One might say that My Chemical Romance front man Gerard Way likes to try his hand at many different things - clearly sitting still isn't one of them. Four years in and MCR drops studio album number three (not a bad number by today's standards), and one can only guess where they'll go from here.

From the fairly dark emo-by-numbers debut of I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love to 2004's witty, punchy & altogether fantastic Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge the New Jersey band have demonstrated a flair for the theatrical - and The Black Parade highlights this in neon. The obvious theme (and track by track story) is of death, which is nothing MCR haven't tackled before, but in particular the process of dying - a very somber subject delivered in a somewhat dramatic and passionate package.

Musically they haven't evolved too much to lose their ever-growing following, but may prick the ears of newbies and connoisseurs alike with their structured borrowing of some very recognisable musician's styles. Yes, Queen is here - Brian May himself would've had trouble making some songs more obviously influenced, but there are also more subtle tilts of the hat here, with everyone from Green Day (Maybe due to Producer Rob Cavallo's presence?), to Brian Setzer represented. (Listen through... you'll hear them).

After a quick intro, the album opens with some typically punchy Chem Rom material in 'Dead!' and 'This Is How I Disappear', then moving onto 'The Sharpest Lives' (one of the stand-out tracks, although it does bare a strong resemblance to 'To the end' off Three Cheers). There's a good reason 'Welcome To The Black Parade" was released as the first single; it's a good advertisement showcasing the theme, style & message of the entire album (Pretty much the very definition of a single's purpose).

From track six onwards we quite literally swing from energetic stomper to semi-ballad and back - which assists in refreshing the palate between possibly similar drinks. Still, for the most part it's the lively moments that move to instant favourites; notably the aforementioned first few tracks, along with 'Mama' (a quirky traditional-Greek Metal mash-up featuring Liza Minelli as the title character), the anthemic 'Teenagers', and the polished (and suitable) album closer 'Famous Last Words'. Make sure you keep listening for the fun faux-British hidden track at the end.

The only real problem the new My Chemical Romance album presents is how I'm going to try and blend in with fans ten years my junior in the queue for tickets when the boys are in town.