FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH Frontman: 'I Was Lying To Myself Constantly'

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH singer Ivan Moody says that he "learned a lot" about himself while he spent time in a treatment facility addressing his substance abuse issues.

Moody sat out a number of shows of the band's European tour this past summer due to his battles with alcohol. He was temporarily replaced by former DIVINE HERESY and current BAD WOLVES vocalist Tommy Vext.

Asked about what he learned during his time in rehab, Moody told this month's edition of Metal Hammer magazine: "I learned a lot about myself. Things that I had forgotten. I learned what it was like to not battle myself anymore, which is really difficult to admit, because at the end of the day — and I'm sure anyone can agree with this — you're your own worst enemy.

"I just got to a point where I was lying to myself constantly, so I had to face up to that," he continued. "It was a lot of… I don't want to use the words 'self sacrifice,' but that's what it felt like. It was giving up who I thought I was and starting over from scratch and realizing the man that I am was good enough."

Meanwhile, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Zoltan Bathory revealed that the band wasn't able to use pyrotechnics during its live performances when Moody was drinking in case there was an accident.

"Ivan was a functioning alcoholic — this guy could probably fly the space shuttle drunk and you wouldn't even know," the guitarist explained. "You wouldn't notice that he was drunk until he'd say something really bizarre, and then you were, like, 'Oh, shit, you're drunk!'

"Now we go out and the machine is absolutely precise, to the minute. He's actually where he's supposed to be, meaning that if we wanted to use pyro, now we can. Before, you couldn't tell him, 'Don't stand there,' because he will."

The European tour was not the first time Ivan had been forced to miss FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH shows due to various issues. Moody previously sat our eight concerts during the band's fall 2016 U.S. co-headlining arena tour with SHINEDOWN after he "fell ill" and stepped away from the road to receive treatment. He was replaced at those dates by ALL THAT REMAINS vocalist Phil Labonte.

Prior to that, Moody had an onstage meltdown during a May 2015 show in Memphis. The incident was blamed on his abuse of alcohol and drugs. He entered rehab after that.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH will release a greatest-hits collection, "A Decade Of Destruction", on December 1. One of two new tracks included on the album, a song called "Trouble", reached No. 1 on iTunes Rock and Metal charts around the globe and has garnered over 1 million streams worldwide. The other new song included with the set is titled "Gone Away".

The hits collection and an already-completed new studio album are part of a deal to settle a legal dispute and close out the band's contract with its label, Prospect Park.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's seventh full-length LP, which was finished nearly a year ago, will follow up 2015's "Got Your Six" and will be released in spring 2018.

The band is currently on a European arena tour with IN FLAMES and OF MICE & MEN.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH signed a new North American recording deal with Rise Records last year.