FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
Biography
bal·ance
noun \ˈba-lən(t)s\
a state in which different things occur in equal or proper amounts or have an equal or proper
amount of importance
It's always been about balance. That goal, since the beginning when Five Finger Death
Punch formed in 2005, is now fully realized. The unrelenting hard work of the past eight years
is all calibrated as The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell, an
ambitious two-album release that will affect everything to follow.
The title itself defines balance--much like Five Finger Death Punch. Their tactical
instrumental attack is balanced by volatile lyrics and a voice driven by pain and fury. The
reward is three--soon to be more--gold albums and an unprecedented run of Top 10 Active
Rock radio singles that have been embraced by an audience actually living the teetering
emotional balance of the songs.
Working again with producer Kevin Churko at The Hideout Studios in the band's home
base city of Las Vegas, The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell was
written and recorded with an initial mindset of being just one album. The wave of creativity
that resulted in twenty-three songs was measured out into a pair of companion albums only
after all the tracks were complete.
The point was to release a prolific moment in time as a single body of work--a veritable
double album--including matching color-coded cover artwork to thematically link the two
volumes, much like Guns N' Roses did with Use Your Illusion in 1991.
Ultimately, the criteria that determined which tracks were on Volume 1 and Volume 2 came
down to proper balance. One album could not overshadow the other. “If we managed to
separate the songs into two batches, that I can't personally favor [either], then the separation
is right,” reasons founding guitarist Zoltan Bathory.
“Volume 2 is a little bit darker and heavier, but it's still balanced. It's a very melodic,
polished record, but there's plenty of anger. It's heavy, but very musical.”
That musicality is pivotal to the band being able to artistically pursue any creative direction
that comes next. The fundamental aspects established by the first three albums--The Way Of
The Fist, War Is The Answer and American Capitalist--resound throughout both volumes of
The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell, but the new material is also
fresh, a different vibe that frames an exciting progression.
“If you're not changing, you're boring. But are you going to experiment and change, and run
the risk of upsetting your fans because they expect something? It's almost like we looked at
our strengths and built on that, but evolved, so it's not just like we copied [the] older songs.”
The strategy of two albums worth of material provided enough breathing room to take those
