Tune Talk: Top 5 Disappointing Emo/Rock Albums

Willie Williams, Staff Writer

5. Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys by My Chemical Romance (2010)
Although I’ve come to like the album, we all have to admit that this was My Chemical Romance’s biggest disappointment throughout their careers. This album isn’t absolutely horrible that I can’t listen to it, it’s just a disappointment due to the fact that My Chemical Romance fans waited from 2006 to 2010 for My Chemical Romance to come out with “The Black Parade,” and then go to “Danger Days.” They could’ve honestly come out with something better and I’m pretty sure that we all knew that as My Chemical Romance fans. I’m right aren’t I? Because like I said before, I don’t hate the album as much as I used simply because I refused to listen to the album after I heard one bad song. Turns out I just needed to listen to that one bad song the whole way through rather than the first thirty seconds and then I ended up liking the album and I just recently got it for my birthday. There are some songs on there like “Vampire Money,” “Party Poison,” “Planetary (GO!),” and “S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W” that could’ve used a lot more work than what they got. Not a terrible album per say, but it’s still a huge drop from “The Black Parade.”

4. Montage of Heck (The Home Recordings) by Kurt Cobain (2015)
I know that this one technically doesn’t count as a studio album, but technically on some level, it was still released so I can still judge it. I didn’t expect a perfect album, I knew that the album was just a bunch of Kurt Cobain’s home recordings. But I didn’t expect a low sound quality album that didn’t have any good songs on it what so ever except for one. And that one song was one of my favorites, “And I Love Her.” That song was a Beatles cover, and I personally liked Kurt’s version more than the original. But that’s not the point. There are songs on the album that’re so questionable like whatever “Yodel Song,” and “Reverb Experiment.” I had no idea what I was listening to. It was such bad quality and it just didn’t sound good either way. Like no matter what sound quality they had, I feel like it would’ve
been garbage either way.

3. Take a Vacation! By The Young Veins (2010)
Once again yes, I put Ryan Ross on a list. But this one is a negative review so you can’t judge me. Most Panic! At the Disco fans were absolutely devastated to hear that Ryan Ross left the group shortly after the “Pretty. Odd.” Tour since they knew that lead vocalist and drummer of Panic! At the Disco, Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith, didn’t want to continue making music that sounded like their 2009 album since they wanted to change the style of every album like they planned. Anyways, everyone was absolutely devastated if they loved Ryan Ross, nobody generally cared that Jon Walker was leaving because he was kind of just there. But with this new album, we expected to hear more of Ryan Ross’s genius songwriting like he did for the first two Panic! At the Disco albums, however we actually got a different sound. Like I said for My Chemical Romance’s 2010 album, “Danger Days,” I didn’t hate “Take a Vacation!” either. I thought that it was honestly generally pretty good but it could’ve used a lot of work. However to former Panic! At the Disco fans, since they were still upset of the split Ryan Ross did with Panic! At the Disco, they all seemed to hate the album. Which now that I think of it, since “Take a Vacation!” tanked for The Young Veins, I bet Panic! At the Disco fans were the ones to help tank it down. But that’s just a theory.

2. Amo by Bring Me the Horizon (2019)
Oh, my goodness. This album was not good at all. I’ve talked about this very album in a recent story where I’ve stated that the album is absolute garbage compared to their older classier albums. Then again by classier I mean whenever Oliver Sykes still knew how to scream without breaking his vocal chords. Anyways, this album was full on pop. Everyone that I know that was a fan of Bring Me the Horizon has told me that the album is the most disappointing thing that they’ve heard in a long time, and most of the people that enjoy the album are a bunch of fan girls who are into bands like the Jonas Brothers, One Direction, and 5 Seconds of Summer.

1. Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die by Panic! At the Disco (2013)
I don’t know about other Panic! At the Disco fans, but I was incredibly disappointed with the “Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die” album. I know that after lead guitarist and core songwriter, Ryan Ross, left the band we were all expecting Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith to struggle with making a new album, but they ended up making a pretty good third album, “Vices and Virtues.” I honestly thought that the album was actually better than their second album, “Pretty. Odd.” Because let’s face it, that one just wasn’t what we expected from Ryan Ross with how he brilliantly wrote “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out.” Fortunately for us Ryan Ross fans, this 2013 disappointment wasn’t his fault. Brendon was still following the motto ‘swear to shake it up, if you swear to listen’ meaning that he would shake up the style of every album. But this time he decided to go pop. We were semi-alright with that this ONE time, but that’s the biggest problem now is that the past three albums that Panic! At the Disco have released have all BEEN pop. “Death of a Bachelor” and “Pray for the Wicked” are ALSO pop. When will the pop stop? Anyways, this album in general just didn’t have a good sound, most of us were all incredibly disappointed with the album. Most fans going as far as saying that the only good songs off of the album are “This is Gospel,” “Vegas Lights,” “Miss Jackson,” and I say that “Collar Full” was an alright one too.