German black metal band “Aegror” is back with “Reign of Disease” after an 8-year hiatus since their latest release “Dead Man’s Diary”. “Reign of Disease” is a full-length album, but today we’re gonna do a deep dive on the title track.
If you’re not familiar with the band’s themes and the shared narrative thread throughout their work, let me bring you up to speed. The band’s music revolves around themes of disease, given their namesake “Aegror” is Latin for disease. Those themes are centered around a character called “PlagueBreeder” who is a being from another dimension who seeks to spread, dominate, and influence everything in our world, much like a disease. The character also serves as a metaphor for corruption, an inexplicable force for evil, much like in the real world.
“Reign of Disease” explores a dystopian vision of PlagueBreeder’s victory. A world devoid of hope and love, where humanity lives under the control of this one entity, and we are stripped of our ability to make any choices of our own. Enslaved against our will, and anyone who opposes in any way, even within the confines of their own mind, will be punished and led into madness.
An incredibly horrifying vista of injustice is painted, and the horror reaches incomprehensible levels once you realize that it’s not just a fantastical story that is detached from our reality, but one that is entirely possible just through less fantastical means. I believe “Aegror” is using PlagueBreeder as an allegory for Totalitarianism, and that is made obvious in the lyric video of the song, where we can see him influence politicians to create oppressive rules to control and govern everything, including thoughts.
This level of depth to the story is only made possible by the atmosphere of absolute despair that Aegror’s signature melodic post-black metal sound creates. Narthas’s raw screams tear through the impeccable self-produced mix while Abyssus’ screeching chords build up a level of intensity fitting for such a dark narrative.
“Reign of Disease” is an intense experience and one that has left me pondering a lot about the state of our world and the parallels it has with the vivid fictional world they have created in their music. This is a must-listen for anyone who enjoys music with a dark tone. It is out now on all major platforms. And be sure to follow Aegror’s social media so you can be notified when that highly limited vinyl pressing comes out soon.
