By Ray Van Horn, Jr. frosh about Moody and his comrades of chaos, which is what accounted for Five Finger Death pon greeting, the name Five Finger Death Punch Punch’s instant endearment to Korn’s devoted flock. “Although we are a bit heavier than Korn, their calls to mind Saturday afternoons and locally fans accepted us with open arms,” Moody dotes happily. “When you are playing in front of anywhere televised Kung Fu Theaters filled with chop sockey between 10 - 20,000 people a night, let’s just say, it doesn’t hurt the ego. Jon Davis and the Korn beat-em-up flicks starring Bruce Lee, Bruce Li, family were so stellar to us! They treated us as if USonny Chiba and even a young Jackie Chan and Samo Hung. we were family. Jon gave me advice on things I had no concept of, and when you open for powerhouse For those following the Nintendo generation, Five Finger bands like Korn and Vinnie Paul of Hell Yeah, you’d better bring your A game, or just throw the towel in Death Punch rings like the logical successor to Tekken and before you get spanked!” For Ivan Moody, the here is now and Motograter Mortal Kombat, a wickedly-titled video game filled with gory is, for all intents and purposes, a “sensitive subject” with him. As one of the many victims of the mayhem and metahuman martial arts moves even the most publicized Elektra Records collapse, Motograter’s final stint came through self-financed tours with dexterous of humans couldn’t possibly pull off. both Kittie and Dope and ultimately halted the process in moving forward beyond their self-titled Motograter album. For Ivan Moody and his hellhound rhythm Moody, well-known as the former frontman “There are many opinions of what really section, Five Finger Death Punch is the metallic of the theatrical agro-industrial metal ensemble happened, why we split up and disbanded,” embodiment of antiestablishment bedlam set to Motograter, has channeled the frustration of Moody relays. “Elektra bouncing us along with the tune of a professional and pinpointed chug watching his former band slip through the cracks countless other acts, and right before they folded, reverberation that, with the help of an opening slot into the cultstream via Five Finger Death Punch Steve Richards, the visionary founder of No Name on Korn’s Bitch, We Have a Problem Tour last year and their flogging debut album The Way of the Fist. Records who was responsible for acts like Slipknot, (as well a headlining set on the second stage of the Hooking up with U.P.O. guitarist Zoltan Bathory, Hatebreed, American Headcharge, Mudvayne and 2007 Family Values Tour) has set the band on a Moody, along with past W.A.S.P. associates Darrell Motograter passing on in the middle of our second seemingly anointed course for success, a plot that Roberts and Jeremy Spencer, plus Anubis Rising year of touring, on a still-fresh album. Then the will find them on this year’s Rockstar Mayhem Tour bassist Matt Snell, has found an apparent chemistry lineup changes that kept occurring in the project, alongside such notables as Slipknot, Machine Head, that blares through the fist-banging mania of their the lack of financial backing, there were so many Mastodon, Disturbed and Dragonforce. freshman release. Suffice it to say, there’s nothing things that occurred within a small period of time, 92 it would be pointless to try and figure out Fist, the fan reaction to the band has been near- the details to the finest points within the music what exactly happened. I’m still a bit instantaneous. industry. Wisdom makes up for a lot, plus we all confused myself and I was there “It has been mind-blowing,” Moody attests. “The love what we do! Zoltan and I wrote 80 percent of firsthand.” response we have gotten from our fans as well as the this album between the two of us. We knew exactly In the attempt to recognition from our peers has been nothing short what we needed to do and exactly what we wanted to make sense of the of astounding. Not to sound arrogant, but we had achieve, so that made it really fucking easy to mesh whirlwind events every intention of kicking as much ass as we possibly and work together. Not to mention the fun we all of the Elektra could from the start! There are no guarantees in this have; every guy in Five Finger Death Punch has a fallout that world, much less the music industry, so we went at very unique personality! But it makes for one hell of it with our guns blazing. We figured that a band; we are truly misfits!” even if we didn’t succeed on world Having signed with the prestigious entertainment domination, we would at least conglomerate The Firm (which has represented leave nothing in our wake that numerous A-list artists and acts such as