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My Chemical Romance album falls short on originality

Nov. 8, 2006

By STEPHEN CORTEZ
Contributor

It is certainly an oddity that a release like The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance can fly as low under the radar as it has.

After a breakthrough second release (Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge) and heavy airplay for The Black Parade's first single, "Welcome to the Black Parade," you would think that fans would be lined up around the corner waiting for this one. However, it seems the public can smell a rat.

Countless times throughout The Black Parade you find yourself thinking, "I've heard this somewhere before." But where? After some careful thought, the answer may shock you. Queen? Bon Jovi? Coldplay? Garth Brooks?

For the sake of fairness, things aren't as out of place as they seem. The punk-rock guitar is actually an upgrade, and, for the most part, Gerard Way's vocals are pretty solid.

Tracks like "This Is How I Disappear," "The Sharpest Lives" and "House of Wolves" are as good as anything the band has released so far -- crunching guitar, decent lyrics and a solid hard rock feel. "Sleep" pulls off the ballad concept fairly well without being too whiny. That's the good news.

Turning to a track like "Welcome to the Black Parade," the musical plagiarism is blatant. The extensive intro is almost intentionally reminiscent of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." The middle of the track seems like everything is back to normal, but a stadium-ready chant and another ripped-off solo put me right back in the Murfmobile with Wayne and Garth head-banging and screaming "Mama mia, let me go!"

"Mama" has to be one of the more comical numbers on The Black Parade. The track is riddled with just a dash of Panic! at the Disco and Way fighting the urge to sing in an Italian accent. And amid all the carnival-like aura, My Chemical Romance manages to drop in a fairly chaotic breakdown.

But, just when things are about to head in the right direction, the comedy returns in the form of a brief Liza Minnelli cameo. That's not a joke; she really sings a few lines.

Then there's the unnecessary slow songs, a category the band just can't seem to conquer. "Cancer" features overly explained cancer metaphors (I know, very original) without any amount of meaningful depth. "I Don't Love" comes off as a half-hearted attempt at a love-gone-wrong ballad. "Disenchanted" explains itself perfectly with the chorus: "You're just a sad song with nothing to say." Hey, that's exactly what I was thinking! These tracks seem out of place not only with the album but with the band.

My personal favorite is "Teenagers." The track begins with electric guitar and country music chords and really doesn't detract from that path. The chorus is catchy, detailing how much teenagers frighten Way, which confused me considering the demographics of the band's punk-rock fan base. Between the country music twang and sing-along lyrics, I couldn't help but feel like I was listening to Garth Brooks' greatest hits.

Once you get past the annoyingly obvious rip-offs and the off-the-wall humor, The Black Parade has its moments. There are several tracks I highly recommend, and even the silly songs have their moments.

Surely there will be some who think that all of these intricacies are a brilliant addition to what was already a pretty quality act. To some degree, they may present some valid arguments. I just couldn't quite sell myself on the idea of My Chemical Romance incorporating trumpets and Liza Minnelli.

Give it a try: Find something about The Black Parade that grabs hold of you and treasure it. If you don't find anything, don't say I didn't tell you so.

Grade: C

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