Posted: November 24th, 2007
Contributed By: Nick

	Purchase @ iTunes Release Date: July 31st, 2007 via The Firm
	Five Finger Death Punch is: Ivan Moody (Vocals) Zoltan Bathory (Guitar) Darrell Roberts (Guitar) Matt Snell (Bass) Jeremy Spencer (Drums)

Overview: Five Finger Death Punch is, cynically speaking, a b-list super group in a way, originally coined by ex-U.P.O. guitarist Zoltan Bathory. He recruited former Motograter front man Ivan Moody to handle vocal duties, while two members of 80’s act W.A.S.P., Roberts and Spencer, helped round out what would become Five Finger Death Punch. The band bolted for the studio with producer Logan Mader of Machine Head fame to begin tracking their debut record, and began attracting the interest of The Firm Music. The Firm inked Five Finger Death Punch to a deal earlier this year, and soon after, dropped the band’s debut album, ‘The Way of the Fist‘. Five Finger Death Punch’s current single “The Bleeding” is steadily rising on the mainstream rock charts, while the band recently completed successful stints on both the Family Values Tour, as well as Korn’s “Bitch We Have A Problem” trek.

The Good: Five Finger Death Punch take much of their blistering energy and douse it in infectious and hooky combinations of melody and harmony, which gives ‘The Way of the Fist‘ an entirely new feel and direction than just searing metal core patterns. Ivan Moody, although better known as “Ghost” from his Motograter and current Ghost Machine days, shows off his extensive range, fluctuating flawlessly from gut-wrenching roars to enveloping and at times epic melodic approaches. Dynamically, Moody aids the album tremendously, as his evident attention to volume and pace provide ‘The Way of the Fist‘ with a tighter and more professional sound. The dual guitar work of Zoltan Bathory and Darrell Roberts is the driving force behind Five Finger Death Punch, and they are able to successfully pull off somewhat of a split personality. The duo matches explosive and visceral pulses effectively with smooth and textured chord progressions, giving ‘The Way of the Fist‘ a more digestible disposition. Solos are placed somewhat on the backburner, and although they are present and often times indulgent, they never once compromise the succinct nature of the album. Matt Snell’s bass constructions fuse muscular downbeats with bouncy rhythms, which serves as the perfect backdrop to Jeremy Spencer’s consistent drumming; Spencer keeps the double bass pounding at all the appropriate moments, yet keeps the driving nature of ‘The Way of the Fist‘ alive and breathing. Five Finger Death Punch have struck somewhat a solid niche between scathing metal core and rock radio, which, although on paper sounds cheesy and forgettable, is conquered by the band.

The Bad: Although ‘The Way of the Fist‘ does seem to juggle mainlined rock structures with teeth-showing riffs, the identity struggle which Five Finger Death Punch seems to be suffering from becomes clear after a few listens, painting a picture of ‘The Way of the Fist‘ as more of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, rather than a solid attempt at a crossover album. Despite its many creative merits, the album is far too repetitive and recycled to warrant extensive study, and one could easily be as satisfied, if not more so, by revisiting a Motograter album; infact, think of Five Finger Death Punch as Motograter-core, and yes it is at times as dismal as it sounds. Lyrically, ‘The Way of the Fist‘ is haunted by regurgitated and tired cliches and one-liners, and although Moody’s delivery is expressive and unique, he sounds painfully forced and pushed beyond his boundaries more than occasionally, taking much of the intended bite away from the album’s attempt.

Bottomline: ‘The Way of the Fist‘ is a valiant effort at tearing down the Berlin wall dividing metal core and mainstream rock, but unfortunately, the album emanates more of a spastic amalgamation of each members prior bands, failing to propel it in the direction it intends to go. Nevertheless, Five Finger Death Punch can be thanked for simply exposing a wider audience to some bloodthirsty cuts that would assumedly gone unnoticed without their slant towards mainstream appeal; although they do somewhat bridge a gap, the material supporting that bridge is a tad too wispy and treaded upon to keep them standing for long.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10