ZOLTAN BATHORY: FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's Songwriting Process Hasn't Changed After Addition Of New Guitarist

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Zoltan Bathory was asked in an interview with Finland's Chaoszine if the band's songwriting process for the upcoming ninth album, "AfterLife", was any different to how it was in the past now that FFDP has a new guitarist, British musician Andy James, who joined FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH in 2020 as the replacement for the group's longtime guitarist Jason Hook. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "For us, the process… We have a method that works for us. Every band works differently. For us, it comes from a certain philosophy, how I look at music. And the philosophy I look at music with is that if you look at classical composers, for example, these songwriters, these composers were creating music and delivering complex messages with their music alone. You have Vivaldi, for example, The Four Seasons. You know which season is what. How do you know? The music somehow tells you that. So these classical composers could deliver pretty complex pictures and messages and paint an environment for you with the music alone. And I believe that that's the right way to go. So we always write the music first. And the music itself has to sort of say something, it has to paint the picture. And then we give it to Ivan [Moody, vocals] to write the lyrics. And I think that's when something, it really comes together. Because when the music already says something and the vocals kind of enhance that, then you have something special. And that's been always the process and we always do it that way. This record was done the same way — music first, and then we take it to Ivan."

James was previously featured on "Broken World", a song that was included on the second installment of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's greatest-hits collection, "A Decade Of Destruction – Volume 2", which came out in the fall of 2020.

"AfterLife" is due on August 19. The title track, which was released as a single in April, recently gave FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH the most consecutive No. 1s on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. The song was the band's 13th total No. 1 and eighth entry on the chart in a row. FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH broke out of a tie with DISTURBED and SHINEDOWN, each of whom has seven consecutive No. 1s on the chart.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's follow-up to 2020's "F8" was once again recorded at the Hideout Recording Studio, the Las Vegas, Nevada facility owned and operated by Kevin Churko, the Canadian record producer/engineer and songwriter who has worked on all of FIVE FINGER's albums beginning with the band's sophomore release, 2009's "War Is The Answer".

Exclusively curated by the band, various limited-edition "AfterLife" vinyl and merchandise offerings and collectibles are also available for pre-order in the official band and label stores.

Since FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's debut album, "The Way Of The Fist", came out in 2007, the band has released six consecutive albums that were certified gold or platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as well as two chart-topping greatest-hits albums. In addition, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has earned numerous national and international awards and honors over the last decade, such as the prestigious Soldier Appreciation Award by the Association Of The United States Army, an honor bestowed upon only one other recording artist before them: Elvis Presley.

"F8" debuted at No. 1 on rock charts around the world, with Top 10 mainstream chart debuts in the USA, Austria, Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and more. It produced four No. 1 hit singles with "Inside Out", "A Little Bit Off", "Living The Dream" and "Darkness Settles In". The band has amassed over eight billion streams and three billion video views to date and has sold over one million tickets between 2018 and 2020 alone.

This past April, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH announced a 2022 U.S. headlining tour presented by Live Nation. Kicking off in Portland, Oregon on August 19, the trek will span over 30 dates, closing out on October 15 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The band will be joined on tour by rock icons MEGADETH, with additional support from THE HU and FIRE FROM THE GODS.