Ranking Panic! At The Disco Albums
On January 24th Brendon Urie from Panic! At The Disco officially announced the band’s split on their social media platforms. It came as a surprise to most fans, having only just released a record five months earlier, but not entirely left field to others. Rumors circulated around the internet that Urie was going to have a baby (thanks to Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, who accidentally posted a picture of their baby announcement to Instagram), which he touted as his rationale for the band’s demise.
Still, it was one hell of a ride for Panic! At The Disco, and to celebrate their success, here’s a ranking of their seven studio albums. Included in this list are all their albums, except for their two live records that have been released on streaming platforms.
Anyway, here’s an official ranking from Panic! At The Disco Albums:
At the last place the list starts with her latest album “Viva Las Vengeance” which was released last year. Although this album has a few highlights like their title track and “Local God”, the rest of the album is barely worth listening to. Even the “highlights” aren’t very high – just the tracks that you can get through without having to skip the whole record. Urie’s singing is arguably at its worst, with its squeaky high notes in places where high notes don’t need to be. The lyrics fall short in comparison to how well the lyrics of the other albums were worked and flowed as a whole. The instrumentals carry the album, but they sound too close to completely ripping off a Queen record to qualify as anything “new” or “inspiring.” Overall, the audibility of “Viva Las Vengeance” is close to zero.
Next on the list is Pray For The Wicked, which was released in 2018. Personally I would have rated this higher for nostalgic reasons (I’ve seen them live twice in that time) but I like to give each album a basis for how I judge them; Therefore, I will rank each record based on its musical and lyrical content and not consider nostalgia levels. Nonetheless, “Pray For The Wicked” is the record that Panic! At The Disco topped the pop charts with catchy tunes and upbeat lyrics. The singles “High Hopes” and “Hey Look Ma, I Made It” helped propel the album to number one in the US poster 200 Although the record received relatively positive reviews from critics, its fans had mixed reviews about it. There are several tracks on the record that make them stand out, like “King of the Clouds” and “The Overpass”, but the main singles seem to drag the album down a bit. The lyrics are comparable to “Viva Las Vengeance”, but more coherent overall. Also, “Pray For The Wicked” is a decent record, but far from their best.
The next album on this list is Panic! At The Disco’s last album as a rock band, Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!, released in 2013. With sparkling synthesizers and almost robotic vocals, the album leans more towards the “electropop” that was flourishing in popular music during this period. “This Is Gospel” and “Vegas Lights” illustrate the band’s turn from their previous steam-punk album “Vices & Virtues” (2011) to a lighter, more poppy tune that followed the band on their later albums. While not my favorite album of theirs, Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! is an experimental record with many memorable hits and favorable qualities.
Speaking of steam punk albums, the next on this list is Vices & Virtues, which was released in 2011. After the departure of bandmates Ryan Ross and Jon Walker, Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith join Panic! At the music of The Disco. Songs like “Let’s Kill Tonight” and “Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met…)” are great examples, showing the dark nature of the album while adding a “techno” sound that they will later explore extensively on their next album . The lyrics are arguably some of the most elaborate lyrics on all of their albums. Some credit the work of Fall Out Boy’s lyricist Pete Wentz, who helped create the lyrics on this record. While the album seems like a great contender for placing higher on this list, there are still many songs that I consider “skipped”. Nonetheless, “Vices & Virtues” as a whole is still a wonderful album and is considered a favorite by many.
This next album might come as a surprise to some, but I believe it deserves to be number three on this list. “Death of a Bachelor” is panic! At The Disco’s fifth studio album was released on January 15, 2016. The album is inspired by a cross between Frank Sinatra and Queen, which can be clearly heard on tracks like “Death of a Bachelor” and “Victorious”. The album is full of lively songs with pounding drums and bouncing basslines. On the other hand, the album contains dark tracks with melancholic piano and humming horns. Overall, “Death of a Bachelor” is a cohesive album that holds up even after seven years.
Second on this list is Panic! At The Disco’s 2008 album Pretty. Strange.” This is the band’s second studio album, released four years after their first album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. The sound of this album differs significantly from their first record, as it has more of a quirky, Beatles feel -ish sound. “That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)” and “Nine in the Afternoon” underscore this change in their sound by incorporating a concert band, folk guitar, bright brass accompaniment, and upbeat piano. The lyrics are certainly “pretty strange”, as they speak of strange, fairytale-like metaphors and strange euphemisms. The “strangeness” of the lyrics doesn’t detract from the album as a whole, though; if anything, it contributes to its concept of wonder and whimsy. Also: “Pretty. Strange .” is a strange addition to Panic! However, At The Disco’s discography is exceptionally different.
Finally, Panic’s best record! At The Disco’s discography is their debut studio album A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, released in 2005. The album boosts sales. As for the sound of the record, the first half of the record is mostly pop-punk, while the second half is described as “baroque-pop”, which is a fusion of rock and classical music. Tracks like “But It’s Better If You Do” and “Camisado” help bridge the record together to create an overall cacophony of loud guitar, hypersynths and pounding drums. The lyrics on this record, attributed to former guitarist Ryan Ross, speak of jealousy, affairs and other stories based on novels such as Invisible Monsters and Survivor, both written by Chuck Palahniuk. All in all “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” is an amazing stand out record and Panic! The disco’s best album.
@brookekillslive