Korn, Linkin would ever suggest we didn’t Park and Vin Diesel) and subsequently released The give our all.” Way of the Fist on Firm Music, an affiliate of EMI The frequently fierce Records, one might posit the question about having intensity of songs like “The been burned in the past by the majors having a Way of the Fist” or “White soured effect in the decision to join another high Knuckles” has created an profile corporation. Whereas many artists have immediate connection between drifted away to the indie circuit when circumstances Five Finger Death Punch and with a major deal have fallen through, Moody their newly-indoctrinated fans. refutes having a jaded disposition, flagging the Moody especially picks “White direct success his band has found through their Knuckles” as the band’s favorite existing representation. song to peel off live, noting “the “In this day and age it’s nearly impossible to breakdown is savage live and we retain the support we have gotten from The Firm make sure we clear the floor of any and EMI! We consider ourselves one of the luckiest ‘soft’ people before it even kicks projects on the market! There are so many elements in because we know every time we that affect the everyday life of a band these days: play it, the pillars of Hell shake!” the internet, the economy, traveling across seas due Like much of the songs on The to the fucking war, not to mention—contrary to Way of the Fist, Moody utilizes popular belief—minor labels are not always better! a song like “White Knuckles” to There are a million and one things that go into relay his private agitation in such breaking a band. We knew if this was going to be a way his listeners are keying in what we envisioned, we needed the help of a bigger and finding empathy in a line like corporation. The Firm is the biggest management “sick of being sick and tired, sick company in the world; they have worked with every of understanding.” major label on the planet, signed and enhanced just Moody further elaborates, “Just about every project that did anything in the industry as I state in the song, I’m seriously fed and they have the resources to not only back, but up with shit! There is so much crap in the to push a band as heavy as we are. When The Firm derailed Motograter, Moody world right now and sometimes it seems there became involved, it seemed as if our vision was describes this forced period of adjustment as is nobody willing to change it or at least put forth a beginning to gain the support needed to establish one that “really took the wind out of me,” further true effort to advance beyond it. We are still dealing ourselves as a true metal band and not a group pondering, “it came at a really bad time for us in with poverty in our own country, racism, sexism, of weekend rebels. They took the concept of Five Motograter. We had just started gaining momentum apathy, warped political agendas from years past, Finger Death Punch and helped us to transform into when everything started to crash around us. It was child abuse, rape, a fallen educational standard, a the monster it has become today and continues to even more difficult losing friends and close family digression within parental stature and discipline grow into. I think Five Finger Death Punch made a in the process. We gave our all to so many people amongst our own enforcement systems. I sometimes brilliant choice to sign with The Firm!” and it seemed like we got nothing in return. Still, I have a hard time believing it’s really 2008 AD! I As if things in Ivan Moody’s world aren’t moving wouldn’t change the experience I gained from the have to literally remind myself to occasionally sit in the fast lane already, the rambunctious and free- whole thing. I’m proud of what it has made me and back and take a deep breath, or I fear I will someday spirited yowler was recently featured in an upcoming even prouder of my new project and the fans who lose it! I have a daughter as well, so I try to stay as horror film, Bled. support us! Yes, there was a brief moment in time positive as I can for her sake. I might not be able “Go figure, I play the main monster, The that I debated on going any further in the music to change everything that I wish to, but I believe Incubus, a creature from a world of dreams that can business, but that passed the second I realized that that if I can teach my brilliant little girl the rights only exist in our world with the help of an opiate, it was never the fame or the fortune, the labels, the and wrongs, that she will in turn relay that to her inhaled into the system derived from a rare tree women, the garbage...it was always about the love children, friends, co-workers, peers, etcetera.