The ‘Ban Bob Vylan’ tour, which was supposed to commence on May 12th in Boston and was set to span both the USA and Canada, and would have seen the all-female grunge/sludge/punk New York outfit Jigsaw Youth accompany them, would have been the duo’s first tour outside of the UK.

Unfortunately the America & Canada tour has been pulled due to visa issues. These things happen, it’s incredibly frustrating but there is nothing we can do at the moment. Apologies to everyone that bought tickets to see us out there with @jigsawyouthband hopefully see you soon.

— Bob Vylan (@BobbyVylan) May 2, 2023

Sadly though, Bob Vylan become yet another victim of the ever-increasingly difficult US visa processing system. Already a long, complicated and expensive process (that perhaps holds a political bias against certain acts, particularly in this case given Bob Vylan’s politically charged lyrics are at the forefront of their music), getting into the US as a non-US musician will very soon be even tougher with the announcement earlier this year that the US Department of Homeland Security plans to increase the cost of a special music visa by 250%, with the “P” visa jumping from £375 per person to a staggering £1317 per person.

The #LetTheMusicMove campaign, initially started by the Music Managers Forum and the Featured Artists Coalition in order to combat increasing tour costs due to post-brexit visa costs, has now shifted its attention to the ugly US visa price hike, with groups such as New Order, Idles and Primal Scream, to name a few, voicing their disdain for the proposed changes.

Fresh off the back of a hugely successful 2022, in which their second album, Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life, was released and capped off with winning the first ever Best Alternative Music Act award at the MOBOs in December, Bob Vylan would have undoubtedly been looking to continue their proliferating momentum with this unprecedented North American tour, introducing their wholly unique style, which incorporates hard-hitting social and political commentary with the merging of grime rap with punk rock, to the American and Canadian masses for the first time.

Watch the music video for “We Live Here” below:

While the British response to the rise of Bob Vylan in the very recent past has been a spectacularly positive one (drawing huge crowds at festivals they play and seeing their second album slot straight in to number 18 in the UK Albums Chart upon its release), the reaction from across the pond is largely yet to witnessed.

Given Afro-punk’s popularity in North America, however, with bands such as Bad Brains and Rage Against the Machine achieving success in the aforementioned alternative genre, Bob Vylan will surely be welcomed with open arms in the punk community stateside when they are eventually allowed to play there, particularly given how some of Bob Vylan’s favourite topics (police brutality, racism and income inequality) will no doubt resonate well with those who believe that said issues are strongly present in Canadian and, perhaps more so, American society.

Hip-hop, punk and hardcore have been merging successfully for a while now and we are long past the days of causing riots by mixing fiery bars and distorted guitars. One could go back and thank veterans Rage Against The Machine’s very own Zack de la Rocha, hardcore legends Dog Eat Dog and Body Count, the late 90s nu metal wave, and more recently bands like Letlive, Fire From The Gods, Fever333 and many more for making the idea of rapping over heavy music relevant and successful. The genre might be well established now, but with Bob Vylan the scene have gained a controversial modern voice, louder then the rest and not afraid to scream and rap about the issues that really matter, regardless of who could get offended or shocked.

‘Northern Line‘ is an instant modern post-hardcore classic, with perfect balance between Bob Vylan’s grime sensibility and chaotic distorted guitars and punky riffs. The video does the track justice, reinforcing the apocalyptic feel and alarming message, and is certain to resonate with many people given the state of the world right now. The video is directed by Dylan Hayes, alongside Owain Morgan as Director of Photography, both of them reuniting after also making the brilliant music clip for the grime-punk duo’s ‘England’s Ending‘ that premiered in August 2020.

Curiously, the song and video have been made way before the COVID-19 pandemic started, even though the track sounds extremely appropriate today, as England has just entered it’s second nation-wide lockdown. In an Instagram post from earlier today, singer/rapper Bobby Vylan discussed the track’s origins and lyrical themes, reflecting his personal and collective social anxiety in the UK and the USA, and calling out the “continued fearmongering in mainstream media”. Whether it was done before or during the global crysis, the lyrics “The world’s not safe, don’t come outside / you might not make it home tonight” are bound to remain scarily relevant for months to come.

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Northern line video and merch collection out now, link in bio. Directed by @dylanrhayes DOP – @o_e_morgan

Публикация, споделена от Bob Vylan (@bobbyvylan) на Ное 6, 2020 в 2:22 PST

Bob Vylan have been making a name for themselves for few years now, shocking record labels and causing an outrage in media with their outspoken lyrics adn attitude. In an exclusive interview for NME, the band stated:

“Multiple people in the industry have said that it’s too extreme. If I was to meet this much resistance doing anything else and something that wasn’t so based around social commentary, then I don’t know if I would continue. Because I’d start to think maybe that what I’m doing is wrong. But this opposition is something that we’ve had at every level”

Against all odds, Bob Vylan recorded and released their debut album We Live Here earlier this year through Venn Records (run by the founder of Watford hardcore favourites Gallows) where they bravely highlighted “racial inequality, police brutality and a flawed political system“. Following the record’s digital and physical release, Bob Vylan made a statement about not adding it to streaming platform as it tackled “personal struggles and the struggles of our community and [they would] not have that art devalued“.

We have a new project out today on Bandcamp only! It will NOT be on streaming services. Our music concerns itself with personal struggles and the struggles of our community and we will not have that art devalued! Please support & enjoy – Love Bobby https://t.co/qOJ06vti4a

— Bob Vylan (@BobbyVylan) June 5, 2020

Next year, Bob Vylan are playing the 2000Trees festival, supporting Thrice on Friday 9 July 2021 alongside Young Guns, Boston Manor, Dream State and many more.