My Chemical Romance’s “The Black Parade” was released in October of 2006, and was a massive success. Almost everyone has heard “Welcome to the Black Parade” at least once before, whether it be intentional, on the radio, or in passing. But what many don’t know or realize is that it is a concept album, which is an album that tells a story, and this story is heavily debated within the music world. My perception of the story of “The Black Parade” is heavily influenced by Wendigoon’s video on the topic titled “The Hidden Story of The Black Parade.”

“The Black Parade” revolves around two characters, The Patient and Death, who both have songs from their individual perspectives in the album. You can tell whose perspective the song takes place in by how the song opens: If it opens with more acoustic elements, it is from The Patient’s point of view, but if it opens with metal or rock instrumentals it is sung by Death. There is one exception to this rule, and that is the song “Teenagers,” which is from The Patient’s perspective, but opens with rock. It should also be noted that the chronological order of the story does not match the chronological order of the album.

“The Black Parade” is an album about a young man who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. This man, known as The Patient, is implied throughout the album to not be a very good man. He is shown to be very angry and unkind, and this is most evident in songs such as “Teenagers” and “I Don’t Love You.” In “Teenagers” he shows a very outward hatred towards the society and people around him, and in “I Don’t Love You” he describes his anger towards his now ex-girlfriend, who left him because of his cancer diagnosis. While he is dying, Death mocks him for the life he lived, one example being in the song “House of Wolves” where Death repeats the lines “Tell me I’m a bad man, kick me like a stray,” and “Tell me I’m a bad, bad, bad, bad man,” over and over again. Another example is the song “The Sharpest Lives” where Death talks about how those who live reckless lives have reckless ends. At the end of the song “The End.” The Patient pleads for someone to save him and is then cut off by Death as the song transitions into “Dead!” where Death drills in the fact that The Patient is going to die. Eventually, in the songs “Cancer” and “Disenchanted,” The Patient comes to terms with his mortality. He accepts that he wasn’t the best man, that he didn’t lead the best life, but it was his life, and he’s okay with that. The Patient isn’t angry anymore, instead, he’s ready for what comes next. It is then in “Sleep” where The Patient begins to slip away from life, but after seeing The Patient’s change of heart, Death no longer wishes for him to die, as near the end of the song you can hear him screaming for The Patient to wake up. “Famous Last Words” contains the voices of both Death and The Patient, as Death begs for The Patient to keep fighting, but the Patient knows that it’s too late for him, but he isn’t sad about it anymore, and he’s ready to move on. Death realizes he was wrong about The Patient, and as a final apology and parting gift, Death throws The Patient a parade, which is when the song “Welcome to The Black Parade” takes place, as The Patient is welcomed into the afterlife.