Five Finger Death Punch
In an age where mobile phone screens create a canopy above most crowds, the good and the bad of the live environment are inevitably captured. While Five Finger Death Punch are renowned for their impassioned, confrontational live shows, the last few years have also seen emotions run high and tempers flare publicly. At the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis on May 1, 2015, after a couple of weeks of shows, tempers were exacerbated by an onstage disagreement between singer Ivan Moody and then-drummer Jeremy Spencer over a technical issue, leading to everyone but Ivan walking offstage. Though they would finish the set, reports and video circulated, leading to rumours of the band’s breakup. Ivan would allay the fears in a statement reading: “I apologise for taking out my anger onstage… And to the haters… wipe that smirk off your face… we are not going anywhere.”
Speaking to Hammer a few weeks later, Ivan grimly acknowledged the incident, stating: “The saying is that you should wash your clothes at home. Unfortunately, there were 20,000 people watching while he and I had an argument. I really fucked up and I was so embarrassed. The fans didn’t have to see that. I’ll be honest, it hurt.”
Ivan would soon enter rehab, but despite the band claiming Memphis was a crossroads moment that they had put behind them, troubles have continued to rear their head onstage. In 2016 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Ivan left a gig mid-set, apologising for his performance and claiming his mother was passing away. The following year in Tilburg, Netherlands, another fractious show saw guitarist Jason Hook throwing his instrument down and
Ivan saying it was his last show with the band, before again entering rehab. They’re currently in the studio working on their eighth record, hopefully followed by a drama-free tour.
Classic Rock.