My Chemical Romance
Reprise Records: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
Gerard Way can tell one hell of a story, whether it is the hell-bent chronicles of a fallen lover or the tale of cancer patient’s journey through the end of his life and beyond. As the lead singer of alt. crew My Chemical Romance, Way has banked his success off of elaborately divulging in narratives of fantasy and horror. To trump the critical acclaim of The Black Parade – MCR’s dark, grim rock opera-extraordinaire – is a heavy burden to bear, but in Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, Way and the Romance muscle up with an electrifying new bag of tricks.
Danger Days is the bands third full length outing and third straight concept album. The difference between this concept and the ones before it are subtle yet important. The theme of the band’s past two albums (the ones where Way and crew are muses of a disheartened world full of death and misfortune) is far removed. This time the boys of MCR take on Damon Alborn-esque alter egos with names like Party Poison and Jet Star, a group of rebels raging war against an evil corporation -Better Living Industries – in a futuristic, wild-west California of the year 2019.Essentially we have a classic MCR storyline – a creative,intriguing idea full of action -minus the melodrama.
The album maintains a youthful, shoot-first-then-ask-questions identity. It’s a fun idea entailing a lot of enthusiasm – there are three funky interludes from Steve Righ? (Mindless Self Indulgence) who acts as outlaw disc jockey/ narrator coining hilarious terms like “motor baby.” The album’s lead single “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)” displays Danger Day’s gusto with lines like –Oh let me tell you ‘bout the sad man/ Shut up and let me see your jazz hands/ Remember when you were a madman/ Thought you was batman. It’s as if Way has a creative form of Tourette’s where he shouts campy one-liners whenever he feels like.
The band booked Rob Cavallo to produce the album (Cavallo also did The Black Parade). Way has expressed the urge to return back to a raw, garage sound. The combo of Cavallo and MCR did a great job of doing just that; they nixed the theatrics and put more focus on loud percussion and crunchy guitar chords. “Party Poison,” DESTROYA” and “S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W” – post-punk, foot pedal emphasized drumming blaring equally as loud as the semi-gritty guitar riffs that chomp through each track.
Danger Days is miles away from The Black Parade; those who opposed the old sound of My Chemical Romance should listen to this album because of its frank contrast. It’s like listening to a whole new band. Faithful fans of the old MCR won’t be able to divulge themselves in this one because of its absence of theatrics and fantasy. The band paints another picture with the album, as they always do, just a wilder one.
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