Fuss Magazine was privy to have some Q&A with Zoltan from Five Finger Death Punch. Check out the interview and be sure to check out their myspace page here . 

For those who aren’t familiar with you yet, please introduce yourselves and briefly explain the history of Five Finger Death Punch.

Five Finger Death Punch is Ivan Moody (vocals) , Jeremy Spencer (drums) Matt Snell (bass), Darrell Roberts (guitars) and myself Zoltan Bathory (guitars) .

The band started in 2005 when I practically stalked the Los Angeles metal scene for the best possible players available to play some straight ahead mean metal. Within a year we had a fully operational SWAT team and a completed record under our belt. We uploaded a couple of tracks to myspace, and from there it was like a raging wildfire. Our very first show was front of 3000 kids opening for Dragonforce, and we just kept playing high profile shows. It didn’t take long before the labels started to come around. Amongst them, one of the most powerful managements in the world - The Firm - gave us an offer we couldn’t refuse.   When Firm Music released our album, it debuted in the Billboard 200, it was #3 on the billboards new artist charts. Right now we’re out on the Family Values Tour headlining the second stage, until September 2nd. A few weeks later we’re going out again with Korn and Hellyeah…  good times…

Please explain ‘true metal’ as indicated on your website.

We call it “True” metal, because we are staying true to the roots of the genre. The forefathers of Metal had to fight for acceptance.  In order to earn respect for Heavy Metal in general, they had to write good songs in the traditional sense, and they had to have undeniable musical skills… They earned it and brought on the glory days of metal.  That’s our bloodline, our inspiration. That’s the legacy, and those are the principals we wanted to stay true to… Calling us “Heavy Metal” however, would be a bit misleading, because we have a new, very different sound than our heroes from 20 something years ago. So when our fans started to label us as “True Metal” – we adopted the term…   

What is a typical song writing process for you?

Classical musicians used to “tell stories” with their instruments alone… so I have to feel that the song is telling a story, paints a picture and make you feel an intended, a very specific way before I think it’s complete and ready for vocals. We give finished tracks to Ivan to work on, and he’s really good at tuning into the mood of the songs. When the lyrics and the music talks about the same thing, you both feel it and understand it in the same time and that’s very powerful.

Sometimes Ivan would ask specifics, like “what were you thinking when you wrote this” so he can really bring it all together. The way of the fist for example… I told him - War doesn’t determine who “wins”… it determines who “lives” – you better know that before you start one… so he wrote some blood spitting knuckle swinging lyrics about that…

How have your experiences in Motograter, UPO and W.A.S.P. contributed to 5FDP?
 
Everybody in Five Finger Death Punch paid their dues and came from bands with different levels of success, but we’re not trying to use that as the focus of attention.  We view our past as the ‘boot camp’ that got us ready for what we do now.

What are your thoughts on your major label debut of ‘The Way of the Fist?’

We are very proud of this album, because it is exactly what we wanted to deliver both musically, and lyrically. We had a vision and we got to accomplish it without any sort of outside influence. Getting the reviews and the response we’re getting is unbelievable. We are also very lucky because we have some amazing people in our corner. When the Firm found us, they thought the band and record was brilliant and stepped right behind us with full force. We have a great relationship with them. The Firm started out as a management company, so their job was to fight for their artists, and now that they’re also a label the same principals apply.

If there is one thing you wanted to get across with ‘The Way of the First’ what was it? 

Believe in yourself.  Stay true to your dreams; get up and fight one more round. Always! If you do that throughout life, you simply can not lose. You can take that from me, I know what I’m talking about because I was some kid who grew up in the communist regime behind the Iron Curtain.  The way out of there was through the minefields… most of us never made it. We had no passports, rights, hopes… but I’m here today because still, I never gave up… I refused to accept the word “impossible”… I refused to lay down and play dead.  So The Way of the Fist for me is a destination and a new beginning all in one. That title is the soundtrack to my life; I had to fight for everything, starting with existence…

How were the recording sessions and the process of it all? 

Generally I record most of the guitars into Pro-Tools when I’m writing a song, so my guitar tracks are the final ones. I lay them over some temporary drums I use for the feel. It’s much better than a click track. I use a Drum loop CD for that, which is pretty funny because the only usable metal loop collection I found on the market was The Drums From Hell – Hellacious Double Bass CD and that loop collection was actually recorded by Jeremy Spencer, our own drummer! Once the song is done, we take these guitar tracks to a studio, and Jeremy bangs out the actual drums. These drum tracks come home with us and we record the rest of the guitars and bass on our own pro-tools rigs. We do a rough mix and give it to Ivan to write the vocals, when he’s done we
rehearse the song a few times to see if everything slams in a live setting. Then we go back and record the vocals, and mix the album in a studio. It’s a very efficient and painless process…

What are your opinions of the current metal industry and where you fit in the mix?

The kind of music I love and grew up on is somewhat missing from today’s musical spectrum. As I said I loved the glory days of metal. Those bands were walking the golden middle path… They were not obscurely heavy with cookie monster singers nor too sweet and poppy with unsophisticated shopping mall hooks. They were just straight ahead metal, and we missed that lineage and that’s why we formed this band. Judging from the reaction, I think the general audience is ready for this kind of Metal again. 

If a group of rockers head out to the Family Values tour this year, what are they to expect?

Well, our moshpit is definitely gaining some respect, there are extra paramedics during our set now. In Connecticut they wanted to stop the show because they ran out of stretchers… If you like the movie 300 or Braveheart you don’t wanna miss our set! haha…

If grandma and grandpa head out to the Family Values tour this year, what are they to expect?

Probably a heat stroke…

What other bands should be checked out at Family Values?

The main attraction is obviously Korn, they’re kicking ass every night but there’s something for everyone… On a high profile festival like this, every band on the bill has something serious going for them and have a specific fan base that’s interested in what they have to offer…

Outside of music, what are some things you wish to do before the year is over?

I’m a huge martial arts fan, trained for long years and now I started a clothing line called Alpahdog Combat Gear, specialized in Mixed Martial Arts Gear, MMA gloves, fight pants, Jiu-Jitsu uniforms. We’re doing really well in the octagon but now our street wear line is just about to hit the market, I definitely wanna see it going through the roof….

What is your favorite website and why?

Myspace.com had a big role in this band’s life; we gained a huge fan base through myspace. It’s crazy how small the world got because of that site. We can talk to our fans directly, no matter where they are… We know the most hardcore fans by name and probably would even recognize them by face. So, I’d say Myspace is the fave, all 5 of us log in there… It’s getting difficult, but we answer all of our fan mail there whenever we can…

Favorite bands out now

Killswitch Engage, Arch Enemy, Demon Hunter, In Flames

Favorite bands of past decades

Accept, Iron Maiden, Pantera, Metallica, Anthrax, Suicidal Tendencies

Are you actively recruiting for street team?

Yes, we have street teams all over the world… The Knuckleheads, The Street Fighters, The Pit Bullies…  all kind of groups popping up everywhere. The sign up is on our site…

Any additional thoughts/comments?

I’m amazed that people are content with living life through others, living through television, movies, accepting other peeps’ opinions without a second thought…
Don’t just believe the reviews…  good or bad…  Come out and see the Death Punch for yourself .  Life is about experiencing things… so come out and throw down…  like we do…