Zoltan Bathory was born in Hungary and is a founder member of Los Angeles heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch (FFDP). He is also one of the band’s main songwriters and the joint lead guitarist. Known by his long dreadlocks and tattoos, Zoltan Bathory plays alongside fellow guitarist Jason Hook in the band and won the title of “Best Shredder” 2010 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. Zoltan Bathory joined established metal band UPO in 2004 as a bass player, replacing existing bassist Ben Shirley shortly after the release of the UPO second album “Heavy.” While touring the album guitarist Chris Weber suffered a seizure and was later successfully treated for a brain tumour, however UPO came to a halt and Zoltan Bathory left with the idea of forming his own band. The name Five Finger Death Punch comes from classic oriental martial art movies (kung fu films) loved by Zoltan Bathory a keen martial arts enthusiast.
FFDP recorded their first album “The Way of The Fist” mixed by Soulfly guitarist Logan Mader in 2007, a single “The Bleeding” charting in the US Top 10. Shortly after release, the band added Caleb Bingham as an extra guitarist to the lineup but he was soon replaced by ex WASP guitarist Darrell Roberts. FFDP have toured extensively to build up a following and have supported Korn on tour. Following this, “The Way of the Fist” album was re released with bonus tracks and released in Europe in 2009 and Darrell Roberts was replaced by the bands current guitarist Jason Hook. They toured Europe and played the main stage at the 2009 Download Festival at Donnington Park UK. FFDP released their second studio album “War is the Answer” in 2009 and have toured extensively in the US and UK and Europe. The band have also played to the troops in Iraq – their brand of aggressive driving rock making them popular with the US forces. FFDP have risen to fame comparatively quickly and are currently working on a third album yet to be released. They have released nine singles to date , with the most recent “Bad Company” reaching number 2 in the US charts – so far their highest position. Zoltan Bathory plays BC Rich guitars and has a signature model the Zoltan Bathory ASM named after him.