My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade ALBUM REVIEW 

Anthony “internet porn takes forever to download” Fantano

The latest swing in popularity for MCR has made me realize how many of ya'll lied about not liking The Black Parade back when we were kids.

This was the first album i ever listened to where I didn’t dislike a single song

Things Anthony hates about his youth, according to this review: 1) George Bush president 2) Internet porn takes forever to download 3) You can't listen to Death Grips yet

Finally, after 14 years... I can actually form an opinion on this album.

“Famous Last Words” is an ambiguous ending. You don’t know if the patient survive and is gonna live different or if he is going to die and he just embrace death.

WHEN I WAS A YOUNG MELON MY WALLET IT WAS NOT VERY RIDGY

The true black parade were the friends we made along the way.

Melon, we all go to hell...

"Internet porn takes forever to download." *PREACH MELON*

Not only he reviewed Black Parade as a classic... he even said that Three Cheers is good. It's perfectly fine to love MCR and not feel ashamed people. So happy.

“[2006 was] asimpler time”, he says just two months from a widespread pandemic.

The thought of anyone listening to this for the first time because of this review warms my heart

“dead” is a lively song - anthony fantano

Not emo fan but what i like from mcr is every album has it's own theme and atmosphere. Like it was a comic book or movie.

When I was A melon My father Took me into the city To sell some ridge walletss

No Anthony, you didn't have to remind us that "All Parades Matter"

The production period for this album was hella cursed (wrote/recorded in a haunted mansion, everyone got injured filming the Famous Last Words mv, etc) which only makes it more legendary tbh

This was great but did you have to call it the All Parade

does a black parade review talks about 3 cheers for sweet revenge for 4 minutes

Melon daddy validating my love for this album is a good start to 2020

Great review melon but did you really have to say “why cant we have a white parade”

"blood" and "house of wolves" are the most underrated songs in their discography

This definitely is a modern classic. Such a great album, still holds up.

"Disenchanted" is the MOST underrated song on The Black Parade (House of Wolves is under appreciated too).

It’s honestly insane how ambitious and big this album is for a band that was associated as being an “emo band” from the mid 2000s. It has such a unique place in music history and really stands out from the other albums of this era. Probably one of my favorite rock/alternative albums ever.

I always assumed Fantano didnt like MCR, or didnt find them interesting enough to comment on. Always good to have a favorite band melon-approved.

The greatest gift that MCR gave us was Ebony Dark'Ness Dementia Raven Way.

It's nice to see this much praise for this project. I can't listen to it too much anymore, my friend listened to this in the depths of her own fight with cancer, and when she beat it, we would blast it as a reminder that she won. 4 months later, a rapid onset of leukemia killed her. I love this whole album, but welcome to the black parade hits a little different when you sing it as you lower a 21 year old in her sparkly casket she picked at 15. Thank you for the review, it reminds me of all the good times we had.

Melon is trying to hide his “SIMP” patch

I remember listening to Famous Last Words by myself in the bus a few days after nearly committing suicide. It gives me the feels, man. This band means so much to me.

I'm in my 40s. Was too old for MCR, but their musicality and art direction won me over.

_when i was_ _a young boy..._ the porn takes forever to dowload.

We need a review of The Cure’s 1989 masterpiece “Disintegration” melon

im just gonna guess that the rest of that one black patch reads "SIMP"

I almost had a heart attack seeing this just now

The Black Parade is considered a classic now? God, I'm old.

That moment when we can finally embrace our inner Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way and admit that MCR were actually awesome.

I want to give a shoutout to Gerard's astounding vocal performances on this album. The wall of screams in Sleep and the soaring finale to Famous Last Words are unbelievable

Imagine if Fantano put on Emo makeup for this album review.

wendigoon's interpretation of this album is my favorite i've seen so far and i cant listen to this album without thinking about it

If Melon ain't just a joke Then why are we laughing? If Melon ain't just a joke Then why am I dead?

The screams at the end of sleep are spine chilling

Disenchanted was originally going to be cut from the album. However it was saved at the last second by the bassist Mikey Way who urged the band to keep it. IMO it’s the best track on the album as it packs a massive punch and is absolutely crushing - as the main character comes to the final stages of accepting his fate and doing so feeling absolutely bitter. While I would hope no one here would ever face a situation like an early death - I think there are many moments in life where you have to accept a fate you aren’t happy about, and it’s not always a “happy” acceptance, and often is one of a bitter nature. Even if you eventually move on past it. The song captures that feeling of helplessness that I don’t think most songwriters want to talk about. Musically it’s incredible. The lyrics sting with every turn. The chorus flies high emotionally and crashes down. It’s catchy as hell. Easily the most underrated track on the record, and was my personal favorite back when this album originally released. Nice to see MCR finally get some love. I’ve noticed over the last 10 years more and more people realizing they love their music. Even those that hated them at the time they were popular. I think Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge - while not as great - has a ton of amazing songs. “The ghost of You” and “Thank You for the Venom” are awesome. And while Danger Days was hit and miss it also had some great moments. They are overall just a really solid band that is totally worth remembering.

