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
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  1. NY3D
    Jun 27, 2018
    7
    This album is ok. It's not as good compared to the other p!atd albums they've put out, because of bad wordplay and somewhat generic pop elements. The songs are catchy and the brass is a very nice addition, but I think Brendon could have used a bit more creativity. There are some exceptions, however, such as Roaring 20s and Dying In LA. Other than that, the album is only okay, not great.
  2. Beast123
    Jun 25, 2018
    7
    This is a good album, but that's all it is. There's nothing incredibly bad, but nothing incredibly good either. Nothing stood out, for good or bad. It was all just 'good'.
  3. emmaAS
    Aug 18, 2018
    10
    Brendon Urie wrote this album while he was doing Kinky Boots and the album has all the Broadway sound. It has bittersweet lyrics, a mixed sound between 1920 and 2018. It's just perfect.
  4. A7sus4
    Jun 25, 2018
    9
    Brendon Urie's amazing. I didn't think he'd be able to out due Death of A Bachelor but low and behold. This guy's on fire. Favorites: Silver Lining, Hey Look Ma, Dancing's Not A Crime, and Old Fashioned. Don't miss Dying In LA either. Hear this thing.
  5. DevilPray
    Dec 2, 2018
    8
    At first listen, I didn't enjoy it that much. I was like meh, a usual P!ATD album. It's definitely a grower album. High Hopes is THAT song, the production at the first and second verses alone deserve the 8 I gave. I'm glad to see the song reaching #6 in US. Its their highest charted song there yet.
  6. AwaysYo
    Jun 23, 2018
    10
    Whilst the songs may be fun and great to dance to, Urie manages to convey the struggles that he may have endured earlier in life. The lyrial content are some of the strongest that ever been written from this artist. The songs in this album are very strong and makes this album very cohesive. This album is the perfect successor to Death Of A Bachelor.
  7. Dakoda_
    Jun 24, 2018
    8
    Honestly, this album surprised me a lot. It's definitely not what I thought was going to get released, but it was a good surprise. This is not the Panic! that I fell in love with years ago, but it's still a Panic! I know and love today. I obviously do wish that we could have more music like their first and third albums specifically, but this new one is obvious Brendon wants to experiment.Honestly, this album surprised me a lot. It's definitely not what I thought was going to get released, but it was a good surprise. This is not the Panic! that I fell in love with years ago, but it's still a Panic! I know and love today. I obviously do wish that we could have more music like their first and third albums specifically, but this new one is obvious Brendon wants to experiment. Hell, he's been experimenting since day one and this newest album definitely has its own feel, and it's so welcome here. Achieving this, also, given the history of his band is quite inspiring, actually.… Expand
  8. insertusername
    Jun 25, 2018
    9
    The entire album is a huge FU to the music industry and a lovely shout-out to his mom.

    As a musical and Broadway fan, as well as someone who really enjoys 50s music and jazz but also loves rock, I found this album to satisfy my every need and grant my every wish. I was hoping Kinky Boots would inspire Brendon enough to write a musical himself, and I think this is the closest thing to    The entire album is a huge FU to the music industry and a lovely shout-out to his mom.

    As a musical and Broadway fan, as well as someone who really enjoys 50s music and jazz but also loves rock, I found this album to satisfy my every need and grant my every wish. I was hoping Kinky Boots would inspire Brendon enough to write a musical himself, and I think this is the closest thing to it.

