The Los Angeles quintet known for their devastating live shows had embarked on quite a journey to get to this point and to become one of the most important bands of recent metal history. The newcomers of 2007 climbed a steep mountain in the last couple of years and fought for every inch of their success, but today they play sold out shows, headline prestigious festivals and command an army of die-hard fans across the globe.
“This band has been running on pure fan power since day one,” band founder Zoltan Bathory explains. “You can’t get successful on the wings of industry hype. No matter how much money you throw at it, you simply can’t twist people’s arms and make them like your music. They will step behind you on their own, or they just won’t. We’re honored to have such a dedicated militant fan base.”
5FDP started in 2005 when Hungarian Born guitarist, Zoltan Bathory recruited Jeremy Spencer (drums), Matt Snell (bass) and Ivan Moody (vocals) to a start-up project he named after the infamous "Dim Mak" - The Death Punch - as a nod to classic Hong-Kong Kung-Fu Cinema.
Five Finger Death Punch recorded their DIY album, The Way Of The Fist in 2006, produced by Bathory & Jeremy Spencer, and Mixed By Soulfly/Machine Head Guitarist, Logan Mader. After a few songs began circulating online, 5FDP became a word-of-mouth phenomenon that sent shockwaves through the underground metal community. The brute power of the band's live shows, and their quickly elevating notoriety soon became the talk of the industry.
Consequently, the finished record was picked up and released by Firm Music - the recording arm of industry powerhouse, "The Firm" Management (Korn, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit).
Five Finger Death Punch spent over two years on the road with bands such as Disturbed, Korn, Slipknot, Lamb of God, and built a hardcore following (deemed the “Knuckleheads”) that by now are infamous on their own as one of the loudest and rowdiest crowds of recent history.
The Way Of The Fist yielded 3 Top 10 U.S. Radio hits, aTop 5 MTV Metal Video, a Kerrang 'Best New Band' Award Nomination, and brought home Metal Hammer's prestigious Golden God Award for 'Best New International Band'. Record sales exceeded 400,000 Worldwide, propelling the band to the forefront of the current metal scene.
The question of whether or not 5FDP's meteoric rise was a fluke was promptly squashed by the band's sophomore album. To the astonishment of the industry, 'War Is The Answer' debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release. Death Punch’s first single, "Hard To See" took only a couple of weeks before crashing the party in Rock Radio's Top 10 - becoming their fourth Top Ten Rock Radio hit in as many tries and cementing them as the most promising band in hard rock and metal.
This continued success was no accident; the band didn’t go to War unprepared. They enlisted an A-List production team in award winning co-producer, Kevin Churko (Ozzy) and legendary mixing engineer, Randy Staub (Metallica, Stone Sour, Motley Crue) to make sure 'War Is the Answer' lived up to its title.
Subsequently, Five Finger Death Punch fine-tuned their songs more than ever on this latest offering. Guitarist, Zoltan Bathory puts it best: "It was imperative to keep an open mind and evolve as songwriters while trying to stay true to the sound we already established. I think the outcome is more diverse, more mature - but undoubtedly, a ‘Death Punch’ record.”
According to the leading metal press, 5FDP accomplished just that with War IsThe Answer and has been called a "Juggernaut in the Making” [Kerrang!]. Billboard Magazine dubbed the album “A Sophomore Knockout,” while Metal Hammer referred to it as a “A Colossal Beast Of Hard Rock Brilliance.”
War is an expansive collection of unbridled melodic metal. Tracks like "Bulletproof" illustrate Five Finger Death Punch's diversity, switching from a spellbinding chorus to a neck-snapping solo in a flash. “Burn It Down” is a nihilistic exploration in pure rage -- a new storyline with the same popular characters from The Way of the Fist. Meanwhile, “No One Gets Left Behind” is an up-tempo crusher that leaves room for lyrical interpretation. “You can take it literally, or as an underlying theme we often talk about,” relates Zoltan. “We are all soldiers in one tribe or another: a band, a football team, an army, or the whole collective - the human species. You protect the tribe, you stick with your brothers. No one runs, everybody fights – and no one gets left behind.”
