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No Comments [ Add Comment ]Saltair braces for Death Punch
By Linda East BradyAUDIO: Listen to "Stranger Than Fiction" by Five Finger Death Punch
Five Finger Death Punch is knocking out fans across the nation. The Los Angeles-born rockers are currently one of the top five heavy-metal bands on MySpace.
Their 2007 release, "The Way of the Fist," is still sitting pretty at No. 3 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart, with the latest single, "Stranger Than Fiction," cracking the Top 20 radio charts earlier this month.
Not bad for a record that came together more or less before the members were certain they had a band at all.
"We tracked about six songs before there was a real band, a complete band," said drummer Jeremy Spencer, calling from the Midwestern highway. "Things came together and we soon had an album and were on tour."
All members of Five Finger Death Punch played in other bands in the Los Angeles metal scene. About two years ago, Spencer had just finished covering some tour dates as a sub drummer for a band called W.A.S.P. But in the two or so weeks he kept the beat, Spencer connected with the band's guitarist, Darrell Roberts. The two then heard demos by Zoltan Bathory, who played guitar for the band U.P.O.
Soon after, Spencer, Roberts and Bethory laid down half an album's worth of songs, and added the final two members -- vocalist Ivan Moody (Ghost Machine) and bassist Matt Snell (Anubis Rising).
"We locked them in the studio -- canceled Ivan's plane ticket and held him hostage," said Spencer. "And he's still here, so the brainwashing must have worked."
Favor gigs
With a helping hand from producer Logan Mader, the band mixed and mastered its debut. It was time to land a few gigs to get the word out and attract a record company.
"We did a few big gigs before we were ever signed, but they were all favor gigs," said Spencer.
One of those favors included Roberts calling his friend in Dragonforce, an L.A.-based guitar band that made it big via "Guitar Hero." The quintet landed a sweet opening spot at the historic Wiltern Theater.
The musicians' next few dates included opening gigs with Twisted Sister, and a showcase at the Viper Room. Soon after, they hit the road in support of Korn. Tours with Disturbed and Slipknot followed.
"Now we are headlining again." Spencer laughed. "It's happened pretty fast. What can we say? It's been great."
Break, then record
Five Finger Death Punch has played Utah twice before, and Spencer said it's been a promising market for the band.
"The fans are definitely multiplying there," Spencer said. "I think it'll be a good spot to play."
The tour, which started in September, ends Dec. 4 in San Diego. Spencer said the band will start to think about writing and recording its sophomore effort at that time.
"We plan to take a little break and then start working this record," he said. "We usually need to sit still to write. We want to focus on the road on the road, and focus on the record when we're doing that. We don't want to cheat one for the other."
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