Back in 2008, it was officially proclaimed that The Black Parade Is Dead! My Chemical Romance hammered the final nail in the coffin of their alter egos, burying them six feet under. Almost two decades on, however, The Black Parade has risen once again. Armed with grandiose production, onstage executions and bucketfuls of blood, the New Jersey legends are adding new depth to their revolutionary emo-rock opera – and tonight, Liverpool fans are gathered to soak up the macabre festivities.
Considering The Black Parade is an album entirely concerned with death and the afterlife – essentially taking your hand and guiding you through the five stages of grief – the angle of resurrection adds a fascinating new dimension. The entire affair is played out in a ritualistic, almost Orwellian way: Soviet-esque propaganda flashes onscreen, marching drums welcome in a Big Brother-type figure, the ‘Grand Immortal Dictator’.
When ‘The End.’ finally rings out over the crowd, My Chemical Romance take to the stage as the 52nd Regiment of the Black Parade, decked in their iconic jackets. Frontman Gerard Way in particular looks like a freshly unearthed cadaver – face painted sickly white and covered in scratches. As the band charge on and kick into the anthemic ‘Dead!’, Way performs like a puppet on strings, extra twitchy, as if burning under the watchful eye of the silently onlooking dictator.
That extra layer of theatricality is what makes My Chemical Romance shine. Emo is at its best when it’s gloriously camp and immersive – and this sense of The Black Parade being forced to perform their duty is pure excellence. The album sounds as vital as it did twenty years ago, but Way’s unnerving performance elevates it to an entirely new level. Nowhere is this clearer than when ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’ plays and Way invites the crowd to execute a mass of bag-headed prisoners lined up before a firing squad on the B stage.
The moment is jaw-dropping. Way asks the crowd to vote Yea or Nay – on slips of paper handed out on the way in – before the blasts go off regardless. As the bodies are carried off on stretchers, Way cackles nervously: “didn’t that feel good??” It adds a genuinely sickening undertone to a much-loved track. Dark, yes. Marvellous, absolutely.
The nostalgic tracks hit hard throughout. ‘House of Wolves’ sends fans erupting into chaotic mini mosh pits, with Frank Iero and Ray Toro unleashing gnarly guitar riffs with obvious relish. But some of the finest moments come in newer, unexpected forms. ‘Mama’ is as unhinged and bouncy as ever – Way dancing like a possessed marionette as flames engulf the stage – but its most exciting moment arrives in the form of an entirely new verse. A maniacal, twitching Way howling for someone to “fetch [him] a dagger” is not something easily forgotten.
The grand finale is explosive. Way is stabbed to death following a fiery ‘Famous Last Words’ and a reprise of ‘The End.’, crawling into a white corpse outline etched into the stage floor. The culprit then reveals a suicide vest during ‘Blood’. Boom. Bye bye, The Black Parade.
In their place emerge the true My Chemical Romance. The second leg of the show shifts to the B stage for beloved Danger Days tracks like ‘Vampire Money’ and heartfelt deep cuts like ‘Heaven Help Us’ – an all-killer, no-filler burst that finds the band clearly relishing the shift from high theatrics to raw, no-frills rock.
It also sees the band honouring the venue. Iero takes the stage in a personalised Liverpool FC ‘Iero’ jersey, while Way grins and produces his own vintage Steven Gerrard shirt. “The UK was the first place to love, love, love My Chemical Romance,” he says. It shows.
From a full-force ‘Cemetery Drive’ – respectfully dedicated to all the “super cool cemeteries” the UK has to offer – to the wistful, triumphant closer ‘The Kids From Yesterday’, by the time the band bid the crowd farewell, you’re already willing the 53rd Regiment back into existence. The sooner, the better.