The band has been known for their intense guitar playing since day one, and War kicks it up several notches. Guitar virtuoso, Jason Hook joined the fold in 2008, lending an uncanny repertoire to the fold.
"Jason's rhythm playing is very similar to mine," says Zoltan. "We have our signature sound all over War Is the Answer. It's a heavy machine-gun style of playing. There are more solos too, because we wanted to utilize Jason's talent. We still focused on writing great songs though because those stay around forever."
The songs on War will certainly stand the test of time, and the emotions encapsulated in them are extremely tangible. Ivan confronted many of his own demons, waging war through words. The singer says, "It's a more personal record. On War Is the Answer, the band encouraged me to write from the heart. There is a lot of stuff, as painful as it may be, that I tried to project on this album that I didn't get a chance to on the first record."
"Walk Away" is an especially poignant song. The band incorporates acoustic guitars for a haunting, heavy sound, and the track's infectious, heartfelt chorus makes it a surefire single.
"On ‘Walk Away,’ I wanted to wash my hands of this particular relationship in my life that has gone sour. It's a cleansing. I really did put my heart and soul into this entire record—no matter how hard it was. You have to expose the most ugly and raw parts of your life to really convey anything," say Ivan.
Ivan conveys true pain in his lyrics across the entire album. He pulls no punches, especially on the powerful "Crossing Over." His touching, episodic narrative propels the song under melancholy, melodic guitars. The entire album plays out in cinematic fashion with drama and true tension in every note. He continues, "We wanted to make an album that was going to feel like a major motion picture and not just a B-movie."
"Hard to See" could be the soundtrack to that epic. Ivan goes on, "The politics of the music industry have baffled me since day one. 'Hard to See' is me lashing out at the industry. I'm so tired of being pulled in every direction and being told what to do. The song is about melding into the industry and learning the politics so we can be freer as artists."
About their international appeal, Zoltan offers some insight. "If you really dig down to the roots of the music, American bands are more groove-oriented and based on rhythm and blues. European bands grow up on classical music because it's very much embedded into that culture. Five Finger Death Punch has both of those roots because I'm from Europe, and Ivan and the rest of the guys are American. We ended somewhere between, with an ‘international sound’ that’s different and separates us."
The album's title sums everything up for the band right now. Zoltan elaborates, "War is the nature of man; it always been, and it'll never go away. War has many different manifestations so it doesn’t have to be taken literally, but that urge to conquer is embedded in our genes. We were not meant to live our lives caged in cubicles.”
Ivan follows, "I think everyone has their own personal battles whether they're religious, political or family-oriented. To us, [our first album] The Way of the Fist was a swift punch to the face. War Is the Answer is the progression from that first album. You listen and you know we have to keep fighting. You can never just give up and throw in the towel.”
In the end, this record is for the people. Ivan concludes, "I want fans to be as proud of War Is the Answer as we are. We're not going anywhere. I want people to realize that this is from our hearts. I want the younger generation of musicians to realize if you stick to your guns and put forward the militant foot, you can get there. This band isn't afraid of anything. We will go out there, sweat, bleed and play our hearts out - that's everything I've looked for my entire life in a band. Mankind is nothing but a cluster of opinions and nobody knows the real answers; nothing is ‘for sure.’ However, you can move, even change people through music. That’s the power of art."
Since its release in September 2009, War Is the Answer has sold over 150,000 copies in the US alone. The band accomplished one of the most successful headlining tours of the fall, the USA and UK dates sold out in advance. Look for 5FDP on the road in 2010.
“HARD TO SEE” - VOTED TOP TEN ROCK SONG OF 2009 BY AOL RADIO
“NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND” - VOTED TOP 3 METAL SONG OF 2009 BY AOL RADIO
"HARD TO SEE" - TOP 10 TRACK AT ACTIVE ROCK IN 2009
"5FDP" - VOTED TOP TEN GUITAR RIFFS OF 2009 BY GUITAR EDGE MAGAZINE
Hatebreed was formed in 1994 in Bridgeport, Waterbury and New Haven. They began by recording a three song demo and selling it to locals. Those three songs would eventually be released on a split seven inch with New York's Neglect in 1995. They followed that up with the highly acclaimed EP Under the Knife in 1996, and went out on tour around the east coast/midwest with the UKHC band Voorhees. The following year they released Satisfaction is the Death of Desire on Victory Records, then the home of some of the biggest bands in metalcore. Satisfaction sold more copies than any other debut in the history of the record company.
Tours with national metal bands such as Slayer, Deftones, Entombed and Napalm Death influenced their music and brought them to the attention of many non-hardcore/metalcore fans. These influences were apparent on the band's next two releases, 2002's Perseverance, and especially 2003's The Rise of Brutality.
The band's fourth album, Supremacy, was released in August, 2006, their first through Roadrunner Records, featuring new guitarist Frank Novinec (who had previously spent time playing with Ringworm, Terror, and Integrity). Jasta described it as an "all-out onslaught of completely adrenaline-charged, in-your-face brutality".[1]
On September 13, 2006, former guitarist Lou "Boulder" Richards committed suicide at the age of 35; he had played on 1997's Satisfaction Is The Death Of Desire and left the band in 2002. Hatebreed announced the statement:."
Hatebreed headlined the second stage on the 2007 Ozzfest tour. Hatebreed appeared at Wacken Open Air festival in 2008 alongside Iron Maiden, Children of Bodom, and Avantasia. In April 2008, Hatebreed signed a worldwide deal with Koch Records for the release of their live DVD, a live album, and a cover album entitled "For The Lions", which was released on May 5. On September 2, they released their concert DVD, entitled "Live Dominance". Artists covered included Metallica, D.R.I., Crowbar, and the Cro-Mags.[2]
On February 9, 2009 Guitarist Sean Martin quit the band.[3] Sean quit the band to pursue other interests in music that are more studio-related. However, Sean remains close to and in contact with Hatebreed members.
Hatebreed's fifth studio album, entitled Hatebreed, has been released September 29, 2009. In May 2009, the band also released For the Lions, a record consisting of covers of songs by artists that have influenced the band's development.[4]
In 2010, Hatebreed participated in the third annual Mayhem Festival, alongside 3 Inches of Blood, Shadows Fall, and other bands. On February 17, 2011, it was announced that Hatebreed would partake in the fourth annual Mayhem Festival to yet again headline the Jagermeister stage for 3 dates only.[5]
One of hard rock’s preeminent breakthrough success stories of recent years, the Massachusetts-based quintet All That Remains has built its career on overcoming the odds. From cracking the Billboard Top 20, to joining the elite active rock radio fraternity, to being one of just a handful of acts to take part in the Rockstar Mayhem Festival, Ozzfest and Vans Warped Tour trifecta, the group has shattered previously-held expectations about just how far a band with roots in independent heavy metal can go – and with their fifth album, For We Are Many, it’s clear they’re only getting warmed up.
Although guitarist Oli Herbert says For We Are Many was the group’s most challenging album to date, he believes the end result was worth the fight. “I feel we have a consistently strong album that has not left even the smallest detail to chance,” he says. Vocalist Phil Labonte agrees. “When we wrote the album, it was a really good time for the band creatively,” he says. “Mike (Martin, guitars), Oli and I have written four discs together now, so when we get together, it’s very easy to communicate ideas.”
While the album was again produced by Killswitch Engage guitarist and fellow Massachusetts native Adam Dutkiewicz (August Burns Red, Parkway Drive, As I Lay Dying) – who previously collaborated with the band on their second and third albums, This Darkened Heart (2004) and The Fall Of Ideals (2006) – For We Are Many sees All That Remains unafraid to experiment. One track (“Won’t Go Quietly”) includes a guitar solo featuring a talk-box; another sees the band utilize a Leslie speaker, which gives the Hammond B-3 organ its distinctive sound. “We weren’t afraid to be wrong,” Labonte says. “If we try something and don’t like it, no big deal – but if you don’t try it, you might miss something cool.”
Herbert praises Dutkiewicz for the professionalism he brought to the table. “Adam is a very gifted but demanding producer,” he says. “He can make you laugh, and then cry the next moment when he informs you of your continued failure. He does it in a joking manner, of course, but at the end of the day, nothing short of perfection is accepted under his watchful ear. This gave me comfort, in that only the best performances were used and I didn’t have to second-guess myself.”
