u/Litvi

The most straightforward interpretation of "Ego" is that it's a straight-up "diss track", but imo the song is way more nuanced than that.

1. Firstly, the "diss" itself (the one originating from the band, rather than a general narrator) can be interpreted as targeted either towards haters and critics (along the lines of Narcisista) or towards obsessive fans who constantly scruitinize and/or project their expectations onto them. These groups do share some similarities, but are not identical.

2. Then some lines are quite defensive, rather than combatative, in particular:

>Ya lo intenté, ya me cansé - I already tried, I'm tired of it
Si me odias a mí, yo no quiero vivir así - If you hate me, I don't want to live like this
Mi voz se pierde en la lucha - My voice gets lost in the struggle

So within the overall response to the external hostility there's tension between reactive outward aggression and an expression of inner exhaustion / emotional detatchment.

3. Some of the bravado lines also have an over-the-top performative manner about them, e.g.:

>Yo no ladro, yo solo muerdo - I don't bark, I just bite
No es mi culpa que siempre gano - It's not my fault I always win
Yo no lloro, sólo cobro - I don't I cry, I just get paid

Which shifts the tone of the song from a straight-up "I'm the cool level-headed hero of the story dissing you" towards "Look at what I'm having to use as a defensive mechanism, see what this prolonged conflict has turned me into".

4. The key line "a direct attack on the ego" doesn't necessarily mean the song is an attack by the band on the ego of the sources of the external hostility directed at the band; it can also mean the reverse, i.e., the song is about how these sources are attacking the ego of the band.

5. Looking at the song from a general narrator POV, the narrator may be outwardly displaying strength and dominance (attacking others' ego), but this comes with internal emotional strain and hardening (which is the result of the narrator's ego being attacked).

So a more complex interpretation of the song is that "winning" against external attacks of the kind described doesn't come with internal liberation, but quite the opposite - one's own ego becomes one's trap.

Fan cam recording with decent sound!
Set list: More, S!CK, Escapism, Ego, Disciple, Ritual, Sharks, Hell you Call a Dream, Evolve, Kerosene, Automatic Sun
Courtesy of Chris Topher on YouTube.

Interview: 0:00-8:17
Kerosene (acoustic): 8:17-12:02
Courtesy of Gman TW on YouTube.