The Los Angeles quintet known for their devastating live shows had embarked on quite a journey to get to this point and to become one of the most important bands of recent metal history. The newcomers of 2007 climbed a steep mountain in the last couple of years and fought for every inch of their success, but today they play sold out shows, headline prestigious festivals and command an army of die-hard fans across the globe.

“This band has been running on pure fan power since day one,” band founder Zoltan Bathory explains.  “You can’t get successful on the wings of industry hype. No matter how much money you throw at it, you simply can’t twist people’s arms and make them like your music. They will step behind you on their own, or they just won’t.  We’re honored to have such a dedicated militant fan base.”

5FDP started in 2005 when Hungarian Born guitarist, Zoltan Bathory recruited Jeremy Spencer (drums), Matt Snell (bass) and Ivan Moody (vocals) to a start-up project he named after the infamous "Dim Mak" - The Death Punch - as a nod to classic Hong-Kong Kung-Fu Cinema.

Five Finger Death Punch recorded their DIY album, The Way Of The Fist in 2006, produced by Bathory & Jeremy Spencer, and Mixed By Soulfly/Machine Head Guitarist, Logan Mader.  After a few songs began circulating online, 5FDP became a word-of-mouth phenomenon that sent shockwaves through the underground metal community. The brute power of the band's live shows, and their quickly elevating notoriety soon became the talk of the industry.

Consequently, the finished record was picked up and released by Firm Music - the recording arm of industry powerhouse, "The Firm" Management (Korn, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit). 

Five Finger Death Punch spent over two years on the road with bands such as Disturbed, Korn, Slipknot, Lamb of God, and built a hardcore following (deemed the “Knuckleheads”) that by now are infamous on their own as one of the loudest and rowdiest crowds of recent history.

The Way Of The Fist yielded 3 Top 10 U.S. Radio hits, aTop 5 MTV Metal Video, a Kerrang 'Best New Band' Award Nomination, and brought home Metal Hammer's prestigious Golden God Award for 'Best New International Band'. Record sales exceeded 400,000 Worldwide, propelling the band to the forefront of the current metal scene. 

The question of whether or not 5FDP's meteoric rise was a fluke was promptly squashed by the band's sophomore album. To the astonishment of the industry, 'War Is The Answer' debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release. Death Punch’s first single, "Hard To See" took only a couple of weeks before crashing the party in Rock Radio's Top 10 - becoming their fourth Top Ten Rock Radio hit in as many tries and cementing them as the most promising band in hard rock and metal. 

This continued success was no accident; the band didn’t go to War unprepared.  They enlisted an A-List production team in award winning co-producer, Kevin Churko (Ozzy) and legendary mixing engineer, Randy Staub (Metallica, Stone Sour, Motley Crue) to make sure 'War Is the Answer' lived up to its title.  

Subsequently, Five Finger Death Punch fine-tuned their songs more than ever on this latest offering. Guitarist, Zoltan Bathory puts it best: "It was imperative to keep an open mind and evolve as songwriters while trying to stay true to the sound we already established. I think the outcome is more diverse, more mature - but undoubtedly, a ‘Death Punch’ record.” 

According to the leading metal press, 5FDP accomplished just that with War IsThe Answer and has been called a "Juggernaut in the Making” [Kerrang!]. Billboard Magazine dubbed the album “A Sophomore Knockout,” while Metal Hammer referred to it as a “A  Colossal Beast Of Hard Rock Brilliance.” 

War is an expansive collection of unbridled melodic metal. Tracks like "Bulletproof" illustrate Five Finger Death Punch's diversity, switching from a spellbinding chorus to a neck-snapping solo in a flash. “Burn It Down” is a nihilistic exploration in pure rage -- a new storyline with the same popular characters from The Way of the Fist.  Meanwhile, “No One Gets Left Behind” is an up-tempo crusher that leaves room for lyrical interpretation.  “You can take it literally, or as an underlying theme we often talk about,” relates Zoltan.  “We are all soldiers in one tribe or another: a band, a football team, an army, or the whole collective - the human species. You protect the tribe, you stick with your brothers.  No one runs, everybody fights – and no one gets left behind.”  

The band has been known for their intense guitar playing since day one, and War kicks it up several notches. Guitar virtuoso, Jason Hook joined the fold in 2008, lending an uncanny repertoire to the fold.  

"Jason's rhythm playing is very similar to mine," says Zoltan. "We have our signature sound all over War Is the Answer. It's a heavy machine-gun style of playing. There are more solos too, because we wanted to utilize Jason's talent. We still focused on writing great songs though because those stay around forever." 

