As they attempt to help vocalist Ivan Moody through his well-documented substance abuse issues, Five Finger Death Punch are completely adapting their live on the road, according to guitarist Zoltan Bathory who has opened up about what it’s like for a band dealing with an addiction.
Speaking with Metal Hammer, Bathory revealed than in order to remove as many temptations as possible, the band took all alcohol off their rider, “even mouthwash.” He adds, “He’s been battling his demons, and when you’re in a rock band, it can be really difficult to be on the road.”
“If you have any kind of addiction or addictive personality, everybody wants to hang out and party. People are going to come up to you and say, ‘Hey man, let me buy you a drink,’ or ‘Let’s hang out.’ For them, that’s a big thing. They don’t realise that to us, it was the same thing yesterday, and the day before that, and the past 300 days before that. But you don’t want to be rude. It’s just hard for people to understand that.”
As well as Moody’s addiction, the band have also found themselves in a decaying relationship with record label Prospect Park. As per Bathory’s comments on the topic he seems more concerned with getting the job down.
“Since we have six records, I think now is the time when technically we could do any kind of album. This is the moment where we can sort of experiment. We have a couple of ideas floating around. One of them is to make a little bit of a retro record, just to have fun and do a thrash metal vibe, and then there are new ideas that are completely different, involving elements that we’ve never had before. Both directions are exciting, so we’ll have to make a decision.”
The band and the label have been locked in a tense dispute regarding the next creative output from the two. The label, who want a Best Of album, claim the band are rush-releasing their music to make the most out of Moody before his ultimate demise.
Five Finger Death Punch claim they are being used as leverage by the label bosses who are attempting to sell the company.
