2005-Ivan MoodyVocals2006-
Zoltan BathoryRhythm guitar2005-
Jeremy SpencerDrums2005-2018
Jason Hook Lead guitar2009-2020
Chris KaelBass2011-
Matt SnellBass2006-2011
Charlie EngenDrums2018-
Andy JamesGuitar2020-
Five Finger Death Punch was founded in Las Vegas in 2005 by former U.P.O. bassist Zoltan Bathory and ex-W.A.S.P. drummer Jeremy Spencer. Lead singer Ivan Moody, previously with the band Motograter, was recruited later. He and Bathory have been the constants in the group.
It's hard to believe, but Ivan Moody was chronically shy when he flew from his home in Denver, Colorado to Los Angeles to meet with the band in 2006. At his audition, he performed with his back turned. He's clearly come out of his shell, at least on stage. He says he's more introverted than most people think.
Ivan Moody has never played any instruments, but has always been a singer or a writer. He recalled to the Denver Westword: "I started playing in bands when I was 16 years old. I remember the first band I was in out there was at a club called the Wooden Nickel in Aurora, Colorado. My first show ever was then, and they told me I could play the show but that I would have to leave right after I got off stage. From that point on, I knew that was my calling. I loved it so deeply. I played in countless bands in Colorado and eventually uprooted and moved to LA."
Jeremy Spencer started playing drums at age 6 on a drum set his grandmother purchased at Sears.
Pantera is a huge influence on Five Finger Death Punch, and when Jeremy Spencer was 17, his band Cornucopia of Death got to open for them when they came to Indianapolis.
"We were doing a soundcheck, and we were playing a song that was really fast - a really fast double-bass part - and at the end of it, we hear this guy going, 'Faster! Play it faster!'" he told the radio station KLAQ. "It was [Pantera guitarist] Dimebag [Darrell Abbott] on the side of the stage just kind of messing with us. So we gave him one of our band T-shirts, and he was, like, 'I'll totally wear it, man.' And I looked in the Metal Maniacs magazine a couple of months later, and he was wearing our shirt in the magazine. So I thought that was really cool."
The band name is a reference to the 2004 Quentin Tarantino movie Kill Bill 2, where it's a martial arts technique that once administered, causes death after the victim takes five steps. It's actually called the "Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique," but Zoltan Bathory remembered it as "Five Finger Death Punch" after seeing the film.
They share songwriting credits, but Ivan Moody is responsible for the lyrics and he works separately. His bandmates complete the tracks, then hand them off to him.
"When you guys hear the CD, that's exactly how I got it without the lyrics and melodies and whatnot," he said at the 2015 edition of the UK's Download festival. "It's a great method. I don't have to get in their hair, they don't get in mine. They don't wanna be next to me. I'm like a monster in a cage."
Ivan Moody is a loose cannon, on and off stage. "Any kind of rule you try to impose on him... he just has to break it," Zoltan Bathory said on France's TV Rock Live. he said. "I don't remember the last time he actually didn't miss an airplane."
One of Jason Hook's first big music gigs, before he joined 5FDP, was as the touring guitarist for singer Hilary Duff. He recalled to
Louder Noise TV: "It was a fantastic learning experience, because I was touring around the world, massive venues, a lot of television appearances, and it taught me how to be a professional and how to be responsible. And I had to be prepared at any given moment to play 30-something songs."
"I loved every minute of it," he added. "She's a wonderful person and her family treated us very well."
Ivan Moody jumps around on stage, as he puts it, "Like a gorilla." It took a toll as he got older; in 2023 he had three hernias, and in 2024 he broke a rib after falling on stage. He relies on pain killers to get through performances.
They're unwavering supporters of veterans and those who serve in the American military. The title of their 2015 album Got Your Six is a military term meaning "got your back," as in the 6 O'clock position directly behind you.
Zoltan Bathory was born in Hungary in 1978 and raised there while the country was under communist rule. He was one of the first entertainers from that country to make a global impact following the end of communism in 1989. He wanted to "bring back something that the Hungarians can be proud of," so he waited until the band was an arena act before playing there for the first time, a sold-out show in Budapest on February 20, 2020.
Zoltan Bathory didn't speak English when he immigrated to America from Hungary. He learned by reading Stephen King's book The Shawshank Redemption, translating it line-by-line with a dictionary and then watching the movie to hear how the words are pronounced.
Ivan Moody battled alcoholism for much of his life. In the early years of 5FDP he was able to manage it, but by 2012 it was causing major problems and nearly got him kicked out of the band. He made five trips to rehab before nearly dying in 2017 when he blacked out and woke up surrounded by EMTs. His sixth trip to rehab finally worked, and he got sober in 2018.
Their fans are known as Knuckleheads. Brass knuckles are a big part of their imagery - there's a set built into Ivan Moody's custom microphone.
In 2025, Five Finger Death Punch pulled a Taylor Swift, re-recording many of their early songs after their back catalog was sold without their permission. The album
20 Years of Five Finger Death Punch – Best Of Volume 1 was the first release, with 14 newly-recorded versions of songs like "
The Bleeding" and "
Wrong Side of Heaven."
Zoltan Bathory earned a Jiu Jitsu black belt in 2021 after training for 13 years. He participates in tournaments and is part owner of the Professional Grappling Federation (PGF).
