Hello and welcome back to another exciting semester of Helter Skelter. Yes, yes, thank you, thank you, I know I'm good, I hear it too much really, be seated please. It is a new year and with it is a whole new set of albums for me to discuss at ridiculous length when no one cares anyway. I am your host J.Starr. First I would like to say I hope you had a very special Christmas. I know I had lots of fun. Next I would like to discuss our future. Next month I will be reviewing Cake's new album. I have not heard much about it yet, but I guess we will find out next week.
The Foo Fighters have a new album coming out this year. The album which is reportedly scheduled for a spring release will be produced by famed Rock Producer Butch Vig. There is no official title as of yet but the rumors are saying that it could be called Back + Forth. The last time Vig worked with Davey was on Nirvana’s Nevermind. Anyone that knows anything about Rock music can tell you that that turned out quite well. Grohl has promised that the album will be rockin all the way through. He even went as far as to say that there isn't a single acoustic guitar to be found anywhere. On top of it all Krist Novoselic will reportedly be playing bass on a couple of tracks. Obviously I am excited a bit.
Now for the current review. Gerard Way and the rest of the boys in My Chemical Romance have offered up something special with their latest concept album entitled Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. Yes another concept album has made its way to the masses. It's alright though it's My Chemical Romance. They actually don't suck so they’re allowed to make concept albums. The only problem is that every album they've ever made has been a concept album. I would like to hear what their normal sound is. Also, it's hard to review concept albums because if you hear a song that sucks, you don't know if it's because the song is really crap or because it's suppose to sound like crap because that's the concept. Moving on...
The bowl of anthemy, futuristic, sci-fi filled goodness that is Danger Days is Chalked full of high energy punk rawness and sexy emo swagger. The music has an eccentric mix of synth, rave beats, gritty guitar tones and of course Gerrard's emotion filled vocal melodies. As far out as this David Bowie-esque album is, the songs are still able to maintain all the catchy hooks that an emo teen loves to sing at full volume, while driving around in a Wal-Mart parking lot with her friends.
The entire album is sung from the persona of the Killjoys, a Rock band from a future Los Angeles. Honestly I don't think I would buy a Killjoys album. Don't mistake me the album is good. I mean there is nothing inherently wrong with it. The music is good. I would have like to have heard more guitars but at the same time I understand why there weren’t crazy amounts of guitar and that's alright, it fits the concept. The lyrics, as with all MCR lyrics were absolutely first rate. The production was also spectacular. MCR has a real talent for being able to build tension and create emotion and drag you along with them all the way through to the end of each song. That's a great thing and it's what makes me love them as a group.
Danger Days wasn't groundbreaking, but it wasn't a disappointment either. In the current music world that we live in we need bands like MCR to keep making albums in order to sustain a fallen generation of Rock music. The current Rock scene is so saturated with an abundance of talentless musicians. It's sad and I hate to keep saying it, but it's so desperately true. The Pop world isn't respected at all anymore. It use to be a little bit, now it's nothing. The current Pop trend is dance music and as my good friend Slash reminded me on Twitter, the last time this happened it was called Disco and it killed Rock music. Thank God bands like Gun's N Roses and Metallica came out and saved Rock. …And now back on topic...
MCR's last album The Black Parade was absolutely killer and holds a very special place in my heart. It was brilliant and it made me believe in Rock again. I would even go as far as to say that it makes my top 20 list. I didn't have the same experience with Danger Days unfortunately and that's alright. I knew Gerard and the boys would have to write something new and different at some point.
***
3 out of 5 stars
To all my readers, which I'm sure is probably no one, I don’t really care, thank you for reading. I'll see you next month, I'll bring Cake. Until then...
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