Black Veil Brides Cover Bruce Springsteen’s Police Shooting Song ‘American Skin’

Black Veil Brides have been actively weighing in on the human rights and racial equality conversation over the last few weeks, and now they're letting the music do some of the talking. The band has covered Bruce Springsteen's "American Skin (41 Shots)," a song that was initially recorded in the aftermath of Amadou Diallo's shooting death at the hand of four New York City police officers in 1999.

In explaining their decision to cover the track, the band state, "'American Skin (41 Shots)' is a song originally written and performed by Bruce Springsteen inspired by the police shooting and death of a young black man named Amadou Diallo in New York City in the late 90’s. Tragically the subject matter of this song is as relevant today as it’s ever been and so we wanted to share with you our own rendition of this song and urge you to donate to support the movement for justice and anti racist organizations."

They continue, "While obviously a song alone will not be an inflection point for societal change, we as artists wanted to share something in support of this incredibly important time in history and direct you to organizations who are at the forefront of effecting real change and fighting against the systemic oppression and racism that the black community and poc face every single day."

The band concludes, "We are not interested in making any money from this song and instead we ask that if you enjoy it please consider donating to one of the many organizations that can be found here. Thank you for listening. #blacklivesmatter."

Black Veil Brides' cover of Bruce Springsteen's "American Skin (41 Shots)" can be heard at this location.

Among the organizations the band is suggesting donations to are Black Lives Matter, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Color of Change, Center for Black Equity, George Floyd Memorial Fund, Justice for Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery Memorial Fund and the ACLU.