I feel like this was the last time a rock album was a huge deal culturally and dominated airwaves

Ok this is epic but we still need Sorry For Party Rocking

Dude, your 14 years late And that is what makes this better

One time I asked my high school orchestra teacher if he ever knew Gerard Way since he attended the same school we were at and he said he'd actually taught him as a kid. That blew my mind.

I’m so glad that these dudes are being appreciated for their talent now, and that most people are over that dumb “HURRR DURRR EMO CRINGE! TEENAGE GIRLS LIKE THIS SO I CAN’T!!! CRINGE CRINGE CRINGE POSER SELLOUTS” stigma

Finally, the "RAWRING 20s xD"

real ones know that the actual last song on the album is "blood."

my mans gave it a 7 before the video started

I was obsessed with this album as a 12-year-old, when it first came out. My 65-year-old grandfather (rest his soul) also LOVED it. It was a really strange connection between us. He was a folk rock lovin' ex-vietnam vet, listening to my favorite emo album.

I finally feel at peace. Musically, The Black Parade always felt like a masterpiece but the god damn emo stigma always had me second guessing. Thank you melon for allowing me to lay this to rest.

What's funny is how he's wanted to do this for awhile, yet this is literally THE perfect time for a trendy topical review lol.

cool cat says this is the last groundbreaking rock record

This has probably the first album I listened to front and back and fell in love with. It blows my mind how much of the Black Parades overall message went over people's heads tbh. The music videos and some lyrics were pretty straight forward. I may have moved on to a lot more heavier and nastier music, but this album always has a place in my heart as one of my all time favorites and don't care what anyone says.

so is the igor review coming anytime soon? the record came out last year and i really wanna hear your opinion on it

I'm so happy this got a classic review. To me this is my favorite rock album from the 2000s. Over Elephant, Is This It, and even In Rainbows. I love those albums, but I would absolutely take this over those. It was the first album that helped me appreciate music as an art. I was 12 when it came out and I had just began to learn guitar.

This album literally got me into music. I remember my friend letting me borrow his copy and i used to just sit in my room everyday after school just blasting this record on repeat till i finally got a copy burned. This album means so much to me I can't even describe it.

My initial purchase of this album is one of my favorite memories. About a year after its initial release, I picked up a CD copy from Barnes & Noble. I stopped to get some lunch in the food court of the mall the store was attached to, and a couple of scene kids were standing next to me as I waited for my food. One of them saw what I had in my clear B&N bag, and he said, "Dude, you're gonna LOVE that album!" with a huge grin on his face. When I got home and listened to it, all I could think was, "He wasn't lying." One of my favorite albums of all time.

Thank you for the praise on Three Cheers. It's my favorite MCR album and I feel like it can get overshadowed a bit just because of how good TBP is, so its nice to hear someone acknowledge it.

I used to cry while sitting alone in the lunchroom too.

Anthony if you rip on Taking Back Sunday one more time my grandma and I are gonna have a serious problem with you

Anyone else already loved this album and watched this video because they just wanted to hear someone praise it?

"Famous Last Words" is one of my top ten favorite songs of all time. It's gotten me through many, many, dark times in my life. My only problem with it is that the songs can sometimes mush together. I only buy vinyl of albums I think are a 9 or 10/10. This is probably a 9.5/10. One of my favorite albums ever.

Ah, no one ever mentions I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. Like yeah its not really an album that youd think of with MCR, but like, its still a respectable album with some great songs. (I may be biased as its a personal favorite)

"Internet porn takes forever to download." Anthony confirmed coomer.

I waited excitedly for a whole week and wasn’t disappointed one bit with the review. Hearing you talk so positively about my favourite album is so incredibly validating to me. I love this album SO much.

When I was a Youngthony Boytano

Omfg. Finally. I discovered this album/band exactly a year ago, and I personally _loved_ this record. I listened to songs from it or even the whole thing almost every day for like 10 months. In the great times, in the hard times. I always felt it was something special (even most reviews say it's a classic), but there were also people who didn't think so high of it. Same with Three Cheers, which I discovered in around October. But it doesn't matter now. Finally. This. Is so. Validating.

We’ve been building up to this all year.

Finally I can tell those "goth" girls that I like my chemical romance

To this day, still my favorite album and best concert I've ever attended. This, coming from a black dude from Chicago that grew up on hip hop and R&B.

