My Chemical Romance

The Black Parade Is Dead showcases two sides of My Chemical Romance. The DVD/CD perfectly captures the band's mindblowing performance of their 2006 opus The Black Parade from start-to-finish in Mexico City. All of the arena rock bombast remains in tact, and in fact, it makes a seamless jump to the small screen. That's the side of My Chem that the Hot Topic kids are so familiar with. For the real punks, the DVD has a treat. There's a stripped down set in a dank New Jersey club called Maxwell's, minus all the makeup, props and setpieces. It's raw, emotional alt punk, and no one does it better than My Chem. In a sense, the band's teetering between The Who's operatic vision and The Sex Pistols' raw, cathartic energy. It's not a bad place to be. That's why this DVD/CD combo is both perfect for longtime fans and newcomers to the band. It captures My Chem's essence, and it tells their story subtlely through the music.

The band turned a lot of heads with The Black Parade, and its following tours. That's evident in the footage fromMexico City. Gerard Way hits the stage on a hospital gurney and launches right into "The End." It's both melodic and melancholy. The funeral march begins with a bang, as Way tears through "Dead!" and "This is How I disappear." The singer stalks the stage with a wide-eyed charisma, as his bandmates thrash about ripping through neo punk riffs like it's nobody's business. There's pyro at all the right points, and a fantastic light show. Touring keyboardist James DeWees of Reggie and the Full Effect truly adds a cinematic and orchestral feel to heartfelt and pained tracks like "Cancer" and "Sleep" in the life setting. The audio quality is top notch both on the CD and DVD. All of My Chem's rock bravado is captured on screen, and with quick editing, it's almost as frenetic as being there.

However, the New Jersey set on the DVD has real charm. The band takes the stage in jeans and t-shirts, firing off old and new My Chem gems. They channel a hunger on stage, and they're just as engaging without the props. "I'm Not Okay" and "Give 'Em Hell Kid" sound just as fresh as when the band debuted them. It's real, and it's a testament to how great My Chem is. So is the black parade dead? Hardly, and it's high time for everyone to revel in My Chem's brilliance.

—Rick Florino
07.15.08

Leave it to My Chemical Romance to call their second full live album -- and their second live release during The Black Parade era -- The Black Parade Is Dead! Unlike 2007's mini-album Live and Rare, which patched together performances from MCR's fall 2006/winter 2007 dates in the U.K. and Europe, The Black Parade Is Dead! is a lavish CD/DVD affair chronicling two performances: the CD captures the band's October 7, 2007, Mexico City date -- their last as the Black Parade -- while the DVD features video of that show as well as their October 24, 2007, date at Maxwell's in their home state of New Jersey. The Black Parade Is Dead!'s grandiosity is only fitting, considering how elaborate The Black Parade was, and also fittingly, the Mexico City show is a song-for-song performance of that album -- the only difference is "The Black Parade Is Dead," where Gerard Way announces to the audience that this is "the last performance of The Black Parade forever!" As on The Black Parade, the highlights happen when My Chemical Romance make these songs about death sound especially lively and theatrical. "Dead!" sounds especially searing, the satirical strut of "Teenagers" has an extra swagger, and the vaudevillian unnamed fan favorite closing track -- now known as "Blood" -- has an even more mischievous spring in its step, while hearing the audience sing back the words to "Welcome to the Black Parade" and "Mama" adds to their resonance. The Maxwell's date, which the band played to a very limited crowd of about 200 or so fans, draws just over half its set list from The Black Parade but also touches on Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge peaks like "Helena," "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)," and "Thank You for the Venom." Even if it seems thorough to the point of being overdone, The Black Parade Is Dead! is a completely appropriate -- and fan-pleasing -- final nail in The Black Parade's coffin. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide