Matt Snell
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
FIVE
FINGER DEATH PUNCH was an underground US phenomenon
even before they exploded onto the Family Values Tour in 2007.
Their 'old-school-meets-new-school' metal was the talk of the
scene, creating a ripple in the underground and online.
Upholding traditional songwriting values with
the support of today's sound & dynamics has paid off for FFDP
. The band's 2008 debut offering, ' The
Way Of The Fist' , has already sold over 280,000
copies in the US, spawning two Top 10 Rock Radio hits, with another
climbing the charts. The album has never left the Billboard Top
200 and is a Top 5 mainstay on the New Artist chart.
Prior to this record's release, the band shot
to the top of the MySpace charts, bypassing the heavy duty icons
of the genre, and it wasn't long before they were making their
mark on radio playlists, too – all, of course, without the
support of a record deal, although the mayhem created at their
sold-out shows proved that something new & exciting was starting
to grow. Fast.
"This record is as pure as it gets," says guitarist
and founder Zoltan Bathory. "There was no media training, no record
label or management twisting our arms. We play music that we like,
that we want to hear, and the amazing part is how many people
embraced it straight away."
The message was clear: the world was ready for
FFDP 's blend of melodic Euro-thrash and American
heavy-duty groove assault.
FORMED BY members of such established bands as
U.P.O., W.A.S.P, and Motograter, and based in Los Angeles, CA,
Five Finger Death Punch came together with the
simple goal of making music they felt had faded from the mainstream.
Bathory pulled together his 'dream team' of musicians (Ivan Moody
– vocals, Darrell Roberts – guitar, Matt Snell –
bass & Jeremy Spencer – drums), and led them into the
studio to record their blistering debut album, ' The
Way Of The Fist' .
"Early on, I recorded a bunch of songs," explains
Bathory. "That way I could say, ' this is what I want
to do'. From there, I went to musicians I'd seen before, that
I knew were good. I went after Jeremy and Ivan first. I met Ivan
before Ozzfest, and I thought he was an unbelievable frontman.
And Jeremy brought Darrell with him. It was kind of like a Christmas
list, and I got everything I wanted!"
The world-class production team FFDP
brought together – Stevo Shotgun Bruno (Motley Crue, Prong),
Mike Sarkysian (Spineshank) and Logan Mader (Machine Head, Soulfly)
– steeped the process in experience and credibility, bringing
the album up to a whole new level.
In the US, ' The Way Of The Fist'
landed on the Billboard 200 chart on its first
week of release, and has been a mainstay ever since. The first
single, 'The Bleeding', spent a full seven months on US Rock Radio's
Top 40 charts, eventually breaking into the Top 10 where it remained
for months to come. Their video made the Top 5 on Headbanger's
Ball's best Metal videos (MTV2). Their second single, 'Never Enough',
followed suit as a Top 10 Active Rock hit, and all the while the
band was doing what it does best – tearing up stages nationwide.
FFDP has toured the US with
the likes of Korn, Disturbed, Slipknot, Dragonforce, HELLYEAH,
Mastodon, Trivium & Atreyu, and appeared on both the Family
Values and Rockstar Energy MAYHEM Festival tours. And now their
first European dates are confirmed for February 2009, supporting
the ex-US release of ' The Way Of The Fist' on
January 19 th 2009.
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