FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH Performs Without IVAN MOODY At SoFi Stadium; PHIL LABONTE, HOWARD JONES Fill In

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH singer Ivan Moody was forced to sit out the band's concert Sunday night (August 27) at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California as the support act for METALLICA after coming down with a "terrible flu." He was replaced at the gig by Phil Labonte (ALL THAT REMAINS),Howard Jones (ex-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE) and AJ Channer (FIRE FROM THE GODS).

A short time before taking the stage at SoFi, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH released the following statement via social media: "To our friends in L.A.! Ivan fell ill with a terrible flu and won't be able to perform tonight. We are grateful that our good friends Phil Labonte (ALL THAT REMAINS),Howard Jones (ex-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, ex-LIGHT THE TORCH and SION) and AJ Channer (FIRE FROM THE GODS) are stepping up and will take over his vocal duties for what will surely be a special show.

"Join us in wishing our brother Ivan well, he'll be back very soon."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH played its first show as the support act for METALLICA on the "M72" tour on August 6 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Additional support at the gig came from ICE NINE KILLS.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH was originally supposed to support METALLICA on several European shows this past spring — including April 29 at the Johan Cruijf Arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands; on May 17 at Stade De France in Paris, France; and on May 28 at Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany — but ended up canceling the dates in order to allow Moody to fully recover from his recent hernia surgery. They were replaced by NIGHTWISH singer Floor Jansen in Amsterdam and EPICA in Paris and Hamburg.

When FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH played a few shows in Europe as the support act for METALLICA in July 2022, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH shared a video report on the pairing in which Moody said of the experience: "Everyone sets goals, as you should. But you have to understand, for us, this is the apex, this is the climax, this is the top of the fucking hill. And it's amazing to me that we've been on tour for almost 15 years and never crossed paths with this band. And I've gotta tell you, they paved the road for any of us, and anyone that argues that fact is out of their fucking mind. The one and only METALLICA."

Back in 2016, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bassist Chris Kael told Loudwire that METALLICA's classic third album, "Master Of Puppets", represented a turning point in his music tastes. He recalled: "I went to a place called Disc Jockey Records back in Lexington [Kentucky] and I had in my hand 'Master Of Puppets' and RUN-DMC 'Raising Hell' and I had to make that decision. Which one? I've heard about this band METALLICA through Circus magazine and whatnot, but I haven't heard the music, but I know RUN-DMC."

He continued: "I ended up picking up METALLICA and 'Master Of Puppets', and right from the first notes of 'Battery', hearing that beautiful guitar piece into crushing and everything that Cliff Burton did on that basically shaped me melodic-wise on bass right from the very beginning. So that album is probably one of the most influential in terms of making me want to play bass. I'll never be able to get to the same level talent-wise that Cliff Burton was, but it was a challenge."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is continuing to tour in support of its ninth album, "AfterLife" which was released in August 2022 via Better Noise.