Following the runaway success of 2008′s Overcome – which debuted at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 and yielded two top 20 active rock hit singles, “Forever In Your Hands” and “Two Weeks” (the latter of which peaked at #6) – many bands would get complacent, but All That Remains‘ decade-long fight for survival prepared them for the long haul. “We are a band that came up the hard way, and the first seven years were pure struggle,” admits Herbert. “Once big things started happening along the way, we have been greatly appreciative.” Labonte echoes the sentiment. “It’s been over 10 years since we started ATR, and it’s amazing that in this day and age, we’re still able to do this for a living,” he says. “It’s the most amazing, crazy, annoying, fun and rewarding job I can imagine, and we’re so grateful to the people who have been here all along, and to all the new people who are just getting into the band right now.”
After laying the groundwork for the release of Overcome with a summer-long stint on the 2008 Vans Warped Tour, All That Remains – which also features drummer Jason Costa and bassist Jeanne Sagan – toured aggressively around the globe, including North American stints with underground metal heroes (In Flames, Trivium), hard rock heavyweights (Slipknot, Disturbed) and screamo titans (The Devil Wears Prada) alike. The 2009 Rockstar Mayhem Festival, meanwhile, saw the group perform alongside a lineup that ranged from Bullet For My Valentine to Slayer. In recent weeks, All That Remains has played with everyone from Avenged Sevenfold, to Limp Bizkit, to Fear Factory, further proving the diverse appeal of the band’s unique mix of muscle and melody – something Herbert believes stems from the band’s unique mix of personalities. “The five of us are radically different people with completely different views on what we like, and the challenge is to make those differences meet somewhere in the middle,” he says.
As For We Are Many proves, never has compromise sounded so compelling. The album deftly shifts from the aggression of the title track, to the memorable hooks of “The Last Time” and first single “Hold On,” to the slow groove of the chorus of “Dead Wrong,” with infectious vocal melodies and fleet fingered yet tasteful guitar solos peppered throughout. Musically, the measured and precise riffing of Herbert and Martin and Costa’s complex rhythms compel throughout, as they surely will on stage when ATR kicks off an extensive touring cycle with As I Lay Dying, to be immediately followed by a headlining tour beginning in mid-October.
Having SoundScanned a combined half-million copies of their last two albums alone, All That Remains is poised to soar to new heights, but as For We Are Many proves, they’ll do so on their terms, without compromising the ideals and independence demonstrated during the band’s first decade of existence. “Every time a band gains more success,” Herbert says, “they are expected to live up to or surpass their previous effort – but we just wanted to make a consistently good album.” Clearly, sometimes modest goals yield immodest dividends.
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH will headline the "Share The Welt Tour"this fall with support from ALL THAT REMAINS, HATEBREED and REV THEORY. Tickets for these dates go on sale this weekend to the general public, but VIP packages with pre-sale tickets will be available at5FDP.com starting Tuesday, September 13 at 10 a.m.
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's new single, "Under It And Over It", is now available on iTunes. The track is making its debut on radio stations nationwide and is taken from the band's upcoming third album, "American Capitalist". The disc hits stores on October 11 and will follow up FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's gold-selling second effort, 2009's "War Is The Answer".
Guitarist Zoltan Bathory told The Pulse Of Radio that there is a theme to the record, but added that it's not a concept album. "You know, every song is different, of course, and we're never gonna really write a concept album - it's not a band that's gonna do rock operas where all the songs connect, you know, so there's always a variety of songs and themes," he said. "But there's always also a general concept that will run through a couple of songs at least."
Moody said in a statement, "I literally laid every ounce of blood I had on this one. We are a people's band. Our fans understand us because of who we are. We've never tried to be anybody else but FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH."
103.3 The Edge Presents: Share The Welt Tour featuring Five Finger Death Punch with All That Remains, Hatebreed, and Rev Theory
Tuesday November 29th 2011
Rapids Theatre - 1711 Main Street - Niagara Falls, NY
6:30pm doors - 7:30pm show/ all ages
Tickets: $29.00 presale/ $35.00 day of show
Tickets available September 17th at noon: All Ticketmaster locations - Rapids Theatre box office - chage by phone 800-745-3000 - Record Theater - Terrapin Station
