With a new album on the horizon, Rise Against had plans to cut a music video for the new track "The Violence," but were forced to back out after a board of directors who granted the permit for the shooting location deemed the band's aims as "anti-government."

The veteran punk rockers intended on making a statement with this music video, pairing the question of whether violence in inherent or a choice with an open field littered with busts of U.S. Presidents. Rise Against detailed the issue in a Facebook post, which reads as follows:

As we prepare for the June 9th release of our new record Wolves, we planned to shoot a video for the first single of that record “The Violence.” The song talks about whether violence is an inevitability of the human condition, or whether it's a choice we make, and therefore, can reject. The video would attempt to distill this concept. Our director approached us with the idea of filming in a field full of the Presidential busts (basically the giant concrete heads of Roosevelt, Lincoln, Washington, etc). Our permit to shoot the video was initially granted, but subsequently pulled by the board of directors who oversee the location. The reason? They decided we were ’anti-government.’ We found this location compelling as the President heads represent power on both sides of the aisle. Rise Against has unapologetically spoken truth to power. Today [May 1], as the world celebrates May Day and the international fight for workers rights, we are reminded that over 100 years ago, workers, many of them immigrants, were told to sit down and shut up. We all now enjoy weekends, eight hour workdays, and other protections because they refused to listen to naysayers. Renewed attacks on the most vulnerable in the world in the year 2017 has strengthened our resolve. We plan on being unapologetically loud about it no matter who tells us to pipe down. In that respect, we wear the board's rejection as a badge of honor. We will just find another door to claw at… 'WOLVES' 6/9/2017

In late April, Rise Against announced Wolves (pre-order here) would serve as the successor to 2014's The Black Market and simultaneously released "The Violence." Catch the band on their co-headlining tour with Deftones starting June 9 (the same day as the album's release) with a full list of stops and more information found at our 2017 Guide to Rock + Metal Tours.

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