Five Finger Death Punch singer Ivan Moody, in various recent interviews, has revealed that four years ago, he died for three and a half minutes before being resuscitated – his body’s reaction to quitting drinking cold turkey.
His bandmate, guitarist Zoltan Bothery, knows what Moody experienced, disclosing he briefly died when was 12 years old.
“I was on my bicycle and I used to get behind big trucks because I could go faster...You’re getting in the draft (of the truck),” Bathory recalled in a phone interview. “The bicycle started to get to a speed when it was really not stable anymore.”
That’s when Bathory briefly took his eye off of the truck.
“I just plowed into the truck,” Bathory said. “I spent some time trying to find it (the truck). And at first I noticed, I can look behind a wall and I can look behind a bush. So I realized in that moment I had an out-of-body experience.”
After a bit, Bathory regained consciousness, and he actually walked away from the scene, much to the astonishment of onlookers who had gathered.
Bathory said he is talking about the incident because the new Five Finger Death Punch album, “AfterLife,” deals in part with this unique experience he and Moody share.
Specifically, the album includes the song “Judgment Day,” which Bathory said was meant to be “a soundtrack to the process of dying.” Moody’s reaction when Bathory gave him the music was all he needed to see.
“I gave the song to Ivan to write the lyrics,” Bathory recalled. “He freaked out. He said ‘I’m not writing this song. I don’t want to (relive it).’”
Eventually, Moody remembered he was actually at peace while he was dying, and he completed the lyrics. With that, all 10 songs were done and “AfterLife” was ready to be the ninth studio album from this popular hard rock/heavy metal band – seven of which have gone gold or platinum.
Headlining at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center tonight, Five Finger Death Punch is bringing out a visually elaborate show and playing lots of the hits.
“When you put in new stuff that people are not familiar with, it changes the vibe (of the show),” Bathory said. “They can’t sing along because they don’t know the song ...So you can put in new songs, but you have to be careful and you have to be very smart where you put them in the set.”
Photo by Travis Shinn.
