The Black Parade

REVIEW REPOST #055. I repost my old reviews, which got no attention, with updated thoughts. Posted this review a year ago but I'm posting it again.

RANT TIME:
Okay, so before getting into the actual music, I feel like I should address something. I've been on this site since 2020, originally mostly posting rap reviews, but then growing out of the genre and getting into all genres and trying to expand my taste and try to understand most pieces of music the best I can. Many people ask me how I get so much inspiration as a musician, and it is from listening to so much music. Around the very end of last year, my account started going up on the site, so obviously more people started to be aware of me and my reviews. I started posting more of them and spending more and more time on this site, and I was loving it. It was a place for me to express my opinions, remember my takes, create lists, engage with the community, and spend my free time. It was great, honestly.

But unfortunately, lately, it's been the exact opposite for me. I've started seeing the true colors of a part of the site, and the community. I still love doing and posting reviews, I live from music, so of course I'm still on here. Lately, I had a lot of interactions with people that are just straight-up very toxic. Assholes, morons, overly sensitive crybabies etc. Of course, I love the people I love on this site, and they know who they are, but unlike in the beginning, now it's not the same. It's incredible how sensitive some people on this site are, it's honestly insane. I've never seen such a thing in my life before, stop taking everything so personally. My opinions aren't worship, I honestly still don't understand it.

So I wanted to say a few things. First, if you're that kind of person, I suggest you don't read my reviews, because I keep it honest and will always say what I think, even if it hurts your feelings or offends you. And the second thing is that to anybody reading this, I really don't ever have the intention of coming off mean or rude. I'm very nice to people in real life, it's just that I keep it real and like to fully express myself. I know it might seem like it even with some of my responses to people, but I'm the type of person to fire back at someone that is being a real bitch and insulting me over my opinion, of course, you're allowed to do that, but I'm allowed to fire back. Anyone that will try to do that will get blocked though at this point, it's children's behavior and I've had enough of arguing with people like that, they don't have any valid arguments, they're just dicks. So I just want to set that straight and also that I don't even mean to come off mean, sometimes I do lose my temper with some of these idiots. But if you had a conversation with me before (not a stupid argument kind of conversation), you know how I am.

So yeah, I haven't been enjoying my time on the site very much lately, I don't like toxic people, simply put. I don't think anybody likes it, the toxic people hate themselves too. It's a shame there's such a need to spread such awful vibes, but I'll try my best to block them. With some of my controversial takes and reviews, I can really see what some people are truly like, not because they disagree with my opinion, but because of the way they act. So that helps me filter out the people to block or not respond to. I will not change the way I write my reviews, like it or not.

Look, I can deal with people hating on me, but there is a way to do it when you're not an insufferable asshole. So I will no longer give those people any responses or attention, and again, If you disagree with my opinions, that's completely fine of course. There's barely anyone that I personally agree with on most things, but that's normal, it's human. Acting like that about it though is insane, and I don't want anything to do with those people. That's pretty much all I wanted to say, it's a shame it's gotten to this point, but it is what it is. So yeah don't want any of you to think I'm a dick, just because I roast the shit out of these morons. Doing that is definitely a mistake though because they don't deserve any attention, so I'll try my best to cut it off. It won't be perfect, but I'll try, cause it's really getting ridiculously toxic.

I hope nobody takes this the wrong way, there are amazing people on this site that I really respect a lot. Just wanted to address that.

ALBUM REVIEW:
Okay, so let's finally get into the album. While it has grown on me a little bit, I still don't like it.

I am usually on board with a lot of Emo Rock music, but when it comes to Pop Punk, I'm usually never. And this album is a mixture of both, and I can't say I like it. Sure, it's iconic and I'm sure influential, but it's just not for me at all.

I find it to be a little too much, a little too angsty and corny for me. The instrumentals and kinda bland for the most part, even though I usually love guitar melodies in Emo, and while occasionally that does happen, a lot of them I find to be just boring. The vocals on the other hand are very expressive like they're doing way too much and trying way too hard. It doesn't feel that genuine to me.

I usually like dark, sad, and serious music, I admit it. And this doesn't have emotional potency for me, it's giving me pretend-sad vibes, which I mean is the only aura around Emo and Pop Punk, and I was just never a fan of it. Like oh I'm a teenager and I'm sad my gf broke up with me, I paint my nails and do 2000s teen shit, like at the time, sure. But nowadays? It just didn't age well imo, times are just not the same anymore. It's just way too blunt and doesn't have much art in it lyrically, it takes away so much from the emotional potency of it, for me. And this is the issue with most Emo music for me, but this album has it as one of the strongest.

I don't think this album is timeless at all, it captures all of the things that have become out of date, imo. I understand how someone may have nostalgia for this, but I personally don't. If you're 16, in the 2000s, you would most likely love the shit out of this. I just feel like it doesn't hit the same at all in 2023, combined with the fact that I really don't like the Pop Punk elements here, despite some of the Emo elements being solid.

The only song I loved was Disenchanted, I wish the rest of the album was like that. And that's somehow the lowest-rated song on here...

So yeah those are my thoughts, it's not terrible and it has grown on me, but it's too edgy, Pop Punk-y, and outdated for me.

FAV TRACKS: Disenchanted
LEAST FAV TRACKS: Mama, House Of Wolves