August 7th will mark the final chapter for the group Slaves as their upcoming album, To Better Days, will be the last under the moniker. Following the Black Lives Movement, the band has decided to change their name as they feel it neglects to take ownership of its racial connotations. Initially, the group picked the name, “Slaves” to reference substance abuse and how they become “enslaved by our addictions and our own demons.”
The group issued the following statement:
“As individuals, as well as a collective, we hold certain virtues close to our hearts – honesty and transparency with our fans being some of the most important. Early on in the process of writing and recording the new album ‘To Better Days‘, we discussed what this new iteration of our band should sound like, what it should look like, as well as what it should be called. We decided then, this would be our last release under the name ‘Slaves‘. The name ‘Slaves‘ was conceived as a reference to the band’s battle with substance abuse in the past, to the idea that we become enslaved by our addictions and by our own demons. Our goal has always been to tackle these difficult subjects head on, as well as to build a community and share stories of hope to let others know that their inner demons can be defeated. However, this definition of the name neglects to take ownership of its racial connotations. As obstinate supporters of the BLM movement, we cannot continue to tour our music and our positive message to a word associated with such negative weight and hurt. ‘To Better Days‘ will represent the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another for the band. This is something we have been planning for a while and are excited to start unveiling new music, new name, later this year. We are thankful to our fans that continue to stick by us and we look forward to sharing this new era with you moving forward.
With love and gratitude,
Colin, Felipe, Matt, Weston, Zack“
Following the band’s announcement, they released the below video for their new single “Like I Do”
