Panic! At The Disco Release Seventh Studio Album VIVA LAS VENGEANCE

Panic! At The Disco released their spontaneous album, Viva Las Vengeance on Aug. 19. Determining the central focus of the record is a bit arduous because every single track differs from the other; and while Viva Las Vengeance is very whimsical and playful yet demonstrates lead singer Brendon Urie is a musical genius. The band incorporates complexities throughout the album that display just how much the band is growing and how much talent they have. Brendon doesn’t fail to take you places with the harmonies and his vocal range, guiding this new album to new heights. It wouldn’t be surprising if a TikTok trend brews where people attempt some of his difficult vocal techniques heard in the record.

“Viva Las Vengeance” is the first song on the album. Various influences play into this track because of its strong 50s/60s vibe—you’ll hear the band visit an earlier era quite often. It’s evident that the band was raised on multiple genres because a mixture of pop, rock, and soul is heard in the track. Brendon clearly aims to snatch the souls of his listeners through the backing vocals and their spot-on crescendos and decrescendos, almost as if he’s controlling them through the palms of his hand. He leaves you anticipating whether or not he’s going to make it to the high notes, especially during the chorus, but he eventually does slide up to that C note.

The second song is “Middle Of A Breakup,” which includes playful and erotic lyrics along with an 80s sound. “Middle Of A Breakup” is youthful, playful, and something people today would vibe to. However, it’s not the cherry on top. No. 3 is “Don’t Let The Light Go,” and its introduction screams “Last Christmas” by Wham! Panic! At The Disco gets a bit more romantic in this song with lyrics like “you’re my love, you’re my death, you’re my alibi. Say this isn’t goodbye.” The heaviest lyrics would have to be “you’re the only one that knows how to operate my heavy machinery.”

By the time you hit “Local God,” you should already be able to tell that Viva Las Vengeance is basically a rock and roll jukebox. You’ll never get bored from listening to the album because Brendon has it to where a lot of the chorus’ and verses’ don’t match up melodically in a lot of the songs— “Local God” falls victim to it. You hear the song go one way in the introduction and verses and then sound completely different in the choruses. The next track, “Star Spangled Banger,” is a rebellious call-to-arms that plays on American culture. Think Green Day’s “American Idiot.”

“God Killed Rock And Roll” carries strong Queen influences, instrumentally and vocally. Towards the middle, the song veers in a different direction; It’s almost as though Brendon told his bandmates that he wanted the album to steer towards “disaster meets good music.” Towards the end, there’s this dramatic slow down similar to the point of a movie or musical where the villain does something horrific.

“Say It Louder” is a more groovy track packed with encouraging words like “Choose your weapon of choice, your beautiful voice, don’t ever let ’em turn you down.” The chorus where Brendon sings “Say it louder for the people in the back” and an echo follows along with an incredible beat makes the track highly enjoyable. It’s possibly the favorite track for most listeners who favor the Pray For The Wicked album over the others. It’s unclear what direction the band was going in with “Sugar Soaker,” but it sounds like they were aiming for never-heard-before and got just that. Towards the end of the song, there’s this odd instrumental break, but it’s not too bad.

“Something About Maggie” lies on the comical side. Brendon sings, “Gilly thinks that he’s a DJ, makes me want to slit my wrist…No one dances to his hits.” Brendon could be referring to the rise of DJs since, out of nowhere, it seems like everyone has decided to pursue DJing as a newfound hobby. The vacillating essence of the chorus creates confusion in a comical way, but nonetheless, the track’s pretty artistic. Panic! went all out sonically for “Something About Maggie” with the brass and string instruments.

“Sad Clown” proves the whimsical statement aforementioned to be true. Brendon sings about isolation, yet the tone is exuberantly bright. Clowns, bizarrely, are quirky beings with a dark undertone that the world has placed on them. Brendon’s vocals are soul-stirring because you hear more of the neo-soul vocals he has with all of the punctual riffs. Closing in on the three-minute mark, Brendon teases up by singing up the scale hitting every high note perfectly—leaving you assuming he’s going to go up a notch but changes the song melodically.

“All By Yourself” is another that touches on isolation and loneliness, but Brendon encourages those who are alone to live their lives to the fullest, even when alone. Panic! ends the album grandly with “Do It To Death,” which Brendon ends in a cinematic manner by pulling a line from “Viva Las Vengeance.” “Shut up and go to bed,” he sings.

Viva Las Vengeance does differ from Panic!’s previous albums. But while the band may raise eyebrows with their new release, it has never been unfamiliar for the band to incorporate various genres. Sure, Viva Las Vengeance is their most cinematic album, but to say the record is nothing like the band’s previous records is a bit far-fetched. One thing about Brendon is that he goes all out. The man was in Kinky Boots, so he has a whimsical side to him, and it’s awesome he brought that to this album without thinking about what may be a hit. Plus, it sounds like he’s going back to the rock side with this whole rock and roll jukebox feel.

Give Viva Las Vengeance a listen and let us know what you think!

The band is going on their fall Viva Las Vengeance Tour, be sure to check out their dates below!

VIVA LAS VENGEANCE TOUR DATES
9/8/22 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center*
9/10/22 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center*
9/11/22 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena*
9/13/22 – Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center*
9/14/22 – St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center*
9/16/22 – Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum^
9/17/22 – Chicago, IL @ United Center^
9/20/22 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena^
9/21/22 – Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena^
9/23/22 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden^
9/25/22 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena^
9/27/22 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre^
9/28/22 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden^
9/30/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center^
10/1/22 – Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena^
10/2/22 – Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena^
10/4/22 – Sunrise, FL @ FLA Live Arena^
10/5/22 – Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena^
10/7/22 – Duluth, GA @ Gas South Arena^
10/8/22 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena^
10/9/22 – Saint Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center†
10/11/22 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena^
10/13/22 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Smart Home Arena^
10/15/22 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center^
10/16/22 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena†
10/19/22 – Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum^
10/21/22 – Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena^
10/23/22 – Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center^
10/25/22 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center^
2/20/23 – Vienna, AT @ Wiener  Stadthalle
2/21/23 – Munich, DE @ Olympiahalle
2/23/23 – Hamburg, DE @ Barclays Arena
2/24/23 – Cologne, DE @ Lanxess Arena
2/25/23 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotterdam Ahoy
2/28/23 – Antwerp, BE @ Sportpaleis
3/1/23 – Paris, FR @ AccorHotels Arena
3/3/23 – Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro
3/4/23 – Birmingham, UK @ Utilita Arena
3/6/23 – London, UK @ The O2
3/10/23 – Manchester, UK @ AO Arena