12 '00s Hard Rock Albums All Fans Should Own
A headbanger's guide to the early 21st century.
2000 - 2009 was a crazy decade all told, with the world at large changing irrevocably and the world of music no less temperamental. Hip hop overtook rock and pop as the most lucrative genre, and there was that weird time when any four skinny lads could walk into any indie label and emerge with a deal before swiftly disappearing.
Amidst all that, though, the heavier stuff ploughed on with no little success. The nu metal wave of the late ‘90s crested and eventually evolved into something with a little more bite. Exciting new bands formed or broke through from all around the world. And some venerable rockers either maintained impressive consistency, or returned to form in a major way.
While the ‘00s may not be a decade best remembered for hard rock, these dozen albums show that there was a lot of life in the genre yet, and in many ways this was a reemergence. Few decades have seen such a diverse selection of great hard rock albums. The lack of mainstream exposure meant that bands were finding their own style rather than riding waves and trends, and this led to a killer crop.
12. My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
The emo heroes’ last great album defines mid ‘00s rock like few other records. It was a time when big hearted, ambitious emo had found its way into the mainstream, and the kings of the genre were free to release works as bold and colossal as this on a major label and reap the rewards.
MCR turn up all the dials from their previous album, donning the eye shadow and marching band outfits to stride into battle once again. "Welcome to the Black Parade" stays just on the right side of self parody as it builds to one of the most guaranteed singalong choruses of recent years.
“Cancer” continues the band’s Queen fandom, and their new resources are put to great use with gorgeous swelling strings supplementing Gerard Way’s impassioned vocals. They change things up with “Mama”, which marches to an Eastern European stomp.
The story driven concept behind the album allows the band to experiment with style and form. It’s a wild and fascinating album - not everything works, but when you set your sights as high as they did, it’s no shame to fall a little short.