New Jersey's MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE was responsible for a huge Emo hit back in 2005, with an unmistakable videoclip, which was coffin's aerobic pseudo-gothic Helena. They joined MTV ranks as a lighthearted, funnier, twisted version of EVANESCENCE, with a PLACEBO-lookalike androginous singer. Kids loved it. I sighted, then laughed. Still, much more interesting than decisidely conventional, beefy The Ghost of You which could have been directly extracted from Amy Lee's breakup diary. And so on.

I'm surprised to realize MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE nowadays emulates - successfully - GREEN DAY magnum opus, American Idiot, as the post-Emo Art-Punk outfit they will never be. I say this due to their still running gothic affiliations. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE still wants gloom and doom, and finds teenage drama instead. Uncannily, they manage to find a path to some epic quasi-Punkism through their exagerated blush and eyeliner. And they had another huge hit, less than an year after.

THE WHO is the greatest influence of such epic attempts by quasi (or former) Punk bands as GREEN DAY and current MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE. The fondness for concepts, no matter how much hermetism and nerds-only appeal they could bear; the Arena-sized guitar riffs; the proverbial moody piano; the theatrical singer and the eternal teenage in crisis. All these elements are prominent on Welcome to the Black Parade, which is a funeral of sorts for the previous incarnation of MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE (says the booklet). Or maybe not? Take it by the approach.

Gerard Way still sings like someone treated his balls with a baseball bat. His companions still play like a sophisticated Emo group, not macho enought to reach Hard Rock (BON JOVI) nor delicate enought for piano-driven balladry (COLDPLAY).

The song (about, hum, the death of a beloved one), nevertheless, starts as a piano-only confessional ballad, closer to JAMES BLUNT than to BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN. Martial drums and plaitive backing vocals arrive, signalizing this is GREEN DAY's kindergarten. Gerard Way reaches newfound strained noted and Ray Toro sprinkles a guitar solo worth of Brian May. Then the band ignites to GREEN DAY frantic pace, or maybe, BLINK 182; finally, at least, an addictive chorus, as much as Helena's ("will carry on" is the hook). Even if the song never quite recaps the moody initial section, their former incarnation was not that versatile and gifted. The final section is another stuttering romp, worth of PENNYWISE. And another moody drum showcase.

Be Welcome to the black parade! See ya.

File under: Emos finding their prime

Related reviews:

http://www.epinions.com/content_276118081156
EVANESCENCE's Call Me When You're Sober

Tracklist:

* * * * 1/2 Welcome to the Black Parade

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Getting ready to go out