The songs on War will certainly stand the test of time, and the emotions encapsulated in them are extremely tangible. Ivan confronted many of his own demons, waging war through words. The singer says, "It's a more personal record. On War Is the Answer, the band encouraged me to write from the heart.  There is a lot of stuff, as painful as it may be, that I tried to project on this album that I didn't get a chance to on the first record."

"Walk Away" is an especially poignant song. The band incorporates acoustic guitars for a haunting, heavy sound, and the track's infectious, heartfelt chorus makes it a surefire single. 
 

"On ‘Walk Away,’ I wanted to wash my hands of this particular relationship in my life that has gone sour. It's a cleansing. I really did put my heart and soul into this entire record—no matter how hard it was. You have to expose the most ugly and raw parts of your life to really convey anything," say Ivan.

Ivan conveys true pain in his lyrics across the entire album. He pulls no punches, especially on the powerful "Crossing Over." His touching, episodic narrative propels the song under melancholy, melodic guitars. The entire album plays out in cinematic fashion with drama and true tension in every note. He continues, "We wanted to make an album that was going to feel like a major motion picture and not just a B-movie."

"Hard to See" could be the soundtrack to that epic. Ivan goes on, "The politics of the music industry have baffled me since day one.  'Hard to See' is me lashing out at the industry. I'm so tired of being pulled in every direction and being told what to do. The song is about melding into the industry and learning the politics so we can be freer as artists."

About their international appeal, Zoltan offers some insight. "If you really dig down to the roots of the music, American bands are more groove-oriented and based on rhythm and blues. European bands grow up on classical music because it's very much embedded into that culture. Five Finger Death Punch has both of those roots because I'm from Europe, and Ivan and the rest of the guys are American. We ended somewhere between, with an ‘international sound’ that’s different and separates us."

The album's title sums everything up for the band right now. Zoltan elaborates, "War is the nature of man; it always been, and it'll never go away. War has many different manifestations so it doesn’t have to be taken literally, but that urge to conquer is embedded in our genes.  We were not meant to live our lives caged in cubicles.”

Ivan follows, "I think everyone has their own personal battles whether they're religious, political or family-oriented. To us, [our first album] The Way of the Fist was a swift punch to the face. War Is the Answer is the progression from that first album. You listen and you know we have to keep fighting. You can never just give up and throw in the towel.”

In the end, this record is for the people. Ivan concludes, "I want fans to be as proud of War Is the Answer as we are. We're not going anywhere. I want people to realize that this is from our hearts. I want the younger generation of musicians to realize if you stick to your guns and put forward the militant foot, you can get there. This band isn't afraid of anything. We will go out there, sweat, bleed and play our hearts out - that's everything I've looked for my entire life in a band.  Mankind is nothing but a cluster of opinions and nobody knows the real answers; nothing is ‘for sure.’ However, you can move, even change people through music.  That’s the power of art." 

Since its release in September 2009, War Is the Answer has sold over 150,000 copies in the US alone.  The band accomplished one of the most successful headlining tours of the fall, the USA and UK dates sold out in advance.  Look for 5FDP on the road in 2010.
 

“HARD TO SEE” - VOTED TOP TEN ROCK SONG OF 2009 BY AOL RADIO 
 

“NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND” - VOTED TOP 3 METAL SONG OF 2009 BY AOL RADIO
 

"HARD TO SEE" - TOP 10 TRACK AT ACTIVE ROCK IN 2009 
 

"5FDP" - VOTED TOP TEN GUITAR RIFFS OF 2009 BY GUITAR EDGE MAGAZINE

 

 

As Summer Dies is:
Adam Vayne - Lead Vocals & Guitar
Jay Fritzus - Guitar & Vocals
Angel - Bass & Vocals
Rob Zelin – Keyboard
Mike Novo-Drums

As Summer Dies, hails from Buffalo N.Y. the depressing northeastern city, with its bankrupt economy and its frigid climate providing a fitting backdrop for the band's sound. Musically, As Summer Dies has drawn comparisons to Joy Division, The Cure, The Deftones, AFI, and HIM, combining elements of goth, punk, metal and hardcore to create something truly unique. The band, which currently consists of Adam Vayne, Angel, Jay Fritzius, and Rob Zelin was originally formed in 2002…

As Summer Dies released their first 7 song, self-titled ep in the winter of 2004 and was immediately followed by an aggressive east coast tour. The music hit hard with fans but as a whole felt like something was missing. After taking some time to reflect and making various line-up changes, As Summer Dies began working on new material. During this time, the band's sound truly began to develop as they began to move away from the sound and style that typically define the metal genre...