I'm > 40 years old, I only heard this album for the first time about 3 years ago when I found the cd for $2 in a second hand shop. This album has no connection to my youth but this is a great album.

I’m glad to have this record as a starting point of my music taste

I felt like Teenagers sort of tied in to the childhood/teenage narrative we see in Disenchanted, almost as if the protagonist is flashing back to his own “emo middle/high school days”. Just like an “outcast” or “emo” kid, they hate and are scared of their fellow teenagers, who viciously bully them while also remaining “cogs in the machine” of the real world’s conformity and cleanliness. This (imo) is the climactic area of the album where MCR invite their teenage fans (who have not lived anything close to a full life) to identify with the narrative, saving the inspirational “Famous Last Words” for the end as a plea to be brave and choose life instead of suicide or self-harm.

I was obsessed with Green Day when American Idiot came out. I was 13 and I listened to that album and jumped around my bedroom for hours every day for months on end. They then came to town in Cleveland and my cousin and I went to our first show. My Chemical Romance opened up and blew my miiiind! (So did Green Day, one of the best nights of my life)...Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge became my new obsession (their first album I Brought You My Bullets... is a banger, as well), followed by the even better Black Parade album and I still love them so very much to this day. I bought my first guitar through their inspiration and danced around my house pretending I was Frank Iero (I still do sometimes : ) ). Thanks for sending love to the band, my friends used to give me so much shit about it haha (they listened to Fugazi, Modest Mouse, Primus--the "cooler" stuff, which I also loved) , but I knew that one day MCR would be appreciated because they're undeniably awesome. That day has come and I am old and I'm so friggin' stoked to go be an old person at their reunion tour!!! I wrote too much!

I have such a vivid memory of going to get this album on release day, running home, throwing it in the stereo, and feeling totally spellbound from start to finish. Even upon first listen I could tell it was something special, and almost fourteen years later those feelings haven't dulled at all. My Chem's albums are so cinematic/atmospheric/narrative-heavy that I always carve out time to just sit and soak in them without any distractions, even today. I loved this review; it's been super heartwarming to see the band be recognized more and more over the years for their artistry and impact.

In an interview with MCR they said that The End. was actually heavily inspired by Pink Floyd's In The Flesh? off The Wall. It's very easy to see the similarities.

I love how you started with Three Cheers, as it shows the context of The Black Parade and how much of an evolution it was from their previous stuff. And I think you're review is spot on in revealing how My Chem was perceived during the mid-2000's by most people. I think it was mainly because they were surrounded by thousands of shitty warped tour bands in the same genre, and for some reason people like putting down a fanbase based on the half-brain stereotype of "their listeners are emotional 12-15 year old's so their music must suck..." BUT My Chem was clearly always in a tier of their own and actually had a VISION. Sometimes it just takes a decade for a band to get that recognition. The garbage bands fade into oblivion, and the bands that actually wrote great songs remain.

I'm pretty sure this review was to celebrate the fact that MCR is back babbyyyyy

These guys sound FIRE LIT, can’t wait to check out this album

This album is a 9 or 10 for me

*Emo flashbacks whenever the G-note is played*

The black patch on his right says “SIMP”. Welcome to Simp Nation, Anthony 😩👊✊😭 👑

My favorite band ever. So glad people are finally openly coming around to them and appreciating them for the awesome musicians that they are

Kinda rude when you appeared on the comeback concert of MCR to give Gerard a light to decent 5 for his actual look. Subscribed

This is so validating to my inner 9 year old

I'm so glad he finally allowed me to like this album without feeling ashamed

"Internet porn takes forever to download" best reason why internet progress is a good thing

He actually did it, the absolute madman.

Three cheers is my favorite i love it. I mean it’s so dramatic, the creativity behind the backstory ,THE SONGS, THAT TRANSITION BETWEEN GHOST OF YOU AND THE JETSET LIFE. Just beautiful

Man,wasn't expecting that Dresden Dolls shout out. Just discovered them not too long ago and love them. Also since you mentioned it, classic review for Dookie plz?

Review “Soup” by Blind Melon. They named their band after you.

"didnt like it because the parade was balck" geez anthony

Glad you gave three cheers the praise it deserves.

Kind of wish he talked about their first album as well.

Kill All Your Friends was one of the B-Sides for Famous Last Words, and is arguably my favourite song by My Chemical Romance. I really think it deserves more attention.

When I was young my friend gave me a CD copy of the black parade and told me to give it a try and I said I would. And all these years since I still haven’t listened to the record. It’s currently in my closet sitting there collecting dust, but after hearing everything that you said in the review, maybe I should finally give it a shot...