Five Finger Death Punch has released their 8th album, “F8” AKA “Fate”, and – spoiler alert – Ivan Moody is pissed off. Yawn. Been there, done that. The lead single “Inside Out” sounds like a petty twitter beef against former drummer and founding member Jeremy Spencer, as does “To Be Alone”, which is definitely throwing shade on somebody. New drummer Charlie Engen plays frantically throughout the album, possibly to prove a point, but rarely to bring rhythm to the song. 5FDP peaked creatively with “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1” in 2013. That album took creative risks, explored new sounds, and had collaborations with Rob Halford, Tech N9ne, Max Cavalera, Maria Brink and Jamey Jasta. Since then, they have played it safe and repeated themselves. One positive note about “F8” for many is the absence of a cover song, unless you consider that the band is essentially covering itself. The sounds have been done before, and the lyrical themes have been covered before, with far better results on the classics from the first 4 albums. “Death Punch Therapy” literally pulls lyrics from previous songs. The “I hate everybody” well has run dry, with Moody resorting to just yelling “Fuck!” at the end of “This Is War”. The “Death Punch sound” is tried and true, so it’s not like this album is bad, it just pales in comparison to the earlier efforts. At this point in their career, they would be fine putting out greatest hits and live albums, and touring, where they truly shine best. There are other bands in the genre who continue to evolve and experiment with their sound, with excellent results: Godsmack, All That Remains, Killswitch Engage, Sevendust and Slipknot have all recently released new albums that rank among their best. Hopefully, Five Finger Death Punch will be more bold on their next album, and once again produce greatness.

Photos of Five Finger Death Punch performing at Rock USA in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on July 18, 2019:

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Five Finger Death Punch Continues To Regress With “F8” first appeared on Game On Media.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH have announced that after 14 years drummer Jeremy Spencer will be leaving the band. After sitting out the Fall leg of the group’s recent co-headlining tour with Breaking Benjamin, Jeremy underwent a second back surgery and will need a significant amount of time to recover; the band fully supports his decision. “This decision has been weighing on me for months; and now the time has finally come,” explains Jeremy Spencer. “I started to play when I was 6 years old, and I feel fortunate that my body has provided me with several decades of doing what I love most: drumming. However, the rigorous physical wear and tear has got me to the point where I feel I can no longer deliver a performance that brings me satisfaction and joy. I feel the band deserves to get someone with the fire and energy, capable of delivering the performance that the fans deserve. Like you, I will be cheering them on to continue making great music as they tour the world and bring exciting shows to all our cherished fans.” It’s been a massive year for FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH who are the #1 most-played artist on U.S. Rock Radio for 2018 in year-end radio reports. The group just released (12/14) the new video for the blues rock song “Blue On Black” HERE. Originally recorded by Kenny Wayne Shepherd, “Blue On Black” follows the success of previous singles including the #1 hit “Sham Pain,” also off their seventh studio album, AND JUSTICE FOR NONE which debuted at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart this past spring. Last week, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH wrapped the biggest North American co-headlining rock tour of 2018 with Breaking Benjamin. With their Summer and Fall tours combined, the bands donated over $250,000 to charities in 2018.

Jeremy Spencer Is Leaving Five Finger Death Punch first appeared on Game On Media.