Five years ago, Panic! At The Disco’s first single hit the airwaves. It opened with a few notes plucked out on a variety of string instruments with the first lines stating, “Oh, well imagine, as I’m pacing the pews in a church corridor and I can’t help but to hear, no I can’t help but to hear an exchanging of words.” I Write Sins, Not Tragedies.
Since that single, Panic! At The Disco’s career has successfully skyrocketed and picked up fans by the mouthful, all the while producing two more albums and countless singles, including Nine in the Afternoon, from their sophomore album, Pretty. Odd.
Panic! At The Disco was started in Las Vegas, Nev. by childhood friends Ryan Ross (Guitar, Vocals) and Spencer Smith (Drums), who would later recruit Brent Wilson on bass and Brendon Urie on vocals and guitar. Originally, the band went by “The Summer League,” but eventually they changed their name to Panic! At The Disco, which comes from the song “Panic” by Name Taken.
After the release of their first album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, the band announced the departure of bassist, Brent Wilson. Later he was replaced by Jon Walker, who would continue to play bass through the release of their second studio album, Pretty. Odd. It was the first album where the band dropped the exclamation mark from their name.
The change in the lineup doesn’t stop there. Recently, Panic! At The Disco pulled yet another Jenga piece from the already falling Jenga tower, by announcing that Jon Walker and Ryan Ross were leaving the band. On July 6, 2009 the band left the following message regarding the split:
“Ryan Ross and Jon Walker will be leaving Panic at the Disco to embark on a musical excursion of their own. Though the four of us have made music together in the past, we’ve creatively evolved in different directions, which has compromised what each of us want to personally achieve. Over the years, we have remained close and honest with each other, which helped us to realize that our goals were different and that parting ways is truly what is best for each of us.”
The reason for the split was simple. Walker and Ross wanted to experiment with the more organic and mellow sound heard on Pretty. Odd., while Urie and Smith wanted to bring back the high energy pop style from A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out.
“We missed a couple things from our first record in terms of sonically, with these little instruments that we hadn’t really used on our second record,” Urie stated in an interview with Annie Zaleski of the AP. “There [were] a lot of organic instruments and not a lot of electronics or synthesizers. So we wanted to get back to some of that.”
Walker and Ross are now members of a group called The Young Veins, while Urie and Smith are getting ready to release Panic!’s newest album, Vices & Virtues.
Regaining the exclamation mark and musical fervor, the album took two years to write and will be the duo’s debut album. Being the first album to not feature lyricist Ryan Ross, Urie had to step up. He and Smith wrote the whole album together.
Vices & Virtues will reclaim the high energy of A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, but hold on to the driven story telling and mystical framework of Pretty. Odd.
The album is to be highly anticipated by critics and fans the world over.
Aaron Woitas, Albert Lea High School junior, and a fan of Panic! At The Disco’s original style, is excited for the new album.
“I was unhesitant to preorder their album on iTunes after listening to a 30-second clip of The Ballad Of Mona Lisa,” Woitas said.
The Ballad of Mona Lisa was the second single to be released from the album (with new perspective – a song made for the movie Jennifer’s Body being first). This song is the first hint of them recovering their previous musical style. Fans are excited to see them gaining back some of what was lost on Pretty. Odd.
“It’s them reverting back to their fever days.” Woitas said.
The video for The Ballad Of Mona Lisa premiered on February 8, 2011 on MTV’s website, with a steam punk vibe and highly theatrical props and costumes similar to the video for “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”. The video is set in the Victorian era, and runs over the steps to preparing and displaying a body before burial. Similar to the set of rules Columbus comes up with to ensure Survival in Zombieland (Rule #1 – Cardio, #2 double tap, etc…) it numbers off the steps – from the shutting of windows and covering up mirrors, to laying the body out in white so loved ones could mourn.
As always, Panic! At the disco loves weave pop culture references into their music, but this time it’s taken a serious edge. After going over the album’s content, Urie and Smith made the startling discovery that the seven deadly sins (lust, envy, sloth, gluttony, greed, wrath, and pride) were a reoccurring theme.
“I guess this record was really a study in human behavior,” Urie said, “Mostly for us personally what we had been going through, and noticing all of that.”