October 28, 2005 saw the birth of Close Your Eyes, I'll Make You Famous, the bands second ep, and with it the band's first single, Zombie's Are Scumbags. The single received airplay on college radio stations across the country and began to generate substantial online support, fueling the bands already growing cult following. As Summer Dies followed the release of Close Your Eyes with nearly a full year of touring, playing alongside of 18 Visions, Powerman 5000, Life of Agony, Mortis, Bloodsimple, LoveHateHero, Hurt, the Panic Division and Michael Graves.

"It is a rare thing to see a band develop from a nucleus of disparate musicians to their first full length album, as I have had the pleasure of witnessing with As Summer Dies and the release of Sincerely."

On Valentine’s Day of 2007, As Summer Dies unveiled the critically acclaimed, full length album Sincerely. 11 tracks of fast rhythms, intense bass lines and heavy drumbeats that create a background for the haunting vocals that have become part of the bands truly unique sound. The disc also featured the standout remix of Sincerely, courtesy of Rick (Stitch) Thomas from Mushroomhead, adding to the diversity of the album. After the release, As Summer Dies continued to intensely promote their new album and later that year, joined forces alongside The Human Abstract and Psyclon 9, supporting the Mushroomhead Savior Sorrow Tour.

Since their release, the singles "My Last Call" and "Sincerely" have been a permanent fixture on XM Radio's 'Heart Attack', WEDG's Next Wave and have been receiving additional plays on over 200 college and national radio stations. The band has also consistently charted as one of MySpace’s top unsigned bands in the Goth and Metal categories.

Unsigned, Underestimated and Unforgettable, As Summer Dies is making their own path... Don't miss your chance to be part of their history.
 

 

As Summer Dies: www.assummerdies.com/

 

 

Formed in the winter of 2007, His Name Was Yesterday’s escalating support within the national music scene creates an aesthetic that the band may well be some sort of overnight success; nothing could be further from the truth. With several years and numerous projects under their belts, the collective members of His Name Was Yesterday are fueled by the realization that this may be their last shot to make the music they love so much. This fact becomes increasingly apparent listening to the bands debut E.P. entitled ‘Witness to a Dying World’. Produced by East Coast producer Doug White (Every Time I Die, Gym Class Heroes, Psyopus), the songs blend aspects of hardcore, metal and hard rock to create a sound that is a direct current to both the bands heart and soul.

While His Name Was Yesterday may just be in it’s infancy, they have already gained wide spread national attention culminating with a feature in the October/November 2008 issue of Metal Edge Magazine (alongside national metal mainstays Slipknot, Hatebreed, and Motorhead). Futhering this ideal is the overwhelming support the band has gained nationwide from rabid fans affectionately dubbing themselves the “HNWY ARMY” (www.myspace.com/hnwystreet).

His Name Was Yesterday’s hard work ethic and passion to succeed on every level has also caught the attention of several national sponsors including Jagermeister, Roaring Lion Energy Drink, and InTune Guitar picks. It has also earned them the right to share the stage with such national acts as KoRn, Framing Hanley, Unearth, Haste The Day, For The Fallen Dreams, Burn Halo, Otep, and Bury Your Dead.

Whether it be their chaotic live performances or the intensity of their recordings, His Name Was Yesterday has displayed an uncanny ability to connect on a personal level with fans all over the world. It is this ability coupled with their undying passion and work ethic that will ensure that His Name Was Yesterday will soon be a household name.

Like life, music is created and destroyed everyday. The breath of its existence is fragile and can be broken at any instance. It is in these moments that you will find
His Name Was Yesterday, fighting for every breath, and living with the ghosts of their past. We call upon the misguided and lonely, asking your hearts to beat in unison with ours, creating a thundering sound which no man can ever silence. If we stand together nothing can divide us! Let us into your hearts, and we will provide you with the soundtrack to your existence.

Currently, His Name Was Yesterday has returned from their cross-country US tour, and are focused on recording their new full length album, a follow up to their recognized E.P. 'Witness to a Dying World'. With every day, His Name Was Yesterday continues to expand their fanbase worldwide with continuous iTunes sales, and connecting with new and old fans on big stages with national acts. Their new album will certainly be something to look forward to in the new year.

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/hisnamewasyesterday#ixzz0z2UBU8dT
 

Check out Five Finger Death Punch at the Rapids. Watch the video.