Pray for the Wicked
by Panic! At the Disco
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 233 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 180 out of 233
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 233
  3. Negative: 19 out of 233
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. neverusingthis
    Jun 22, 2018
    3
    As day one fan since 2005, I am utterly disappointed.
    It seems Brendon Urie has finally reached a level of success where the only thing he knows how to write about is how successful he's become, how he's still unfulfilled despite his decadent LA lifestyle, and how no amount of drinking can fix that but **** it let's do it anyway. And all but two tracks sound like the standard Top 40    As day one fan since 2005, I am utterly disappointed.
    It seems Brendon Urie has finally reached a level of success where the only thing he knows how to write about is how successful he's become, how he's still unfulfilled despite his decadent LA lifestyle, and how no amount of drinking can fix that but **** it let's do it anyway. And all but two tracks sound like the standard Top 40 white noise you hear on the radio. Any traces of their emo roots have been thoroughly bleached out in favor of overproduced pop numbers with a very misutilized horn section.
    I am glad for Brendon's success. After all these years, he deserves it. But it came at the cost of completely losing touch with why fans loved his music in the first place (I have to wonder if Death of a Bachelor would have been just as tepid without the influence of Rivers Cuomo). I suppose this is the inevitable progression for someone in his position, but in regards to quality, maybe he would have been better off taking a cue from My Chemical Romance and dissolving the band when his musical style had evolved past its usefulness.
    Other negative reviews have better broken down what is wrong from a technical standpoint and I wholeheartedly concur. I had high hopes for my favorite band, and I was praying for a good release, but it turns out Panic! is one fever I /can/ sweat out. It just took 13 years.    … Expand
  2. owenrw89
    Jun 28, 2018
    3
    Utterly exhausting. Vocally, it sticks to one irritating octave from start to finish. There's little variation from song to song. Nothing is subtle. Everything is thrown at you with little grace.
    I have to compliment it on being a very 'out there' album, it breaks from the norm a tad. It's just a shame it does so in such a graceless way.
  3. AbsoluteRadLad
    Aug 6, 2018
    1
    This is Panic!'s weakest record yet. PFTW feels rushed, insanely rushed, like they saw the release date was in two days and to record everything then and there. The teaser tracks were okay, fairly produced, but the only creditable one is High Hopes which feels like a return to the style they had on Death of a Bachelor. When you listen to the actual album, you realize very quickly howThis is Panic!'s weakest record yet. PFTW feels rushed, insanely rushed, like they saw the release date was in two days and to record everything then and there. The teaser tracks were okay, fairly produced, but the only creditable one is High Hopes which feels like a return to the style they had on Death of a Bachelor. When you listen to the actual album, you realize very quickly how rushed this was. Songs like Hey Look Ma, I Made It are a poor execution of mixing electronic with swing and jazz and while its okay, one of the better songs, that's really not saying much. Everything else is rushed, underproduced, undermixed, garbage. So many of Brendan's vocals sound strained, forced, something that could've easily been fixed with another take or some editing, but instead it sounds like he was thrown into the booth with no warmups and told to just go for it. Songs like Silver Linings, it sounds like he's run out of breathe on the chorus and is trying desperately to catch it. It even sounds like he's bouncing around in the booth while recording. Roaring 20's has the most annoying trumpet throughout half the track that is unbearable even without headphones on. There's a lot of points where Brendon's vocals are much quieter than the instrumentals, which again, could easily be fixed with a little time during editing and mixing. This album had to pass through all the producers, Brendon and his bandmates, all that, and they all went, yeah that's perfect, that's what we want. The only excuse i can find for this is his producers wanted to get back at him or something. There is no excuse for how poor this record is. And I'm leaving out so much, like when he tries to hit those high notes it sounds like he's just waken up, it sounds strained, not human, not good. There is nothing good about this record. I can give one song credit. It is a very hard listen. Overall a 1/10.… Expand
  4. crazygenious
    Nov 2, 2018
    0
    The worst album of Panic! by far
    It is a complete insult that Brendon continue to use the name of a band that should have already completed its cycle, if it is going to throw crap like this, it should do so under its own name.
  5. Skydog
    Jun 22, 2018
    0
    Sounds like b-sides to the newest Fall Out Boy album , which is a bad thing. Not much creativity, lots of cheesy lyrics , and very little real instrumentation. Death of A Bachelor was tolerable, this isn’t by miles. Bands can grow, all for it, but this isn’t growth when you drop most of your band and start using hip hop beats the entire album.
  6. musicmaniac
    Jun 22, 2018
    0
    What was Brendon thinking...
    One of the worst releases by the band and definitely by far the worst album musically speaking for them.
