The Black Parade

My Chemical Romance secluded themselves inside the Paramour Mansion, a Victorian estate in the hills of Los Angeles, to write and record The Black Parade in the spring and summer of 2006. The building had a history of rumored hauntings and a general atmosphere that multiple band members later described as oppressive. Bassist Mikey Way suffered a breakdown during the sessions and had to leave. Other members dealt with anxiety and sleeplessness throughout. The creative pressure was compounded by the band's conscious decision to make the most ambitious album of their career, and the tension that resulted shaped the record's sound as directly as any instrument.

The concept was Gerard Way's: a dying cancer patient called The Patient, who upon death is greeted by the memory of a parade he attended as a child. That memory becomes a procession guiding him through the experience of dying. The album moves through theatrical rock, punk, chamber pop, and glam influences that reach back to Queen and Pink Floyd without sounding like imitation. Producer Rob Cavallo, who had previously worked with Green Day on American Idiot, encouraged the band toward the biggest possible sound. The piano ballad "Cancer" was written in eight minutes. During the filming of the "Famous Last Words" video, Way tore ligaments in his ankle when Frank Iero tackled him, and drummer Bob Bryar received burns serious enough to develop a staph infection.

The opening piano note of "Welcome to the Black Parade" became a cultural event when the album was released. A generation of listeners heard it for the first time and felt something shift. The album has sold over four million copies worldwide and stands as one of the most complete realizations of rock theatricality since the 1970s.