JASON HOOK On His Exit From FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH: 'I Felt The Urge To Lead Without My Hands Tied Behind My Back'

In a new interview with the TODDCast Podcast, former FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Jason Hook reflected on his exit from the band more than four years ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, at the point where it happened, it was actually — I think it was time, on both sides. There were problems.

"I'm a leader, and there's a few leaders in that camp," he explained. "And I felt the urge to lead without my hands tied behind my back. And so it got to a point where it wasn't working for me anymore."

Asked how much of that was just looking for a new challenge, Hook said: "Well, I'm always looking for a new challenge, but the thing is we work so hard to get to that level of success. It's kind of, like… I'm also not delusional. You can't just keep creating that; that's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. And with that kind of a thing, you would work very hard and get to that level, and then it's sort of just like on a maintenance program. And so the heavy lifting had already been done.

"But, again, I just reached a point where I sort of wanted to have control over the things I was doing," he added. "So it was time for me."

Earlier in the week, Hook revealed to Talkin' Bout Rock that his December 2019 surgery to have his gallbladder removed was somewhat of an eye-opening experience in terms of his relationship with his then-bandmates. Hook's operation took place just hours after FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH was forced to postpone a show in Duluth, Minnesota. The final two concerts of FIVE FINGER's fall 2019 tour were also postponed: at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska and at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

"It was horrible," Hook recalled. "In most cases, our body is just listening to our brain, and I was experiencing a tremendous amount of stress at that phase of that situation, and it caught up to me. Because I had asked, 'What makes something like this happen?' I'm, like, super healthy, take care of myself, blah, blah, blah, blah. And all the analysts and the doctors are, like, 'Well, stress can be a big component.' I'm, like, 'Well, that makes sense.' And it kind of freaked me out too, because I realized that you can die in a hotel room in the middle of nowhere and that's how it ends."

He continued: "I didn't feel like I was surrounded by anyone who cared about me. I was just sort of, like, 'Go see if he can play.' And then I'm, like, 'I can't. I've gotta go to the hospital.' And then everyone left. So, it's fine. But right after that, we were supposed to go to Europe and start all up again, and I'm just, like… [I thought] 'I'm not dying this way.' I'm not trying to be overly dramatic, but I saw what it was. And quality of life is everything."

Last October, Hook told The Mistress Carrie Podcast, about his exit from FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH more than four years ago: "There's no animosity there. There's nothing there. It's like everything. Over time, relationships and policies change. With extreme success, popularity, finances, it affects egos and personalities and roles and all that stuff."

Hook added that it's more difficult to be in a band than it is to be in a marriage. "Because with a marriage, if there's a problem, you only have to work it out between the other party," he explained. "In a band, you could be solid with this guy, but it's still a mess with [one of the other guys]. It's okay with him. It's a mess with this guy. Of course, it's way harder. It's like having four wives."

In October 2020, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH confirmed that it had officially parted ways with Hook eight months earlier during the band's sold-out European arena tour. He has since been replaced by renowned British virtuoso Andy James, who made his recording debut with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH on "Broken World", a song that was included on the second installment of the group's greatest-hits collection, "A Decade Of Destruction - Volume 2".

After his recovery from emergency gallbladder surgery at the end of 2019, Hook had to leave midway from FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's tour of Europe to address further complications.

Jason, who joined FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH in 2009, said about his exit from the band: "As for the reason I'm leaving… well, there really isn't just one. I've been in bands my entire life and I feel like I've done all the good that I can here. It's time to pass the baton and move on to new challenges."

Jason's new band FLAT BLACK will release its debut album, "Dark Side Of The Brain", on July 19 via Fearless Records.

"Dark Side Of The Brain" was produced by Hook and Chris Collier (KORN),and recorded at both Hook's home studio and The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Hook is joined in FLAT BLACK by singer Wes Horton, bassist Nick Diltz and drummer Rob Pierce.

FLAT BLACK made its live debut on August 24, 2023 at the FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine, California as the support act for GODSMACK.