Diamonds in the Rough 05.17.09: Five Finger Death Punch

Posted by Leo Rivera on 05.17.2009

This band packs enough attitude in their fists to knock your teeth right down your throat!

This week we turn it up a notch as I focus on one of the most promising bands of the American Heavy Metal scene, Five Finger Death Punch. This aptly titled band while new in its current incarnation, consist of five veterans of (mostly) underground metal bands that have come together to pack one devastating punch (all pun intended) of raw attitude straight to the jaw of heavy metal!



Five Finger Death Punch is the brain child of former U.P.O guitarist Zoltan Bathory , who had it in him to recruit an elite group of musicians from underappreciated (some even obscure) metal bands to prove that you can't stop true talent. First he recruited guitarist Darrell Roberts (W.A.S.P), bassist Matt Snell (Anubis Rising/ Deadsett) acclaimed studio drummer Jeremy Spencer and finally rounded out the line up with charismatic vocalist Ivan Moody (Motorgrater/ Ghost Machine/ Black Blood Orchestra). The result is a contemporary metal sound put together by talent that can no longer be denied!



The name Five Finger Death Punch was inspired by the movie "Kill Bill Vol. 2" in which Uma Thurman (yeah I can't believe I'm mentioning her name in my article either) uses the "Five Point-Palm Exploding Heart Technique" to kill her mentor. If you are confused by what I am saying then all you have to do is take a listen to Five Finger Death Punch's music to know exactly what I am talking about! Their music is as badass as the name of the band would suggest, and knowing the history of where all five band members came from, there has probably never been a more fitting band name in the history of metal.

The band promptly hooked up with producers Stevo "Shotgun" Bruno (Motley Crue, Prong) and Mike Sarkisyan (Spineshank) in 2006 to record what would be their full length debut album. The music industry quickly took notice of Five Finger Death Punch upon hearing what Bathory had come up with and the band was recruited and signed by mega management team The Firm (Korn, Staind) in 2007 which is unprecedented for a new band to receive that type of backing.

The bands 2006 studio sessions came to life as The Way of the Fist which was released in July of 2007. The result was an album loaded with unrelenting guitar riffs, pulsating drums, and thumping bass licks that was spearheaded by Ivan Moody's razor sharp vocal delivery. If sounded like a band with a chip on their shoulder with something to prove and nothing to lose, that's because they were! The songs speak volumes of the unpredictable journey that all five members went through individually in their previous bands to get to this point. In the chorus to the song "Ashes" Moody proclaims "Everything I touch turns to ashes, falls away, falls away, and slips right through my hands." The Way of The Fist underscores the bands tormenting sense of urgency, something that is rarely seen on debut albums, it definitely feels like a band of five who realize this could be there last chance at the big time. But it is that precise attitude and mentality that makes the album and the band so special, they don't take anything for granted and leave it all on the table. In songs like "The Way of the Fist", "Salvation" and "White Knuckles" Moody sounds like a man on a mission ready, willing and able to knock anybody in his way flat on their ass!



While the attitude of Way of the Fist is prominent everywhere, that does not mean that they are no "hits" on this record. The first single "The Bleeding" starts off with a methodical guitar riffs that creeps up the spin and finally knock your head off with Moody's scream. If anything the song proves that the band can be melodic while still maintaining its edge. "Never Enough" is a song that is catchy as hell and badass to a tee, especially the break in the middle of the song, definitely the concert song of the band. But in my opinion the gem in the album is a song titled "Stranger than Fiction" it is certainly the sleeper hit of the album. The most melodic of the bunch "Stranger than Fiction" which was just released as a single, has the ability to break Five Finger Death Punch into the mainstream for good.



Mainstream or not, in the span of two years Five Finger Death Punch have amassed a strong and loyal fan base thanks to non-stop touring and a great management team that has helped to spread the word about the newest sensation in American Heavy Metal. They started their tour loop with a bang by being the opening act in the 2007 Family Values summer tour and it didn't hurt that they rubbed elbows with Korn, Trivium, Flyleaf and Hell Yeah. They continued to tour with Korn that fall in the Bitch We Got a Problem U.S. tour. They rounded out 2007 with a headlining tour of their own. In the Spring of 2008 they hit the road with Disturbed and then hit a gold mined by landing a slot on the inaugural Rockstar Mayhem Tour with Slipknot, Disturbed, Mastadon, Machine Head and Dragon Force) They have also toured the UK with Lamb of God and Dimmu Borgir, so yeah needless to say Five Finger Death Punch have put their stamp on the heavy metal scene worldwide. The band is set to release their follow up album titled War is the Answer this coming fall, and if I was a betting man, I'd bet my ass on Five Finger Death Punch being a staple in heavy metal for a long time to come.