    And as a bonus to the amazing instrumentals, he has some intriguing and genius double-sided one-liners in every song. The lyrical work isn’t his best, but it really doesn’t show. The music is too swallowing to notice. It’s a magical experience.    … Expand
  9. blvckcattears
    Jun 25, 2018
    9
    As a HUGE Panic! fan I have to say that Brendon did a good job, however, this is not my favorite album. I was hoping something more like "Too weird to live, too rare to die" which is my favorite album yet. I think we can all agree that Brendon being all alone did an outstanding job. He worked really hard on all his songs and it is amazing how he can still write, produce and execute all hisAs a HUGE Panic! fan I have to say that Brendon did a good job, however, this is not my favorite album. I was hoping something more like "Too weird to live, too rare to die" which is my favorite album yet. I think we can all agree that Brendon being all alone did an outstanding job. He worked really hard on all his songs and it is amazing how he can still write, produce and execute all his music alone after his band leaving. All the songs are catchy and have really good music. I don't like the heavy pop feeling you get when you listen to it. But it is definitely one of his best albums. I just can't see how this album "connects" to Brendon, is just something I've never seen before in his music. I was hoping for more punk and rock and basically got the opposite. But overall a very good album, most of the songs make me feel really nostalgic and young.… Expand
  10. immormino14
    Jun 25, 2018
    10
    The Album´s beats are sickening, It makes it so easy, fun and entertainment to listen, It sound so jazzy, and mainstream at the same time, The vocals are insane, without any doubt this album is one of their best works of the band
  11. NoahRoss
    Jul 4, 2018
    5
    This is Panic! At The Disco, but I have to admit this is probably the weakest release under the name. The songs all sound (mostly) the same and there really is nothing unique about this album. Despite having catchy tunes, this is not “Death of a Bachelor” quality as we should now expect. Over all, I think Pray For The Wicked is meh.
  12. JessD
    Jul 8, 2018
    10
    Very cool album !! much better than the previous one!
    every song is a masterpiece!
    every song is history !!
    best, best, best !!
  13. camp3stre
    Jul 30, 2018
    9
    i was reading the comments, and it seems that everyone thinks that the album is trash, but for me is a really good album, i mean the lyrics are really good and you can see the transition between this album and "Death of a Bachelor", but I still prefer the last one, I think maybe that, for example, "The Overpass" and "Old Fashinoed" are tracks that probably shouldn't be on the album,i was reading the comments, and it seems that everyone thinks that the album is trash, but for me is a really good album, i mean the lyrics are really good and you can see the transition between this album and "Death of a Bachelor", but I still prefer the last one, I think maybe that, for example, "The Overpass" and "Old Fashinoed" are tracks that probably shouldn't be on the album, because I think that they are a little bit of trash #sorrynotsorry, in overall is a good album, enjoyable.… Expand
  14. danamartens
    Aug 1, 2018
    10
    i feel that Brendon has put a lot of thought into this album and that he has tapped into his own life to write this album and that each song is one of his stories. i think that it is very lyrical and he has put a lot of thought into the album and that it means a lot to him. i think that there sound has changed a lot and that Brendon has matured with his lyrics and his writing style andi feel that Brendon has put a lot of thought into this album and that he has tapped into his own life to write this album and that each song is one of his stories. i think that it is very lyrical and he has put a lot of thought into the album and that it means a lot to him. i think that there sound has changed a lot and that Brendon has matured with his lyrics and his writing style and just the music in general, but i feel this album is a big change and that it is a great album to listen to.… Expand
  15. StavoSwift13
    Aug 18, 2018
    8
    Un álbum lleno contrastes que te deja con buen sabor de boca. Ritmos y letras movidos y pegadizos pero sin perder el estilo y poner letras bofas y sosas. Son letras con un mensaje una historia que nos deja por demás claro que los artistas no son personas mágicas que se salvan de todo lo malo, al contrario pueden sufrirlas igual. Top 5 (Sin Orden): 1.Say Amen (Saturday Night) 2. High HopesUn álbum lleno contrastes que te deja con buen sabor de boca. Ritmos y letras movidos y pegadizos pero sin perder el estilo y poner letras bofas y sosas. Son letras con un mensaje una historia que nos deja por demás claro que los artistas no son personas mágicas que se salvan de todo lo malo, al contrario pueden sufrirlas igual. Top 5 (Sin Orden): 1.Say Amen (Saturday Night) 2. High Hopes 3. One Of The Drunks 4. Roaring 20s 5. Old Fashioned. Si fuera más exacto le daría 8.5 al álbum… Expand
  16. sniehaus21
    Sep 19, 2018
    9
    Urie's sixth album combines all the positive elements of Panic!'s previous albums into a breathtaking arrangement, though there are only 11 tracks. From the the transcending vocals on "Dying in LA" to the flapper feeling of "Roaring 20s", Brendon Urie displays once again his knack for crafting a song for everyone. While "High Hopes" and "Say Amen (Saturday Night)" have been moreUrie's sixth album combines all the positive elements of Panic!'s previous albums into a breathtaking arrangement, though there are only 11 tracks. From the the transcending vocals on "Dying in LA" to the flapper feeling of "Roaring 20s", Brendon Urie displays once again his knack for crafting a song for everyone. While "High Hopes" and "Say Amen (Saturday Night)" have been more prominently in the limelight, there is not a single song on this album that is less than what we have come to expect from Urie's powerful vocals and songwriting. The diversity between tracks displays many different aspects of music, and the heavy influence of strings and brass instruments add a certain class to the music that many of his previous albums have not contained. My only qualm is that most of his songs are about similar topics and have the same bone structure, but all in all, this is, in my opinion, Urie's culminating and best album.… Expand
  17. ClaireE
    Oct 24, 2018
    10
    The best summer release!
    the best album of panic!
    Each song is a whole story, vocals are beyond praise!
  18. AnnieBitencourt
    Jun 22, 2018
    7
    Muita música pra dançar com mescla de diversos outros ritmos. Com destaque pra Old Fashioned que pra mim é uma das melhores.
    Dying In LA é uma boa baladinha, destaca bastante a voz do Brendon.
    Poderia ter tido mais músicas, meia hora de album é muito pouco pra 2 anos de espera
  19. Alexwinter
    Jun 23, 2018
    10
    This is absolutely perfect album!
    Each song is different from the other, each song has its own style! There is not one weak or pass-through track! Experiments with sounding are very cool! Instrumentation is very professional and gives a special charm! Texts as always on top!
    the album turned out to be as cool as DOAB, and somewhere it's even more interesting than DOAB.
  20. cerebeliac
    Jun 23, 2018
    6
    I was looking forward to this Panic album for a while, so you can imagine my disappointment when I heard this pop/trap/electro swing(?) album instead. It's not a bad album by any means, but it's not great either. I'm all for artists changing up their style with every release, heck it's what this band is known for, but this just sounds like a watered down version of their last release.
  21. jemesc
    Jun 29, 2018
    10
    This album, at a first listen, wasn't really that great. After many listens, however, it became apparent how amazing it actually is.
  22. MrDelphin
    Jun 22, 2018
    9
    This is one of my favourite albums so far. Like all the previous albums, Pray For The Wicked is unique and I feel that these songs mantain the essence of Death Of A Bachelor with more energy (and less jazz). But i just don't get the concept from this album yet.
  23. 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
  24. Guzaman
    Jun 22, 2018
    10
    Pray For The Wicked is the perfect successor for the exhilarant, superb and grandiloquent Death of a Bachelor (and like its predecessor, it shares the same adjectives). More danceable, with funk, Broadway and groovy influences, if you are ready to continue the awesome ride of brass sections mixed with Brendon majestic voice, then this is the album for you.
  25. DarkTitan9174
    Jun 22, 2018
    5
    Panic! are band that I currently have a somewhat difficult relationship with. I would say that their best album is probably Pretty Odd, because to some extent it lives up to its title, especially considering how much it deviated from Fever. Vices had great instrumentation but kind of poor lyrics. Too Weird To Live and Death of a Bachelor have both been fun, but are lacking that realPanic! are band that I currently have a somewhat difficult relationship with. I would say that their best album is probably Pretty Odd, because to some extent it lives up to its title, especially considering how much it deviated from Fever. Vices had great instrumentation but kind of poor lyrics. Too Weird To Live and Death of a Bachelor have both been fun, but are lacking that real tangible depth - yet I still find myself coming back to quite a few of the songs off of them. However, after the departure of a high amount of members and resulting in Brendon Urie effectively becoming Panic! at the Disco, a very clear new sound was emerging, seeds of which were sown into Bachelor. I feel this has now cultivated in Pray For The Wicked, Panic!'s sixth album that almost completely abandons Panic!'s roots and essentially makes a Brendon Urie pop album. I don't necessarily think that this is a bad thing - pop albums can be good, given it has a heart. However, I just don't feel there's a whole lot of heart to any aspect of Pray For The Wicked.

