DEATH OF A BACHELOR: A PANIC! AT THE DISCO RETROSPECTIVE

By NICOLE BILYAK scene Writer

c olossal pop music fans definitely know the name of Panic! at the d isco. Panic! had been gracing the music scene for almost 20 years. At least, until frontman b rendon Urie disbanded Panic! on Jan. 24 to focus on being a father. To commemorate the band’s disbanding, I will be writing about the band’s history from the beginning to the end.

Panic! at the d isco was formed in 2004 in the suburbs of Las vegas, n evada by r yan r oss and s pencer s mith. The pair had been playing together since high school, but eventually invited b rent Wilson to join on bass guitar and b rendon Urie to play guitar. o riginally, r oss was the lead singer but made Urie the lead vocalist after hearing him sing. o riginally, Panic! at the d isco was a b link-182 cover band called Pet s alamander.

Their first album, “A Fever You c an’t s weat o ut,” was released s ep. 27, 2005. The band was signed by Fall o ut b oy’s Pete Wentz’s music label, d ecaydance. The album included two different musical styles: the first half was pop punk with elements of electronics and the second half employed traditional instrumentation with influences of baroque pop. The album’s second single, “I Write s ins n ot Tragedies,” was the most popu lar track of the album and became a top 10 hit in the United s tates. While recording the album, the band changed their name from Pet s alamander to Panic! at the d isco. d uring the recording of the album, it was reported that b rent Wilson did not put any effort into the album and was subsequently fired in m ay 2006. h e also threatened to sue the band for 25% of the royalties.

The band eventually released “Pretty. o dd.” in 2008 and “ v ices and v irtues” in 2011. Their popular fourth album, “Too Weird to Live, Too r are to d ie,” was released in 2013. This album included one of the band’s more popular tracks, “This is Gospel,” which peaked at number 87 on the b illboard Top 100 when the single was released. The album also had different music genres and was the last album released as a rock album.

Three years later, the band made a comeback as a solo band with their fifth studio album, “ d eath of a b achelor.” r eleased in 2016, this album featured many popular songs that pop music fans know today such as the titular “ d eath of a b achelor,” “ h allelujah” and