Political punk icons, Anti-Flag, are releasing their new album, 20/20 Vision, next Friday, January 17th, on Spinefarm Records, and today they've shared one more preview with their biting new single "The Disease."
The track finds the long-running band at their best, seamlessly merging the energy and passion of their music with uncompromising sociopolitical commentary. The song's accompanying music video highlights the dystopian unease and paranoia lurking beneath the surface of modern culture.
Watch the "The Disease" music video via YouTube:
For over two decades Anti-Flag have been at the forefront of socially conscious punk rock, tirelessly releasing music, touring, organizing, and introducing generations of fans to progressivism through fiery protest songs. With 20/20 Vision the Pittsburgh, PA based band prove that they have plenty of vitriol left, aiming to face the challenges of our chaotic sociopolitical times head on. The band pull no punches lyrically, immediately drawing a line in the sand against the fascistic hate mongering of the Trump administration and making it clear that 20/20 Vision is an album intended to explicitly address the here and now.
Anti-Flag bassist/vocalist Chris#2 explained the new song, saying:
"'The Disease' is an interesting song for us lyrically. We’re actively trying to use verbiage and the language of the powerful to describe our commonality. Our usual approach would have us
calling out social inequity in our own terms, but for this song we chose to take ownership of their words.
In a moment of the largest wealth divide in history, these people do see the poor as a disease, a plague on their society. The neoliberalism and globalization that has led us here is
causing people to see their neighbors, immigrants, refugees as their enemies and has propped up false populists to power. Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, the AFD, these people are not
anti-establishment, they’re millionaires and billionaires who have so little in common with real people.
As we face another chapter in the endless war, politicians send the poor, young men and women to fight, kill, and die as cannon fodder for their war based economies. This song is a call to have
soldiers all over the globe, lay down their weapons. Refuse to fight in unjust wars for corporate greed. To see that at this moment we have far more in common with the people of Iran than we do
the perpetrators of the propaganda that they are our enemies.
'We are the roll call, of the pursuit.'"
