Pop band Panic! at the Disco recently released their seventh album, Viva Las Vengeance, which ended up leaving the fan base incredibly confused and upset.

VLV is very different from every other Panic! at the Disco album, so old fans may be less inclined to listen.

The band started teasing the new album last spring and the first single, “Viva Las Vengeance,” was released June 1, and overall it had the most positive reaction out of the other ten tracks on the album.

Panic! at the Disco first became famous for their original, alternative music. A lot of the genius behind previous albums came from former members Ryan Ross and Dallon Weekes, while Brendon Urie was and still is the singer for the band. Urie has full creative license  of songwriting now, and a lot of his lyrics seem to make no sense at all. This, among the strange background music choices and Urie’s strained voice, is not exactly pleasant to the ears of listeners.

Urie has been lead vocalist since 2005 and originally was praised for his wide vocal range, but after years of neglecting his voice, he can’t reach his previous range. On top of not having any history of vocal training, he has strained his voice ridiculously during past tour performances, and also has a history of smoking and drinking, which does not do wonders for one’s voice.

Urie performed two singles, “Viva Las Vengeance” and “Middle of a Breakup,” on The Today Show one month before the album’s release. His live performance made it clear that the songs were heavily autotuned on the digital album. 

The album cover features Urie staring directly into the camera, wearing a jacket of many warm-themed colors, such as oranges and yellows. 

Both new and old fans noticed that the color theme was incredibly similar to the band, DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME’s most recent album, RAZZMATAZZ. IDKHOW is the former Panic! member Dallon Weekes’ current band and many saw this similarity as a sort-of jab at Weekes by Urie.

Viva Las Vengeance has come under fire on social media platforms, such as TikTok, where users rate the songs on the album and then rate the album overall. User @isohlation ranked the album an 11/100, greatly disliking the album in general. Other reviewers on TikTok rated it similarly.

Exactly one month after its release, only 77 percent of Google users liked the album; this is a surprise, most albums on Google are ranked higher.

Overall, this album is definitely for a certain group of people. It may not fit into a specific genre of music, but there are people who certainly will like it and will fight to defend it. 

Ultimately, the album is a major disappointment. However, some may enjoy it, and listeners need to decide their opinion themselves. Everyone would write the album in their own way, and this is how Urie chose to portray his vision.