“When I was a young boy/My father took me into the city/To see a marching band/He said/Son, when you grow up/Would you be the saviour of the broken, the beaten and the damned?/He said/Will you defeat them?/Your demons, and all the non-believers/The plans that they have made?/Because one day I’ll leave you/A phantom/To lead you in the summer/To join The Black Parade”
Taken from the album The Black Parade
Charts: UK #1, US #9, AUS #14
I try not to overuse this word but that intro quoted above is EPIC. Overdone, through the roof, all-guns-blazing, Meat Loaf-style, Queen-style, why-does-love-always-feel-like-a-BATTLEFIELD-style EPIC. The dramatic piano that opens the song, the strained, desperate vocals, the sense that every line must be sung as if it was your last. And that is just the beginning.
After two minutes of Introduction Dramatica we get into the song proper, which begins with rolling drums and growling, screaming vocals, repeating for us that opening verse one more glorious time. The lyrics are really beyond all criticism – they should be hilarious but the conviction and the power of the delivery mean it is bulletproof from humour. “So paint it black and take it back!” – these are emo lyrics but without the boredom and sense of false pain that comes from normal emo. Slightly off topic but for anyone who thinks dance pop is a mindless assembly line – listened to any emo bands lately? They sound like John & Edward look - a nightmare duplicated.
What was I on about? ‘Welcome To The Black Parade’, right. Soon after the sing-a-long chorus is over we get into the yelling over some marching band drums – you will never go wrong with marching band drums. From Destiny’s Child’s ‘Lose My Breath’ to Kate Bush’s ‘Cloudbusting’, anything that sounds remotely like I’m in the ANZAC Day Parade gets a thumbs up from me. The character in the song is turning into the warrior his father described – he’s unashamed, he’s gonna show his scar. Because the world will never take his heart, godammit!
This is raise-your-voice stadium rock like U2 except not shit, with the personal, soul-searching tendencies of Dashboard Confessional except not shit. Like a collage of influences, indulgences and insanity, ‘Welcome To The Black Parade’ is a genre-busting masterpiece.
