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In 2005, guitarist Zoltan Bathory (U.P.O. ex-bassist)
recruited an elite army of renowned metal musicians. The roster consisted of guitarist Darrell Roberts
(W.A.S.P.), bassist Matt Snell
(Anubis Rising/
Deadsett), standout studio drummer Jeremy
Spencer (Drums From Hell), and vocalist Ivan
Moody (Motogater/
Ghost Machine/
Black Blood Orchestra).
The group was oblivious, at the time, of the fact that this band would develop one of the fastest growing fan bases in
Metal history, and lay a hammer-fist to the face of today’s Metal sound.
The group needed a name to define their approach to the heavy music industry. Sourced from Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill
Bill Vol. 2”, the secret ‘Five-Point-Palm Exploding Heart Technique’ (the blow that ‘The Bride’ used to kill her mentor)
was the perfect choice. Tweaking that phrase lead to the perfectly suited, in-your-face name of Five Finger Death Punch!
5FDP realized that a badass band, with a badass name, needed some badass people in the studio for the
recording and mixing of their debut album. The recording job was given to the great Stevo "Shotgun" Bruno
(Mötley Crüe,
Prong) and Mike Sarkisyan
(Spineshank).
The mixing and mastering was taken care of by ex-
Machine Head/Soulfly guitarist
Logan Mader. “The Way of The Fist” was born in 2006; all that it needed was a good management
company to help push it onward.
Firm Music, a branch of The Firm (Korn,
Staind) management, was just the backing that
5FDP needed. The band was signed with Firm Music in June of 2007.
“The Way of The Fist” was released by July 31st, 2007, and quickly climbed into the
Billboard 200, and became the most added metal record, all in its first week of release! The album also hit
the #3 position on Billboard's New Artist/Heetseekers chart. “The Bleeding”, the first single
off “The Way of The Fist”, landed in the top 40 on the Active Rock Radio charts, and has been climbing
continuously since.
The band was included in the 2007 Family Values Tour as a co-headliner for the Guitar Hero 2 second stage.
After finishing the Family Values tour and leaving dozens of bruised and battered Knuckleheads behind, the
band joined up with Korn,
HellYeah, and
Droid for the Bitch We Have a Problem tour.
Written by: Knucklehead
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