Biography

               


Five Finger Death Punch, often abbreviated FFDP or 5FDP is a popular heavy metal band formed in LA in 2005. Producing a style of music often referred to as groove metal, the band has had a significant impact on reviving heavy metal in the 2000s. 5FDP didn't release their debut album, The Way of the Fist, until 2007, yet already has three gold albums, including the debut, and has virtually lived on album sales charts all around the world. 5FDP's popularity on radio, meanwhile, has prompted dozens of stations around the country to alter their format and fueled a resurgence in the popularity of metal music. 5FDP was formed with members of other bands, including W.A.S.P., Motograter, UPO and Ghost Machine, though the band has left such an indelible imprint on modern music that they will likely be most closely associated with 5FDP.


Five Finger Death Punch was formed in 2005 by former U.P.O. bassist Zoltan Bathory and drummer Jeremy Spencer. The group was named Five Finger Death Punch, borrowing a term used in classic martial arts films. Bathory made the decision to play guitar in the new band, and bassist Mike Snell was next to join, in early 2006. Bathory then turned his attention to finding a frontman, inviting former Motograter vocalist Ivan L. "Ghost" Moody several tracks he had written. Despite being active with his own band, Ghost Machine, Moody liked what he heard and flew from his Denver home to join 5FDP. A second guitarist was added in Darrel Roberts, formerly of W.A.S.P. and Tuff, and the initial lineup of Five Finger was in place. By early 2007, the band had finished laying down its debut album, and was shopping demos to find a record deal. An agreement was reached with Firm Music, and prep work started for the band's official launch.


Three weeks before dropping their debut, 5FDP released a maxi-single of the album's track, "The Bleeding". Appropriately entitled "Pre-Emptive Strike," the release contained the album version of the song plus an acoustic version, as well as a live version of "The Devils Own," also on the album. The release was only made available as a digital download on Apple's iTunes store, however, so the band's growing legion of fans was still ravenous for a physical release from the band. That hunger was sated on July 31, 2007, when The Way of the Fist was unleashed on a metal community yearning for new blood. The album was an instant success, selling 5,400 copies in the US in its first week to land on the Billboard 200 albums chart at No. 199. The album would eventually climb to the top of Billboard's Heatseekers chart, peak at No. 107 on the Billboard 200, reach No. 16 on the US Hard Rock albums chart and reach No. 28 on the Finnish chart. The single "The Bleeding" was well received as well, reaching No. 9 on the Mainstream rock songs chart. A video was released for the single, receiving heavy airplay from MTV.


With The Way of the Fist moving up the charts, 5FDP embarked on their first extensive tour, supporting Korn from August to October, 2007. The band were scheduled to tour with Chimera and All That Remains in January 2008, but Moody developed cysts on his vocal chords, forcing the band to pull out. Moody made a quick recovery and the band toured the US with Disturbed in April and May. The Way of the Fist was reissued on May, 2008 with 3 new tracks, including "Never Enough", which became the album's second single. Released on July 15th of that year, "Never Enough" reached No. 9 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart, and the accompanying video was placed in heavy rotation on MTV. A video was also released for the album's title track; and a third single, "Stranger than Fiction," was released in September, reaching No. 16 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart. 5FDP continued to tour, notching their first festival appearances as part of the 2008 Mayhem festival. The band wrapped up its support tour for The Way of the Fist by playing the main stage of the Download Festival in the UK in June 2009.

Darrell Roberts was dismissed as 5FDP's second guitarist in early 2009, and a replacement found in Jason Hook, whose resume included with with the Bulletboys, the Vince Neil Band and Alice Cooper. Hook had worked with 5FDP's Jeremy Spencer in 2007, when the drummer contributed to Hook's solo instrumental record, "American Justice." The new lineup hit the studio in April 2009 to begin working on a follow-up to their hugely successful debut. War Is the Answer was released on September 22, 2009, quickly becoming the band's first Top 10 album with a No. 7 debut on the Billboard 200. Unlike their self-produced debut, War Is the Answer was helmed by producer Kevin Churko, known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne and In This Moment. Six singles would eventually be released from the album, with four of those reaching the Top 10 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs chart. One of those singles was a cover of the eponymous classic from Bad Company. Videos were released for "Hard to See" and "Bad Company", both receiving a healthy rotation on MTV.


With their second album climbing the charts, 5FDP launched their first global headlining tour, dubbed the "The Shock and Raw" tour. Support for the tour came from Shadows Fall, with Otep and 2Cents opening US dates and Rise to Remain and Magnacult opening shows in the UK. After the tour, the band were invited to take part in some USO shows, playing 10 shows in Iraq in March 2010. The band spent the rest of summer 2010 taking part in a number of festivals, including the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals in Germany. They also landed a spot on the main stage at the 2010 Mayhem festival tour, wrapping on August 14th, then performed live on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! Show on August 17th. The band's last support for War Is the Answer came in the form of an opening slot for Godsmack in October 2010. Bassist Matt Snell would leave the band in December 2010, while their third album was being recorded, though his replacement Chris Kael wouldn't be revealed until the following June.




Five Finger Death Punch - Jimmy Kimmel Live!


Work on the third Five Finger Death Punch album began in November, 2011 at The Hideout studio in Las Vegas, Nevada, with Kevin Churko behind the console again. The album was released almost a year later, on October 11, 2011, continuing the success of its predecessor. Titled "American Capitalist," the album more than doubled the first-week sales of 5FDP's second album, moving 90,000 copies in the US alone to debut at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. Six of the album's eleven tracks were released as singles, including the band's first No. 1 hit "Coming Down." Videos were released for that single, "Under and Over It," Remember Everything" and "The Pride," all receiving plenty of attention from MTV. With the album's release, the band went back out on the road, touring the US with All That Remains and Hatebreed from October through December. They then spent March and April 2012 on the road with Soulfly and Windowpane, finishing the summer out taking part in Metal Hammer's "Trespass Across America" tour with contemporaries Killswitch Engage and Trivium.


In February, 2013, Five Finger Death Punch began working on its fourth studio album, revealing in May that they had written so many new songs they would release two albums that year. Like Guns n Roses had done with 1991, the band would release a pair of albums in 2013 but titled them Volum 1 and 2 of the same title so they would be considered part of the same effort. Titled The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1 was released on July 30, 2013, with Volume 2 hitting stores on November 19th. Both albums were well received, with each reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the US Rock and US Hard Rock charts, while also reaching the Top 10 on charts in a number of European countries. The only single from Volume 1 was the track "Lift Me Up," which featured a contribution from legendary Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford. The single rose to the top of the US Mainstream Rock Songs and Hard Rock charts, while also charting in Canada and the UK, all without a video being released.






Volume 2 of The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell was released November 19, 2013, with its lead single "Battle Born" introduced a couple months earlier. Chart positioning was nearly identical for the two records, though Vol. 2 for some reason failed to chart in Finland, the first foreign market the band ever charted in. "Battle Born" reached No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart, while also rising high on several international charts. The double-album's final single was a cover of the traditional folk song "House of the Rising Sun," and it, too rose to the top of the Mainstream Rock Songs chart. Videos were released for "Battle Born" and "House of the Rising Sun" and both have been played fairly extensively on MTV. At the end of 2013, Five Finger Death Punch revealed they were working on a sixth studio album, tentatively scheduled for an early 2015 release.