Panic! At The Disco : Through The Years

Over the past 11 years, we have seen several different musical sides of Panic! At The Disco (referred to as Panic). When they first established themselves on the scene, it was a four-piece band that specialized in pop punk, electro-punk music but they have become an ever-changing band releasing different music with every album that has been released.

Their debut album A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out was highly received and catapulted them to the top of the music scene in 2005/2006. They were the faces of pop-punk, emo-pop music for some time with hit singles such as “Time To Dance,” “Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off,” and the massively successful song “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.” With songs like this, many believed Panic was going to stay at the top of the scene for years to come, but that high ended rather quickly for the group of musicians.

The sophomore album was definitely a slump for Panic. Pretty. Odd. was released in 2008, and while the album sold well, it did not sell nearly as well as A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. Pretty. Odd. was received better by the media than the fans. Many publications wrote of how the symphonies and harmonies were a welcomed venture for Panic! At The Disco and exploring a more psychedelic sound was impressive. Fans were alarmed by this different “psychedelic” direction the band had decided to take and did not fully support the album.

After a few album tours supporting Pretty. Odd. it was announced on the band’s official website during the summer of 2009 that members, Ryan Ross and Jon Walker would be departing from the group. They stated it was a mutual departure due to creative differences and that they all wanted a fair chance to explore their interests; it was going to be for the better of the group and everyone would be happier in the long run. With that, Panic became a two-person group with Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith. They weren’t entirely sure which direction they wanted to take after Ryan and Jon left the band and instead decided to tour and write for a while.

Fans patiently waited for new material from the band and finally received it after two years of waiting. Panic’s third album Vices & Virtues was released in 2011 with the single “The Ballad Of Mona Lisa” preceding the release. Although fans seemed to thoroughly enjoy this song, the album was not a hit for Panic. It ranked about a 62% from the fans and media alike, and did not sell particularly well, but this did not thwart Brendon or Spencer!

In 2013, Panic released their fourth album, Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! Featured singles include “Miss Jackson,” “Girls/Girls/Boys,” and “Nicotine” which all contributed to the success of this album. It was received very highly from fans and media selling better than Pretty. Odd. and Vices & Virtues. Fans were much more interested in this direction Panic was taking, moving closer to their pop punk/electro-pop roots but also exploring more established lyrics proving that the band had matured. The track “This Is Gospel” took on a more serious tone for the band, as it was written about Spencer’s personal struggle with addiction. It must have been difficult to write about such a hardship, but it was important that they took this step forward.

After several tours for Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! it was announced that Panic would be working on new music again. Brendon discussed how he had several ideas for new music but was unsure what the future held. In April 2015, Spencer made an official statement to the fans about his decision to leave the band. He stated how grateful he was for all the experiences he had, but it just didn’t feel right anymore, and it was time to leave. There were no hard feelings as the guys in Panic were family to him. He also expressed how excited he was to see where Panic goes from this point and wishes them the best.

Panic! At The Disco (as Brendon Urie continues to be recognized as) released the official information about their fifth studio album October 21, 2015. The new album will be titled Death Of A Bachelor and will be available worldwide on January 15, 2016. Currently, there are a total of three singles available for sale on iTunes. “Hallelujah,” “Victorious,” and “Emperor’s New Clothes” have all been released over the past 6 months and these songs are HITS! Brendon is bringing back the old school feel of Panic and they are definitely feel good songs. They are incredibly upbeat tracks and set the bar high for the upcoming album. You can preorder Death of a Bachelor on iTunes now and be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more news on Panic! At The Disco.