    To start with the positives, songs are typically catchy. Brendon is always such a performer, and some songs like Say Amen, King of the Clouds, The Overpass and **** A) Silver Lining have a good sense of grandeur without sacrificing heart. However, it's this seeming emphasis on grandeur and bombastic sounding production that is to the album's detriment, likely a result of Brendon's time in Broadway. Though they may sound like they're out of a musical, they might be out of an average musical.

    Some songs made my face actually sort of scrunch up, considering what the hell I was listening to in the context of a band that had built themselves off of punk pop rock and at least instrumentation. 2018's trapscape seeps even into this album, and some of the performances here are semi-questionable.

    Pray For The Wicked is not necessarily bad. It's just painfully average and just lacks any real heart to it. It feels hollow. An album that seems to try to please everyone seems to ultimately please no one.    … Expand
  26. DnaiPop
    Jun 23, 2018
    10
    Bden veio com uma coisa bastante diferente, e isso eh ótimo. Enfim, AOTY e nada mais importa se não for a minha opinião
  27. taboretoo
    Jun 22, 2018
    7
    I really loved it! This is the next logical step for Brendon and he did it really well. My favorite off this album is Roaring 20s which is the best song I heard since Lorde's Melodrama release. Amazing.
  28. JKScott289
    Jun 22, 2018
    9
    Brendon hizo un gran trabajo. Cada vez suena más renovado. Justo lo que se espera, un trabajo dramático, honesto e innovador que cierra con una fantástica balada.
  29. Hipstersnob
    Jun 24, 2018
    6
    A fun album that just doesn't quite manage to keep you emotionally invested. Well produced, catchy songs though.
  30. Ariagags
    Jun 23, 2018
    10
    This album is absolute genius! From the brassy horns to the sweet strings, and Brendon Urie's magnificent voice that was clearly displayed, the album performs so highly on so many levels. From jazzy hits like "The Overpass" to a somber, beautiful piano printed track, "Dying in LA", the album is consistent, and will guarantee you to have your head bobbing, and body dancing. It is honestlyThis album is absolute genius! From the brassy horns to the sweet strings, and Brendon Urie's magnificent voice that was clearly displayed, the album performs so highly on so many levels. From jazzy hits like "The Overpass" to a somber, beautiful piano printed track, "Dying in LA", the album is consistent, and will guarantee you to have your head bobbing, and body dancing. It is honestly so awesome to hear how far Brendon has come as an artist over the years, and how he has improved so much vocally. Like he stated in the 2005 hit from their debut album, "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out" he swore to shake it up, and we swore to listen. I can't wait to hear more material from the band, and how their musical evolution will continue to impress not just me, but so many others.… Expand
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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
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