It is very safe to say that 2014 was a tremendous year for Five Finger Death Punch. Having toured the world extensively to promote their double album The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell (2013) the Las Vegas based band collected some tremendous accolades, including #1 charting songs on active rock radio and sold out arena tours. It should be noted that many bands releasing double albums oftentimes fail to hit the mark that was originally intended. The amount of work and P.R. that it takes just to successfully launch the campaign for one record – let alone two – is staggering. Volume 1 and Volume 2 of The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell both debuted at #2 on the Billboard top 200 and collectively sold over 200,000 copies in the first week of being released.
Beyond being a fan favorite, FFDP has always had a strong relationship with the U.S. military, showing praise for servicemen on active duty as well as paying tribute to veterans of the armed forces. Guitarist Zoltan Bathory is the chairman of development for a non-profit organization ‘The Home Deployment Project” which helps veterans suffering from PTSD, TBI and homelessness. The band has played many USO shows for active duty personnel and in 2014, launched a campaign that raised over $225,000 for veterans and created 5fdpVets.com. The band also played several USO shows in the Far East during 2014.
2015 should be a very exciting year for the Las Vegas metallers as a new album is planned and some new tour dates with Judas Priest are on the cards. All Axess‘ very own artist Chris Kael recently spoke to All Axess to describe the recent ruckus that FFDP had brought to fans all over the world, as well as what is coming in the near future.
Chris said: “2014 literally took Five Finger Death Punch all the way around the world. We started off performing for the US troops in Okinawa, continued on to Soundwave in Australia, followed by a remarkable headlining run in Europe with our good friends Upon A Burning Body, co-headlined a sold out arena tour with the amazing Volbeat and finished the year at #1 on the Rock Radio charts with our song, “The Wrong Side of Heaven” – a song accompanied by a campaign which raised over a quarter of a million dollars to assist veterans suffering from PTSD.
2015? You’ve got your work cut out for you! Though, considering we’re already working on a new album to be released this year and have dates scheduled in Europe with our pals Judas Priest – it looks like 2015 will be all that we anticipate and more!”
Who is excited for record number six from Five Finger Death Punch? Let us know in the comments!