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My Chemical Romance, "The Black Parade" (Reprise Records)

The New Jersey quintet assumes its death-obsessed alter ego as it questions mortality on a concept album that's as large and orchestral as it is campy and overwrought.

MCR has always been heavily influenced by Queen, but never more so as here where it comes out full-bore. "Welcome to the Black Parade" - where death, in the form of a parade complete with marching band, comes for the protagonist - is their "Bohemian Rhapsody." The five-minute-plus song goes through phases, opening with martial drumming, then rocking out in the middle before a coda of the same drumming slams the coffin shut.

"Teenagers" is a hilarious take on adolescence by someone suffering from adulthood. (Maybe the guys have grown up? I doubt it.) "House of Wolves" makes an offer of contrition, of sorts. Mariachi horns highlight "Dead!" while copious strings flutter about the proceedings throughout. Singer/lyricist Gerard Way has sharpened his acid tongue, as on the intense, urgent rocker "The Sharpest Lives": "The sharpest lives are the deadliest to lead."

If it weren't for the rock Õn' roll DNA, these would almost surely be show tunes ready-made for the Great White Way by way of Way and Co. The Gypsy-polka rocker "Mama" even features Liza Minnelli on one of the verses.

"The Black Parade" is an epic tour de force, as the guys in My Chemical Romance have (for the most part) shed their emo roots and made the album of their lives.

Quicktime stream: The Black Parade

Windows Media stream: The Black Parade

Aiden, "Rain in Hell" (Victory Records)

The Seattle emo punks with a horror fixation drop a six-song EP, a love letter thank-you to their fans. And three years of almost nonstop touring have toughened and tightened the band, especially as musicians. The EP was recorded after the group's summerlong Warped Tour gig, over 11 days in August in their hometown.

Though they've dubbed their sound "horror rock," on this EP the guys are more tuneful and not as screamo as some of their contemporaries. "The Suffering" is a melodic epic about teen alienation, of not fitting in and getting tired of trying.

Suicide and ghosts inhabit "We Sleep Forever," a pop-punk tune in the vein of AFI with a chantlike chorus. The lovely "Silent Eyes" is stark and lonely, just an acoustic guitar and voice.

The quintet offers a muted and subdued cover of Billy Idol's "White Wedding," as well as a more faithful version of the Misfits' "Die Die My Darling." The package includes a DVD with videos, tour footage and a live set from 2005's "Never Sleep Again" tour that came through town last November.

Aiden returns to the Duke City on Wednesday for an all-ages show at the Sunshine Theater, 120 Central Ave. S.W. Silverstein headlines with It Dies Today, He Is Legend and the Blackout Pact. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15, plus service charges, at Ticketmaster outlets. Call 883-7800 or go to www.ticketmaster.com. Smoking and alcohol service in segregated areas only.

Small Sails, "Small Sails" (Self-released five-song EP)

Calling these guys from Portland, Ore., a four-piece is a bit of a misnomer: There's a trio of musicians who play guitars, percussion, keys and vibes, but there's also a projectionist who handles original 16 mm film loops on dual movie projectors, casting visuals during the live show.

The songs are pastoral mood-inducing tunes, with an ethereal quality as the chanted, hummed wordless vocals float above the music. The percussive polyrhythmic "Somnambulist" is electronic yet organic; "Corners" is a child's electronica lullaby; while "Aftershocks And Afterthoughts" is space-age chill-out music. The vibes come up front, taking the lead on "One Back."

These songs are meditations, both on a theme and on inner reflection; they must be fascinating live with the visuals.

Small Sails lugs its projectors to Burt's Tiki Lounge, 313 Gold Ave. S.W., on Saturday. Oktober People and the Build share the bill. The free show starts at 10 p.m. 21 and over. Call 247-2878.

