#176
My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade (2006, Warner Bros.)
Although the two huge singles from their breakthrough album hinted at these guys being much more than just another brooding Hot Topic mall-punk band (let's face it, they were never really emo), I'm not sure anyone expected them to turn into the bombastic modern-day version of Queen on the much anticipated follow-up. But when The Black Parade came out, it was clear that Gerard Way and his band had been doing a lot of homework in the meantime. Between studying Brian May's electrifying guitar solos and many close listens to Green Day's American Idiot, My Chemical Romance came up with a huge sounding rock opera of their very own. Loosely centered around the life, death, and memories of "The Patient", The Black Parade is packed with more sing-along melodies and anthemic choruses than your average Broadway musical ("Mama" and "Teenagers" make very clear that the connection was very much intentional). In lesser hands, this could have been a fantastic failure. But thanks to Way's charisma and thrilling production, the entire record is a joy to hear. Its easy to understand why the critics were quick to bash these guys for being completely over the top, but I wish more current rock bands would be willing to deal in such bombast. I can't wait to hear what these guys do next.
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