Slaves Change Band Name in Support of Black Lives Matter

Slaves have announced they’ll be changing their band name following the release of their fourth album, To Better Days. Slaves cite the racial connotations of their band name along with support for the Black Lives Matter movement as rationale for their decision.

Slaves formed in 2014 shortly after singer Jonny Craig was kicked out of Dance Gavin Dance. Craig later faced multiple allegations of abuse as the #MeToo movement gained momentum and he was ultimately removed from Slaves following a drug relapse roughly a year later.

To Better Days will be Slaves’ first album without Jonny Craig, but also their last album as Slaves. The band announced their decision last night (June 25) on social media:

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 tie 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 death of George Floyd and thousands of BLM protests around the world, Lady Antebellum and the Dixie Chicks changed their names — to Lady A and the Chicks, respectively — due to slavery ties. Debates regarding modern use of the Confederate flag have also raged on, with NASCAR effectively banning it indefinitely.