer, Piano on "Blood"
• Cheech Iero: Additional percussion on "Welcome to the Black Parade"
• Linda Iero, Donald James, Donna Lee Way: Additional vocals on "Mama"
• Liza Minnelli: Guest Vocals on "Mama"