UK grime-punk sensation Bob Vylan have just premiered a brand new video for their explosive track ‘Northen Line‘. The song was featured on the duo’s debut album We Live Here released earlier this summer via Venn Records and available to order as digital download, CD and LP only through their official Bandcamp page and label store. For reasons shared below, Bob Vylan have not added the album on the usual streaming services, but ‘Northern Line‘ was featured as brand new release today on all platforms, alongside the first two singles ‘We Live Here‘ and ‘England’s Enging‘.
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.
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.
