The Black Parade Is Dead

by

My Chemical Romance

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One of the first things I thought when I heard My Chemical Romance's epic album The Black Parade for the first time was that it would make a monster live performance. The Black Parade pretty much single-handedly restored my faith in modern rock music, so when I heard that there was going to be a live DVD release called The Black Parade is Dead, I knew I had to get it right away.

The first disc in this 2-disc collection is the DVD, which features a full performance of The Black Parade in front of a massive crowd in Mexico City. This performance was everything I had hoped for. The band was energetic, the crowd was absolutely wild for them, and frontman Gerard Way was as theatrical as he was intense. They completely captured the spirit of the album, and with their costumes, makeup, and props also conveyed the sheer spectacle of The Black Parade. I still don't know if these guys are emo (or exactly what emo is for that matter), but I know great arena rock when I hear (and see) it, and My Chemical Romance is practically channeling Queen when they rock this arena.

The second half of the DVD was a more intimate performance in New Jersey that found the band in their "street clothes", sans makeup, and with a setlist that went beyond just The Black Parade album. It was a nice addition, and is well worth watching, but I doubt I'll come back to it as often as I do the Mexico performance.

My only complaint is that it would have been nice to have the various videos from The Black Parade included as extras, but that's a minor gripe since they are available online.

Disc 2 in the collection is an audio CD of the Mexico City performance. It's another nice bonus, but I've never been much for live albums, and it really can't compare to the DVD version.

Casual fans can probably skip this one, but if you were as amazed by The Black Parade as I was, The Black Parade is Dead is an absolute must-have.

I loved My Chemical Romance's 2006 album "The Black Parade". It was pretty much everything that I think a rock record should be: funny, smart, melodic and without filler.

Because of this, I found myself drawn to it's live counterpart, "The Black Parade Is Dead!", a CD/ DVD combo that chronicles that album live in it's entirety, as well as a DVD of live footage from the tour.

To be honest with you, this is hardly an essential product for anyone who isn't a die hard fan of the band and/ or record. The live document of the record is pretty much the album with crowd noise, with few exceptions (it is now to see the bonus track, "Blood" here, though also.)

The DVD is good, well edited and the sound is crisp and well mixed. The angles are good, and isn't half as confusing as most live products.

But this is really something for the die hard fans. If you are a fairweather fan, or someone who enjoys the songs on the radio, then this will seem fairly worthless to you. But if you are a fan of the group, or even just the album, this is a nice addition to your collection, one that you probably won't spin a lot, but something you will enjoy from time to time.

Three and a half stars.