‘Disease’ Is Lady Gaga’s Long-awaited Return To Glitz And Gore

Aptly being released during the Halloween season, ‘Disease’ sees a return to the glitzy gory Gaga of her ‘The Fame Monster’ and ‘Born This Way’ eras. In recent years, she has moved towards various different genres: jazz with Tony Bennet, power ballads with Bruno Mars and most recently musical theatre with ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’. But her newest release seems to mark the return of the weird and wonderful in Lady Gaga’s expansive discography.

The single is full of iconic theatrical Gaga vocals, powerful and passionate as she belts out the chorus. Her use of growling and raspy vocals sounds similar to rock legends like Joan Jett and Janis Joplin, and it emphasises the anger and tensions Gaga is releasing throughout the song. She describes the single as being about “facing that fear, facing myself and my inner darkness” and “dancing, morphing, running, purging” which is reflected in the raw emotion of her voice and its evocative lyrics. 

Lines like “Poison on the inside / I could be your antidote tonight” suggests an inner turmoil in facing different versions of herself. In the music video, directed by Tanu Muino, we see various Gaga’s fighting, dancing and attempting to kill each other with each scene showcasing a new and increasingly dark character. The lyrics also explore themes of chaos and claustrophobia which she explains on her Instagram post; this is materialised in the video where we see walls closing in on one of Gaga’s many variants. 

Gaga’s almost eerie vocals give the single a sinister dimension by building the sounds in the pre-chorus and creating an ominous atmosphere. Minor chords and synths blend with the pulsating drum beat which gives an upbeat life force to the song despite the connotations of death and disease in its lyrics.

Overall, the track is a grungy pop hit that would not sound out of place on ‘Born This Way’ or her earlier works and brings about lots of excitement for her 7th studio album on the horizon.

Isabel McDermott

@Isabel_mcdermott_

Image: ‘Disease’ Official Single Cover