ZOLTAN BATHORY: How FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH Came Up With Band Name

In a new interview with June Archer, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist and founder Zoltan Bathory spoke about the origins of the band's name. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Basically, I'm a martial artist since I was a little kid. So all the Bruce Lee movies and all the martial arts movies were my favorites. I loved underground Hong Kong cinema, those old, old movies. And there was a movie of 'Five Fingers Of Death', so that was a a classic. And then when 'Kill Bill' came out, they had this five-finger exploding heart, whatever, technique. And so we were sitting in movie theater, I'm, like, 'Man, that sounds so stupid, that should be a band name.' And then pretty much here we go today. And, basically, we shortened this, because five-finger exploding lotus technique wouldn't be a good-sounding name. So I ended up picking FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH. It's sort of like an ode to kung fu and martial arts and this old-school Hong Kong martial arts cinema, basically."

Asked if he and his bandmates had to go through a myriad of different names before they found FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, Zoltan said: "So, basically, I started this project. I mean, all of us in the band were in various bands before, so we had a musical history before this particular band. And I started this band in 2005, and I started to record the first material that became our first album. And when you work on a new project — everybody can do it their way, but I always thought that don't name it yet because I think what you're saying, the musical content and your lyrics and how the band or the artist looks like and all those things together has to be a complete picture. So there [was] a list of names, and then this name, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, got on this list. And as the band was developing, our sound was developing, this was probably the closest [to what we sounded like]. And all the other good names were already taken. So you have to look at the dot com, [if it's] available. But you have to pick a name that sticks out, a name that when you say to somebody, people take a second and look, like, 'What?' If it's too average or it's too simple, it's really difficult to remember."

He added: "The world is really, really noisy — a lot of information coming at you — so you have to have a band name that both makes sense with who you are, so the look, the message, whatever you're saying fits this, and also it has to stick out somewhat. It has to make you feel some kind of a way."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH recently announced a headlining U.S. tour this summer with support from MARILYN MANSON and SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL. The trek will kick off on August 2 in Hershey, Pennsylvania and run through September 19 when it will conclude in Houston, Texas.

Prior to the U.S. run, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH will embark on a tour of Europe in the spring for more stadium dates with METALLICA on the latter act's "M72" world tour in addition to headlining shows with special guest ICE NINE KILLS and select appearances at major festivals.

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

On April 5, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH released the digital deluxe edition of "AfterLife", featuring the original 12 tracks recorded with the band's longtime producer Kevin Churko (OZZY OSBOURNE) in addition to four bonus tracks: three acoustic versions of the album's songs "The End", "Judgement Day" and "Thanks For Asking" plus a brand new song, "This Is The Way", featuring the late rapper DMX.