FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH: 'We Write Music For The Tough Guys, We Write Music For The Lions'

Kristen Dunleavy of myYearbook recently conducted an interview with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Zoltan Bathory. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

myYearbook: You've said your upcoming album, "American Capitalist", "crystallizes the sound of DEATH PUNCH." What does that mean?

Zoltan: The band has been together for long enough now that it really became a machine. We can guess what the other guys are going to do. On the first record, I wrote most of the songs, 90 percent of them. In the second record, it was more teamwork and this is basically what I meant by crystallizing. It's really a team effort when it's all hands on board and it is what the band really sounds like. That's pretty much what it means.

myYearbook: What's the concept behind your new single, "Under And Over It"?

Zoltan: [Laughs] That's such a nice, manicured middle finger for the haters. When you're becoming successful, you pop your head above the water and you become a target. For all the fans we have, there are gonna be an equal amount of haters, the guys who have not much to do in life but hate on bands. Actually, it's entertaining when we read the online comments. The guy I'm worried about is the one who's working harder than me. So that's how I look at it. I thought it was a clever way to throw a grenade back in their direction. It was more like a fun thing. I don't really have to worry about the haters.

myYearbook: Last time we spoke with you, you discussed your perspective on life in America and your view on war. Do you feel your perspective changing as time goes on?

Zoltan: I would say with a big capital N-O, no. I came here from a communist country and I was sworn in to be an American citizen. When you have to pass for citizenship, you have to understand the foundation of a country. I'm here for a reason. When you say anything about freedom, people take it as a cheap flag-waving thing to get attention and that's pretty sad. I can't really criticize them because most of the people who were born here were born into the system. The only time you start to notice things is when they're taken away from you. They don't necessarily understand the freedoms they have and the possibilities and how important this system is in this country. I came from another country where there were no basic human rights. You don't understand what it's like when the cops can beat you up and you can't do a freaking thing about it, there's no one to complain to. The government, the police and the army are the same entity. You can't fight back, you don't have gun rights. These things are so alien to Americans, they take it for granted. I think it's a little bit of an education for the people who forgot about it, who forgot about what they have. The reason I assume you asked is because the title of the album is "American Capitalist" and it's connecting the same idea. I'm still all for the same values and that's why the record is called "American Capitalist".

myYearbook: Is there anything else you'd like to say to your fans?

Zoltan: The record is coming out in October 11th. That's shameless self-advertising, [and] since it's called "American Capitalist", I can go for it. The reason we call it "American Capitalist" goes back to question you asked before: how do I feel about the same values? We call it "American Capitalist" because the capitalist system is the closest system to nature. Nature is where you didn't make the rules, I didn't make the rules, it just is. The small things will not survive, the weak will die. There's a natural selection, a natural evolution. We know the communist system tried to equalize that, and that's never gonna happen. People will never stay in line and accept that they are equal, they just won't. Evolution doesn't allow you to be equal, the best will survive. We took that concept and dropped it into civilization. You don't go out and chuck a spear at some animal, you go to the store and buy food, but the process is the same. You technically hunt, but you're getting money. Money will buy you food, but it's the same story. You're still a hunter, you're still a survivor and you have to fight for it. Anybody who doesn't understand that will never succeed in life. A lot of people say we're "tough-guy" metal. And you know what, it is! Because that's how we feel. Everyone in this band came from poor families. I came to this country with a guitar on my back, nothing in my pocket and I didn't speak English. My singer was a foster child, Jason [Hook, guitar] was an abandoned kid, literally found in the street and adopted. We had hard lives and we came here and we fought for it. Now it's a little bit different, we have pretty good lives, but we have to fight for that. That's what we try to relate to our fans: this is the lion pride. Yes, it is tough-guy metal. We write music for the tough guys, we write music for the lions. I don't care about the victims, cry somewhere else. That's the ideology and we fully accept that. That's what "American Capitalist" means to us. Is it a perfect system? No. But from what's available, this is the best we can choose, and it gives us a fair shot. It gave me a fair shot and I took it. The system does give you the shot, nobody can complain about their circumstances. Look at my circumstances, and then let's argue about it. That's what "American Capitalist" stands for.

Read the entire interview from myYearbook.

"Under And Over It" audio stream: