Review Summary: It's the simple things that let Conventional Weapons down
It’s hard to know what to think of
Conventional Weapons. At face value, it’s a disappointment. It’s a shame that next to
Danger Days…, an album chucked together apparently in response to something akin to a premature mid-life crisis (which led to this music being shelved in the first place), it stands as the less enjoyable album. Taking it as a direct follow-up to
The Black Parade, an album completely jam-packed with some incredible alt-rock anthems, it’s even more of a step down. And it’s hard to defend the music for just being a selection of old demos; in fact, stylistically,
Conventional Weapons stands head and shoulders above
Danger Days… and possibly even the rest of My Chemical Romance’s discography. As far as production goes,
Danger Days… was watered down, tame and overproduced, at some points barely meriting the band’s rock label. Even taking the melody from “Make Room!!!!”,which was recycled for “Na Na Na”, it’s blatant when comparing the two versions how much more pop-y and sugary the latter is. In contrast,
Conventional Weapons is packed full of grit and energy; such as on “Boy Division”, which is rough and vigourous- swinging through guitar licks and crunching riffs like much of the album.
The problem really lies with the fact that despite all this, My Chemical Romance are a band based around hooks. What truly makes “Boy Division” stand out as a highlight on the album are the infectious melodies infused into its music.
The Black Parade’s theatre,
Danger Days…’ pop sentiments and
Conventional Weapons’ punky attitude mean little if the music just isn’t catchy.
Danger Days…, despite its concept and style (for which it receives most of its criticism) still contained a bunch of catchy songs full of big choruses. The most toned down song on
Conventional Weapons, “The Light Behind Your Eyes”, is in fact one of the best, thanks to its well-delivered vocal melody and complementing instrumental layer. Many parts of the album, such as “Gun.” and “AMBULANCE”, even sound like they could have been tweaked to fit among the lesser parts of
Danger Days… and “The World Is Ugly”, despite its interesting and textured verses, carries a disappointingly weak and pop-y chorus. Being written afterwards,
Danger Days… proves that My Chemical Romance can still craft great hooks, so all that can be assumed is that the best were adapted for that album whilst
Conventional Weapons gets stuck with the raw end of the deal. Instrumentally,
Conventional Weapons displays interesting and promising ideas. All that’s left now is to hope that next time, they won’t just be tossed aside.
