Slaughter Survivors Tour is Not a Tour Full of Rejects

Conducting From the Grave, The Contortionist, Scale the Summit, Rings of Saturn, and Volumes and Structures will embark on the Slaughter Survivors tour this summer. Each band has at least one thing in common: none of them won the Facebook fan voting competition to fill the opening slot on the fifth annual Summer Slaughter tour. Rather than hang their heads in shame about being "so close yet so far" to the Summer Slaughter lineup, the bands decided to be ambitious and book their own damn tour!

Conducting From the Grave and The Contortionist will co-headline the tour, which begins on July 21st.

Conducting From the Grave guitarist Jeff Morgan elaborated on the guerrilla nature of the Slaughter Survivor tour. "The tour is meant to feature the top bands that were in the running to open this year's Summer Slaughter tour but did not make it," he said. "I know, I know at first that sounds like a tour full of rejects, but it is actually going to be a very strong lineup, and the tour will enable us to play some cities that we haven't commonly played in the past as well as play to a crowd who might be a little intimidated or disheartened by a bigger tour like Summer Slaughter."

Morgan says he is not bitter about being the first runner up for Summer Slaughter. "The winner was determined solely by fan-vote. We took second place out of 11 bands. When we heard about the idea to do a Slaughter Survivors tour, we were stoked. We feel this tour will definitely be a better experience for us than Summer Slaughter would have been.

"Being able to play a headlining slot is something we've been looking forward to for awhile. It will mean being able to play for a crowd who more directly reflects our own fan base, although we hope all of the exposure this tour is getting will bring in some new listeners as well. Headlining will also mean being able to play a longer set, since short set-times were something we have previously heard a lot of complaints about from long-time fans. If you are one of those people, this is your chance to see us in all our glory!"

Morgan is excited about getting back on the road, since the band has been off tour for a few months after wrapping their trek with Kataklysm and All Shall Perish. "We've only had the chance to do less than a handful of tours in support of our most recent release, 'Revenants,'" Morgan said. "We are also a band who loves being on the road and getting the chance to be face-to-face with our fans. Of course the road has its woes -- gas prices, summer heat, smelly dudes, lack of money/beer -- but it's always a blast and worth every second to be able to get on that stage every night."

Morgan combats that always-problematic "smelly dudes" issue that plagues summer tours by bringing baby wipes on the road. "Those things are a stinky dude's best friend when you get drenched in sweat every night and sleep in a van that smells like death and only get a chance to shower once every few days," he said. "Baby wipes are the defining difference between transient and touring musician. Absolutely necessary."

For those of you keeping trac at home, Within the Ruins won the fan-voted contest and nabbed the opening slot on Summer Slaughter.

The Slaughter Survivors tour dates are as follows:

THU 7/21 Hollywood, CA @ Key Club w/ Dawn of Ashes

FRI 7/22 Tucson, AZ @ The Rock

SAT 7/23 Gallup, NM @ The Juggernaut

SUN 7/24 Lubbock, TX @ Jake's

MON 7/25 Austin, TX @ Emo's

WED 7/27 Orlando, FL @ Firestone

THU 7/28 St Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre

FRI 7/29 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade

SAT 7/30 Springfield, VA @ Jaxx

SUN 7/31 Trenton, NJ @ Backstage at Champs

WED 8/03 Wilmington, DE @ Mojo 13

THU 8/04 Amityville, NY @ Broadway Bar

FRI 8/05 Holyoke, MA @ Waterfront Tavern

SAT 8/06 Amsterdam, NY @ Elks Hall 101

SUN 8/07 Jermyn, PA @ Eleanor Rigby's

MON 8/08 Covington, KY @ The Mad Hatter

WED 8/10 Indianapolis, IN @ Emerson Theater

THU 8/11 Steger, IL @ Another Hole In the Wall

FRI 8/12 St. Paul, MN @ Station 4

SAT 8/13 Des Moines, IA @ People's Court

SUN 8/14 Omaha, NE @ Sokol Underground

MON 8/15 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater

TUE 8/16 Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue

THU 8/18 Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction

FRI 8/19 Sacramento, CA @ The Boardwalk

SAT 8/20 Sparks, NV @ The Alley

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