Emo’s not dead just yet- even though New Jersey-based band My Chemical Romance broke up in March of 2013, their most most popular album The Black Parade turns ten years old this year. The well-known alternative newspaper, Rock Sound, made an announcement in early August that might just make anyone who fondly remembers worshipping Pete Wentz in the year 2005 want to break out the ol’ black eyeliner pencil and flat iron once more: an album comprised entirely of songs off of The Black Parade covered by current alternative/punk bands, such as Crown the Empire and Twenty One Pilots. Many fans were hesitant to jump on board with the idea, though. “I was pretty excited when I heard about the concept until I saw the bands covering the songs,” says long-time MCR fan Isabella Volk, ‘18. “I felt like the bands picked all had similar sounds, not a range of bands that would suit the album more,” she explained. When the album was finally released in mid-September, fans swarmed to download the album and listen to it, regardless of their initial thoughts. The majority of those who listened to the album (them being die-hard fans of My Chemical Romance) approached the concept negatively, claiming that all of the bands on the album were “posers.” Some did try to remain positive, though, despite their trepidations and worries surrounding the album- but a lot of people held similar views: the album didn’t tribute the band well enough. However, a popular favorite among fans was Twenty One Pilots’ stunning rendition of “Cancer.” Tyler Joseph’s melodic voice captured the feel of the song well enough, and Twenty One Pilots were creative enough to try and give their own spin on the song without ruining it. Unlike many other bands, who “tried to imitate the original album” (Isabella Volk). At this point, “Cancer” appears to be a fan favorite- especially considering that Tyler Joseph once posted a thirteen-second long film clip of himself singing and playing the keyboard to the popular tune to Instagram in August 2015, only to take the video down hours later. Even though Joseph was perhaps not satisfied with his mini-performance, fans still much prefer that clip to the official Twenty One Pilots song cover, it seems.
Interestingly enough, however, any of the former members of My Chemical Romance themselves have yet to make an official statement of what their opinions on the album were. Were they insulted or? Or have they just not listened to it yet?
All in all, many MCR fans found the album to be disappointing. Perhaps this was due to impossibly high expectations, or the manner in which some of the bands covered the songs. If the bands focused more on paying homage to MCR through their song covers, rather than trying to just imitate the old album in a more current fashion, it’s possible the album would have received better feedback.
