The Black Parade

The Black Parade is the third studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance. Released on October 23, 2006 through Reprise Records, it was produced by Rob Cavallo, known for having produced multiple albums for Goo Goo Dolls and Green Day. It is a rock opera centering on a dying character with cancer known as "The Patient". The album tells the story of his apparent death, experiences in the afterlife, and subsequent reflections on his life.

Four singles were released from the album: "Welcome to the Black Parade", "Famous Last Words", "I Don't Love You", and "Teenagers". The Black Parade has received generally favorable reviews, and the band achieved its first number one single in the United Kingdom with "Welcome to the Black Parade". The album debuted at number two on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart and is also certified as Platinum by the RIAA, as well as a Platinum certification in the United Kingdom and Gold certifications in both Argentina (by the CAPIF) and Chile (by the IFPI Chile). The Black Parade was given the Platinum Europe Award by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for 1 million sales in Europe. The limited edition boxed set also earned My Chemical Romance a Grammy Award nomination. In the video game Guitar Hero II (Xbox 360 version), the song "Dead!" was added to the game's track list prior to the earlier PlayStation 2 version, and the three songs "Teenagers," "Famous Last Words" and "This Is How I Disappear" are available for download. The Black Parade has sold two million copies in the United States as of 2016, and three million worldwide. The record was reissued as a 10th Anniversary Edition on September 23, 2016 in celebration of the album's release.

The Black Parade is a rock opera centering around the character of "The Patient". It is about his passage out of life and the memories he has of his life. "The Patient" dies and death comes for him in the form of a parade. This is based upon Gerard Way's notion of death appearing to a person in the form of their fondest memory, in this case seeing a parade as a child.

The album also saw the creation of the alter-ego band, The Black Parade. My Chemical Romance would perform the album live in costume as the Black Parade up until October 7, 2007 Mexico City performance. On stage, the band would don black marching uniforms similar to those worn by The Beatles for the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). The live performance was theatrical, with Gerard Way assuming the character of a member of The Black Parade. Way's mannerisms were compared to Bob Geldof in his performance of the lead character in the movie adaption of Pink Floyd's The Wall (1979). His performance was also compared to David Bowie's performance of Ziggy Stardust and Freddie Mercury's stage presence. There are also similarities to Alice Cooper in his "Welcome to My Nightmare" period. The video for "Welcome to the Black Parade", directed by Sam Bayer, portrays the events of the entire story, starring all its characters, including Mother War, who is primarily involved in the song "Mama". Gerard Way has described this video as "The definitive video for the record" and one that "summed up the album."

The album also has strong influences from 1970s classic rock, glam rock, pop music, punk rock and gothic rock.The album's style is considered pop punk, and alternative rock

Lead singer Gerard Way has cited the bands Queen and Pink Floyd as major influences on the album. Similarities have been noted between the guitar orchestration in "Welcome to the Black Parade", and the arrangements of Queen. Additionally, Pink Floyd's The Wall and David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) are noted as major influences for the album, which is especially evident when comparing the album's opening track, "The End.", to the first tracks on The Wall, "In the Flesh?", and on Ziggy Stardust, "Five Years". Gerard Way has also stated that one of their biggest influences were The Smashing Pumpkins, often giving them credit for their thematic videos.

"The intention was to make something that was classic, something timeless," explained guitarist Ray Toro. "Something that 20 or 30 years from now, parents could play for their kids and say, 'This is what I was listening to when I was your age. Check it out, it’s still fucking cool.' We wanted to make a record you could pass down. There’s a lot of music out now that doesn’t feel like that."

Looking back at the creation of the album, guitarist Frank Iero was blasé about criticism[clarify] the band received for this decidedly "non-scene" record. "When we did Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, we didn't fit in," he said. "There was a little less screaming and a little more melody, but it was still us. Never was it a case of, 'Don't put that melody there because Hardcore Chuck, who took me to my first show at Fairfield American Legion Hall, is really going to be bummed at me.' I don’t give a shit: If I had to work at McDonald's for the rest of my life to play shows and ride in a shitty van on tour? I've done it. I'll do it again.

Cover of the album "The Black Parade"