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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

Building a theater of the morbid

My Chemical Romance's newest effort, The Black Parade, oozes with theatrics. From its loose concept theme about a cancer patient -- effectively named "The Patient" -- in a hospital to its rock opera-esque sound reminiscent of Queen and David Bowie, lead singer Gerard Way directs his band mates through the 14-track disc like a modern day Music Man.\nAlthough some cuts such as "The Sharpest Lives" and "House of Wolves" harken back to MCR's in-your-face screamo roots prevalent on 2004's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, or 2002's I Brought You Bullets My Bullets You Brought Me Your Love, The Black Parade jumps around the musical spectrum, splicing in different styles and genres. Sometimes, it's acoustic guitar and piano. Other times, its vaudeville, with the aforementioned hint of Queen and Bowie.\nIn the album's lead track, incongruously titled "The End," Way welcomes you into his theater. "Come one come all to this tragic affair," he sings. The single, "Welcome to the Black Parade," starts out subtly with a hint of piano and a marching band tom drum beat. MCR has the listener at this parade -- with Way twirling his microphone as a baton stick -- before we get into its rather melodic chorus and Mark Hoppus/Tom Delonge-ish outro.\nIf there's one thing MCR does well on The Black Parade and on their previous efforts, it's the ability to write some insane hooks. "Teenagers" sounds like a bit like T. Rex's "Bang a Gong (Get it On)" with its muted guitar and its gentle -- dare I say sexy - singing style. Some are heralding MCR's lastest disc as the "Sgt. Pepper's" of screamo, with its grandiose thematic elements and new, dynamic, adventurous sounds.\nThough that's probably a bit presumptuous (it is the freakin' Beatles, after all) MCR deserves applause for stepping out of the whiney, scream-y bounds of their emo counterparts and building something of universal substance.

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