"The future is bulletproof, the aftermath is secondary.
It's time to do it now and do it loud. Killjoys! Make some noise!"
It's hard not to want to stand up and jump around after hearing the opening lines of the new album by My Chemical Romance. After being absent from the music scene for nearly four years, MCR is back and better than ever with their post-apocalyptic persona's, the Killjoys. The constant touring of the last couple years have put strains on the band, even going so far as to scrap a project that was 80% complete, before creating Danger Days. And good thing too, since this is how MCR is supposed to be: epic, loud, and unbelievably catchy. Obviously taking cues from their previous effort, The Black Parade, the band has clearly redefined it's image, now flaunting flashy bright colors and laser pistols, without jeopardizing the music.
While The Black Parade focused on death, Danger Days instead creates a whole new mythology to follow, which follows the Killjoys (Party Poison, Jet Star, Kobra Kid, and Fun Ghoul) fighting an evil corporation that has taken over the wastelands following an apocalyptic event. The opening track "Look Alive, Sunshine", completely sets the tone and the backdrop, starting with a DJ on a radio broadcast. This bleeds into the next track, "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na)", the first single off the album. In classic MCR fashion, this not only touches base with the Black Parade's epic sound, but manages to make it just as catchy. It's an amazing blend of catchy hooks, harmonizing guitars, and a foot tapping guitar solo. If you haven't seen the music video (which was directed by front man Gerard Way), by all means go and watch it immediately.
"Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na)" Music Video
Thankfully, the album doesn't let up there. MCR has learned some new tricks over the last couple years. This can be heard on several tracks later in the album, most notably "SING" and "The Only Hope for Me is You" which move away from the blatant hard rock sound into a more mature sound. There are a few casualties in this post-apocalyptic thriller, such as "Planetary (GO)!" and "Destroya", which never quite developed into the full sound and energy the rest of the album brings to the table.
I am glad to see this band evolving, because they have such great potential, as already witnessed on The Black Parade and now Danger Days. This album requires multiple hearings to full capitalize on how complex the compositions are, and how great they go together. Instead of following the politically charged Green Day and their direction after American Idiot, MCR has managed to retain what distinguished themselves from the rest of the pack. How they were able to construct a wholly believable world filled with punk-rock and lasers is beyond me, and I praise them for being able to let the listener lose themselves in this post-modern atmosphere. Danger Days has brought forth the strongest effort by MCR to date. Hopefully the apocalypse will be just a colorful as they have imagined it.
5 out of 5 Stars
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