What Is The Panic! At The Disco Museum? Fans Are Trying To Decode The Mysterious New Website

3 July 2018, 17:37

Brendon Urie
Picture: Getty/Michael Loccisano/Panicatthemuseum
Nicky Idika

By Nicky Idika

Okay, put your detective hats on because this has A LOT of layers.

The Pray For The Wicked era is proving to be a very intriguing one for Panic! At The Disco fans. Whether it's secret potatoes in the mail or surprise pop up shows, Panic! fans are getting a fair bit of love from Brendon and his team.

Last week, Brendon announced that he was developing a human rights organisation called The Highest Hopes Foundation.

This week, Panic fans are hard at work trying to decode a brand new Panic At The Museum digital exhibit.

So, what is the Panic! At The Disco museum and what does it all mean?

We've seen the likes of Years & Years and Halsey create online "treasure hunt" experiences for their fans. Last year's Hopeless Fountain Kingdom saw Halsey drop countdown clocks and GPS coordinates ahead of key announcements for the album.

Panic! At The Disco's museum is referencing things from this era as well as teasing content that will only be made available on certain dates. As of July 3rd, only four "special exhibits" are available, with five more opening up in the coming days.

The first exhibit, 'GIFs for the wicked' asks fans to decode the meaning hidden within a special message from Brendon. Hint: consult your album tracklist to crack this one.

GIFs for the wicked
Picture: Panic At The Museum

The second exhibit, "PO-TA-TOE, PO-TAT-TOE" is pretty much a showcase of different types of potatoes, their nutritional facts and subtle tidbits like "you say po-tat-toe, I say po-ta-toe... just say your prayers. This Russet is best utilized for praying for the wicked on the weekend."

This is, of course, a reference to that normal time that Brendon sent fans potatoes in the mail.

A video for 'Dancing's Not A Crime' is also available in the digital museum.

Panic! At The Disco: Dancing's Not A Crime

Panic! At The Disco: Dancing's Not A Crime

00:03:56

The rest of the site is filled with PATD related gifs and images as well as links leading to tour information, newsletter subscriptions, and more.

The Devil's key, however, seems to be the focal point of the whole exercise. The Devils key is the last exhibit that will be revealed on the site on July 9 and it's also been referenced before.

What is Panic! at The Disco's Devil's key?

Brendon has been referencing the devils key since the 'Say Amen (Saturday Night)' video which dropped back in March. Here it is in the news broadcast at the start of 'Say Amen (Saturday Night)' video.

The Devil's Key
Picture: Fueled By Ramen/Panic At The Disco

And here it is again around Brendon's neck in the same video.

Brendon Urie Say Amen music video
Picture: Fueled By Ramen/Panic At The Disco

The back story of the key is basically that it is a stolen Mayan artifact with untold power. At the end of the Say Amen video, the key is ripped from Brendon's neck.

There are a bit more context clues to throw into the mix here, though.The news anchor in the Say Amen video is Australian and, in the top left corner of the site reads a sign that says "Melbourne Museum of History".

Panic at the museum
Picture: Panic At The Museum

The lower right hand corner of the site has a link that reads "Gift shop" which specifically sends users to a devil's key poster available for purchase.

Our best bet? A new chapter in the devil's key story will be unveiled on July 9, 2018. A new music video or short film could be made available and could be set in Australia. What will the music video be? King Of The Clouds is a tidy bet but we're open to other suggestions.

What do you guys think Panic! at the Disco are teasing with this digital museum?