10 Perfect Hard Rock Albums That Are Insanely Dark

How the hell am I able to put an album that has the most pop appeal on a list of insanely dark projects? I mean, there's no way that the world is aching to hear songs about the glories of death and destruction, right? Well, if you manage to package them well enough, history will often write itself.

When Gerard Way went into the studio to craft the Black Parade, he had the idea of a man being stricken with cancer and detailing the last days of his life. Although the tracks are some of the greatest arena rock of the '00s, just one look at the lyrics is enough to tell you this is not cheery, with the opening song Dead setting you up for this man's demise from the opening flatline tone.

The tone doesn't let up from there either, with the sort-of title track Welcome to the Black Parade giving a stadium like sendoff for our protagonist and Mama and Sleep detailing just how low he has sunk in his final days. Even songs that go against the concept like Teenagers are still pitch black, detailing the problem with teenage angst leading to mass violence. Compared to the rock and roll of old, this is the kind of album that Queen would have written if they were born way more cynical and listened to a lot of Nick Cave.