Five Finger Death Punch’s Zoltan Bathory has spoken about their upcoming album F8 and says it marks the band’s “rebirth.”
The follow-up to 2018’s And Justice For None was announced earlier this week, with the release date set for February 28. And in a new interview with Billboard, the guitarist has opened up on what the record means for the group.
Bathory says: “Here we are – everybody's sober, everybody's ready to work and focused. There's a lot to say, a lot to prove. It's like a new band, in a way. It's progressing. It's rebirth. It's transcendent.
“When I listen to this album, it's the same sound, the same band, but it isn't. If you really listen to this, it's not the same band… for the better, both musically and lyrically."
Back in September, Five Finger Death Punch teased their new single Inside Out, with frontman Ivan Moody telling Metal Hammer that the track “pretty much encompasses everything” since his much-publicised addiction struggles.
And Bathory now says that Moody calls the record “his absolution” after what has been a turbulent time in the vocalist’s life.
The guitarist says: “Ivan was in a very difficult situation. He went back many, many times to rehab. At moments he looked like he was not going to make it, that he was going to be another 'rock star' that didn't make it.
“We lost Chester Bennington. We lost so many of these guys, some of them personal friends, and Ivan was almost one of them. A couple of times he did die and has to be resuscitated. He literally said, ‘This album is everything that happened in my life leading up to this record.' He calls it his absolution."
Five Finger Death Punch will head out on a European tour in January and February with Megadeth and Bad Wolves and tickets are on sale now.
Five Finger Death Punch: F8
1. F8
2. Inside Out
3. Full Circle
4. Living The Dream
5. A Little Bit Off
6. Bottom Of The Top
7. To Be Alone
8. Mother May I (Tic Toc)
9. Darkness Settles In
10. This Is War
11. Leave It All Behind
12. Scar Tissue
13. Brighter Side Of Grey
14. Making Monsters (Bonus track)
15. Death Punch Therapy (Bonus track)
16. Inside Out (Radio Edit) (Bonus track)
Five Finger Death Punch tour with Megadeth and Bad Wolves
Jan 14: Kiev Palace Of Sports, Ukraine **
Jan 16: Moscow Adrenaline Stadium, Russia **
Jan 18: St. Petersburg A2, Russia **
Jan 20: Helsinki Hartwell Arena, Finland
Jan 22: Stockholm Hovet, Sweden
Jan 23: Oslo Spektrum, Norway
Jan 24: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Jan 26: Amsterdam AFAS Live, Netherlands
Jan 28: Paris Zenith, France
Jan 30: Cardiff Arena, UK
Jan 31: London Wembley Arena, UK
Feb 03: Berlin Max-Schmeling Halle, Germany
Feb 04: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany
Feb 06: Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
Feb 08: Oberhausen Koenig-Pilsener Arena, Germany
Feb 09: Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany
Feb 10: Munich Olympiahalle, Germany
Feb 12: Warsaw Torwar, Poland
Feb 14: Prague Tipsport Arena, Czech Republic
Feb 16: Milan Alcatrazz, Italy
Feb 17: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Feb 19: Vienna Stadthalle, Austria
Feb 20: Budapest Sportarena, Hungary
** 5FDP headline show without Megadeth and Bad Wolves