  7. KazekNacru
    Sep 6, 2019
    0
    The debut album of the solo pop artist Brendon Urie, including very hip and trendy songs such as High Hopes and Dancing's not a Crime. In all seriousness, this album doesn't even deserve a 1. All of his previous music is amazing, not only is it cynical in the perfect way, it was also a way of restoring your faith in the human populous. But this latest album is a massive black blot on aThe debut album of the solo pop artist Brendon Urie, including very hip and trendy songs such as High Hopes and Dancing's not a Crime. In all seriousness, this album doesn't even deserve a 1. All of his previous music is amazing, not only is it cynical in the perfect way, it was also a way of restoring your faith in the human populous. But this latest album is a massive black blot on a clean canvas. This album is so pop-y that it hurts my f***ing ears.The fact that High Hopes is counted as one of Panic!'s classics alongside Nine in the Afternoon, This is Gospel, Death of a Bachelor, and I Write Sins not Tragedies is utterly disgraceful. Panic!'s previous songs were beautifully written not only to sound good, but to convey a meaningful message. (By the way, High Hopes is literally lying, listen to it closely.) (F*** a) Silver Lining: This song gets old after listening to it twice. i have dozens of hours on A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. The reason why is because not only are all of the songs meaningful, they also sound bloody amazing. Songs need to be good enough to make you wanna hear them again, that's why artists like Trevor Something are so successful. Silver Lining is one of the only not-utterly-and-completely-abysmal songs in this album, and I can't stand hearing it more than twice a week. I hate hearing this song blasted on every pop radio station. As for the message, it's literally just about seeing the good in life,, how basic can you get? Say Amen (Saturday Night). The second best song due to it having a meaning and not sounding like s*** The song sounds fine, that's it. As for the meaning, it's a reflection on his mormon roots, it wasn't executed the best, but I'll take anything from this s*** album. Hey Look Ma, I Made It is abysmal. It's about what four other f***ing songs in this album are about and it sounds horrible. I do understand that there is an underlying message, that being corruption in the music industry, but their first song was about this and it was about four hundred times better. Roaring 20's: This song is just filled with missed potential. The lyrics are about Brendon's broadway experience, which is fine. I just think that the lyrics are dull and repetitive. I don't think people realize the potnetial Brendon Urie had when it comes to emulating the music of the 20's, the instruments and singing tone. This is only ever touched on in There's a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought of it Yet and Crazy=Genius, two of my favourite songs by Panic!. But this is just a disappointment, the only exceptional thing about this is it's intro music. Dancing's not a Crime is a crime, this song is so bad it made me tear my own liver out. The music behind it is f***ing aids, it sound's like if Alvin and the Chipmunks tried beat-boxing. The lyrics are as basic b**** as it gets and the song's meaning it useless. Something Giorno Giovanna would not appreciate. One of the Drunks: Did anyone actually listen to this song? In case you didn't, all I'm gonna say is the same things I've been saying this whole review. It's boring, repetitive and meaningless. King of the Clouds: Just sounds like something you'd hear on the local pop station. Not special at all. The Overpass: The same as King of the Clouds. Old Fashioned: Again. this is like the EVOLVE (by Shinedown) of this album, I think I've heard it once. It is just bad though, bad and unimportant.. Dying in LA is what gave me hope, this is the Impossible Year of this album, but instead of being basically forgotten about, it's the only thing that you don't forget besides the fact that you can tell your mates about an album that almost gave you a cerebral hemorrhage Joseph Stalin style. This song actually sounds fine, and has something called, say it with me: Metaphor. Y'know, one of those things that making conversation and speaking actually interesting. This song is about the over-hyping of LA, which is actually an interesting topic! The song altogether, is fine, definitely the best of the album. High Hopes: I saved this one for last because of how much I despise it. The song is about the same thing as Hey look Ma, I Made it. Brendon's rise to stardom. But the way it's told makes it sound like he just recently hit it off, I'm pretty sure that 12-11 years ago wasn't all that recent. Also, "I've always had High High Hopes for the living." Then what is I Constantly Thank God for Estaban about, or Ballad of the Mona Lisa, or Build God Then We'll Talk? All of those songs and many many more are about how much humanity f***ing sucks and the stupid s*** that they do. It's also way to over-exposed. And it sounds terrible. The end. I hear supporters of this album say three things: Panic! is better at this kind of music, I've been waiting for this for so long, and change is a good thing. 1. They're not better at this kind of music, 2. Then go listen to some Taylor Swift, Fall Out Boy or Shawn Mendez. 3. Change is good if it works.… Expand
  8. MusicSpy
    May 24, 2019
    1
    nao existe coisa mais enjoativa e insuportavel que a voz do vocalista... meu deus! 0/10
  9. Chris182
    Apr 26, 2021
    3
    I rate this album a light 3/10 with a very heart as a great band has released a pretty terrible album. This album is the embodiment of dumb fun (its not even fun) as 99% of these songs are horribly written and all of them feature the most annoying broadway inspired brass instrumentals. Hopefully Brendon retires the Panic name and goes solo. None of these songs are memorable at all and iI rate this album a light 3/10 with a very heart as a great band has released a pretty terrible album. This album is the embodiment of dumb fun (its not even fun) as 99% of these songs are horribly written and all of them feature the most annoying broadway inspired brass instrumentals. Hopefully Brendon retires the Panic name and goes solo. None of these songs are memorable at all and i dont think i will pay to see them live since i know that their setlist will be littered with songs from this album.
    Best Songs: The Overpass
    Worst Songs: High Hopes (Don't deny that this song is overplayed annoying), Hey Look Ma I Made It, King of the Clouds, Dying in LA, (F*** A) Silver Lining, Roaring 20s, Dancing's Not a Crime, Old Fashioned.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

24
#24 Most Discussed Album of 2018
20
#20 Most Shared Album of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. The A.V. Club
    Jun 29, 2018
    67
    The poignant album-ending ballad “Dying In LA” makes you wish there had been more tracks showcasing Urie’s pop-transcending emotive vocals.
    Read full review
  2. Kerrang!
    Jun 27, 2018
    60
    It feels harsh to criticise a Panic! At The Disco record for being bold and exploring its brash nature to the fullest. ... But there's no getting around the fact this one feels like it could have done with a defter touch and some sonic restraint. [30 Jun 2018, p.53]
  3. The 405
    Jun 26, 2018
    50
    Between horns, strings, synths, guitars and all the rest this record is definitely an attack on the senses and shows Urie's knack for constructing a radio-friendly hit, but delve below the surface and it doesn't have much to offer. Certainly not enough to justify diminishing returns for a long running act, definitely not enough to keep me coming back for anything but the first few beats.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »