by Nicole Hogsett

Created on: May 18, 2009

The Black Parade is a solid concept album that follows 'the Patient', a character who has died and is now reliving memories of his life, as death takes him, in the form of a parade. However, it is not the concept that makes the album so great, it's the songs.

'Welcome to the Black Parade', the first single off of the album (and the song performed at the aforementioned Video Musical Awards), is an epic and ambitious song, with remnants of Queen, or more currently, Green Day, strewn throughout the song. Imploring a real marching band helps to create the parade, but the lyrics about what goes on after death (we'll carry on/we'll carry on/ and though you're dead and gone believe me/you're memory will carry on/we'll carry on) mixed in with inspirational (whether that was intentional or not) messages for the listener (won't explain/or say I'm sorry/I'm unashamed/I'm gonna show my scar).

'Welcome to the Black Parade' might be the most famous song off the album; it isn't, even in all its glory, the best. There are more than a few standouts on the record vying for that title:

Mama a blazing song that announces Mama we're all gonna dieand right now they're building a coffin your size/mama, we're all full of lies. The darkness continues throughout the song, and features an appearance by Liza Minnelli. With the lyrics and music the song has a feel of someone going through a battle, highlighted by an interlude in which lead singer Gerard Way, screams Mama, over and over again, almost as if he's in the trenches.

Cancer quite possibly one of the most heartbreaking songs ever written, 'Cancer', sung with little background music, allowing the listener to focus on the words Now turn away/cause I'm awful just to see/cause all my hair's abandoned all my body/oh, my agony/know that I will never marry/baby I'm just soggy from the chemo/but counting down the days to go and you'll want to listen because as heavy as the song may be, it perfectly and exquisitely captures the fear and pain that a person going through cancer must feel.

Disenchanted you're just a sad song/with nothing to say/about a lifelong wait/for a hospital stay one of the best songs, musically, on the album, 'Disenchanted' is the definition of a power rock-ballad, starting off with little music, than having guitars and drums rushing in, and the song never slows down from there. While not quite hitting the same emotional notes as 'Cancer', 'Disenchanted' is a powerful song that is undoubtedly worth a listen.

Teenagers completely different from everything else on the album, 'Teenagers' does not seem to fit in, which is appropriate, being that the song is targeted as an anthem for those who do not fit in, with controversial lyrics like but if you're troubled and hurt/what you got under your shirt/will make them pay for the things that they did. 'Teenagers' is also equipped with a ridiculously catchy chorus, one that is stadium-ready for fans to sing along right with the band.

The Black Parade is one of the best albums to come out in a while, and if you haven't listened to or brought it yet, you are sorely missing out. Original, epic, undeniably touching and surprisingly (given the dark theme) life-affirming the Black Parade is an incredible achievement by My Chemical Romance.

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