Listen to the MP3: Aftershocks and Afterthoughts

Bon Savants, "Post Rock Defends the Nation" (e to the i pi music, out Tuesday)

One thing about these "good scientists" from Boston: There is truth in advertising as they deal in post-rock that recalls Spoon, especially on the twitchy and urgent "What We Need," with its seductive vocal and atonal, angular guitar riffs, and "Why This Could Never Work Between Us," where waves of guitar create a wall of sound.

Leader Thom Moran is a part-time rocket scientist at MIT, and his songs are musical experiments of the highest order - intriguing, beguiling, engaging and intoxicating all while he's intellectualizing (the fuzz-rock title track that serves as the group's credo/manifesto). The whimsical (autobiographical?) love song "Between the Moon and the Ocean" is as much about love as it is about being a musician (in love), with the lyric: "She said, Oh, you kiss like a Russian," while "Everyone" is a guitar freakout about Oedipal sibling rivalry.

Lilting British-invasion (first wave) guitar pop infuses the catchy melody of "I Am the Atom Bomb," where the titular weapon du jour places an absurdist "personal ad" seeking a companion. "Interests include the moving of mountains, beachside walks here with you. . . . I am the end of the world, a 12-minute warning till a nuclear morning. Killer seeks the same for mutual pleasure." I told you the guy was an egghead, and there's not a bad track among the 11 tunes on this debut.

Catch the Bon Savants as they buzz into the (how apropos) Atomic Cantina, 315 Gold Ave. S.W., at 10 p.m. Wednesday. Titanmoon and Lousy Robot, as well. Free. 21 and over. 242-2200.

Listen to the MP3: Between The Moon And The Ocean

Honky, "Balls Out Inn" (Small Stone Records)

This California power trio (emphasis on "power") has a '70s rock sensibility - sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll - that's decadent and indulgent ("Gittin' It") without being too obnoxious. There's a calculated sloppiness to their take on Southern rock, with major doses of slide guitar ("Love to Smoke Your Weed" with shout-along vocals), as well as sleaze (the title tune).

The heavy riffage has equal parts distortion ("Trespassin' ") and driving guitar/bass leads (the instrumental "Plugs, Mugs and Jugs"). These guys could be ZZ Top's angry cousins (the electric guitar blues "Broken Days," with its great guitar break) or the Black Crowes' bros ("Walkin On Moonshine").

The trio dials it down a bit on "I Like the Way You Have Fun" a psycho-freakout with minimal instrumentation, while commenting on rodeo groupies on "Buckle Bunny."

Honky headlines a night of heavy boogie rock tonight at Burt's Tiki Lounge, 313 Gold Ave. S.W. Five Hundred, Black Maria and Anesthesia open the free show at 10. 21 and over. 247-2878.

The Velvet Teen, "Cum Laude!" (Slowdance Records)

On its third full-length release, this Northern California indie art-pop trio deals in dissonant post-rock - muted processed vocals, angular guitars, electronic sequencing and all-around frantic drumming ("Around the Roller Rink"). The baroque harmonies throughout are distorted by the same vocal processing.

Pain is a constant theme ("333" and "Flicking Clint"), as well as desire (the lovesick "Spin the Wink"), betrayal ("Building a Whale"), obsessive love (the broken-home byproduct "Gyzmkid") and modern (?) romance (the achingly beautiful "False Profits"). The guys are also clever with their song titles ("Rhodekill").

The metaphysical "Bloom" (sample lyric: "Oh, how I long to get my feet wet/cried and yelled the ice as it melted") is almost jazzy in its execution. "In a Steadman Spray," a comment/criticism on life and the modern world, is the most poppish song on the disc.

The Teen challenge the notion of what a pop song is (or should be) much like the Blood Brothers, but without being as caustic or corrosive.

The Velvet Teen is part of the lineup for an all-ages show at 7 tonight at the Launchpad, 618 Central Ave. S.W. Minus the Bear headlines, with support from P.O.S. and Russian Circles. $15. Call 764-8887. www.virtuous.com

Listen to the MP3: Aftershocks and Afterthoughts