Where do we go when we die? The pharaohs thought we’d need our earthly possessions, so they got buried along with them; today, surveys suggest a solid third of Americans believe in ghosts. My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way thought death transported us to a poignant moment from our lives — like when his father took him into the city to see a marching band.
When My Chemical Romance — Way, his bassist brother Mikey, guitarists Frank Iero and Ray Toro, and drummer Bob Bryar — released The Black Parade on October 23, 2006, they were emo up-and-comers seeking to be the world’s greatest rock band. They were fresh off playing Warped Tour parking lots with Fall Out Boy, and opening arenas for Green Day while they toured on their smash rock opera, American Idiot. To follow their 2004 breakthrough Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, the Jersey quintet escaped to L.A.’s long-rumored-to-be-haunted Paramour Mansion with Idiot producer Rob Cavallo to record their magnum opus. Commercially, The Black Parade performed well: It sold 240,000 copies its opening week, but ultimately finished second on the Billboard 200 to the Hannah Montana soundtrack’s 281,000.
But this week, two decades later, My Chemical Romance finishes the job by reaching the top of the Billboard 200 (on the chart dated Nov. 6) for the first time. Their 20th anniversary deluxe edition of The Black Parade (released Oct. 23 on Reprise) propels the set to No. 1, backed by an ongoing reunion tour that’s earned them an army of new fans. There’s a strong argument that MCR is even bigger today than at their MySpace-era apex.
Let’s have some fun, and revisit the legacy of arguably the most resonant rock album since Nevermind. We’ve ranked all 14 original Black Parade tracks, along with the four additional B-sides included on the 2026 re-release.
