Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Five Finger Death Punch, Better Noise Music, 2020.
Five Finger Death Punch are an American heavy metal band that blend a mix of metal genres to create their own unique form heavy metal.
There are a number of metal bands that flirt with death metal, but none integrate it as fully and seamlessly as Five Finger Death Punch (FFDP).
F8 is their eighth studio release and the album currently sits at #1 on the Australian iTunes Main and Metal charts.
The album was produced by the band and Ozzie Osbourne’s producer, Kevin Churko.
All metal heads will have heard FFDP but for the uninitiated the band are huge in the metal scene.
They’ve amassed over three billion streams, over two billion video views and they are the third biggest band in the hard rock space measured on sales, surpassed only by Metallica and AC/DC.
Putting this into perspective, they’ve recently passed both Muse and U2 in daily global Spotify streams and it won’t be long before they’ll be knocking on Metallica’s door. AC/DC are still some way off in the distance.
I think the band’s popularity can be put down to the variety they offer – their albums contain tracks that range from the soft, melodic, almost prog, spectrum through to the darkness and heaviness of death metal.
Whichever end of the spectrum they’re occupying their songs always contain strong melodic elements, so even people who generally shy away from metal can enjoy them.
Five Finger Death punch are a stadium band. They’re regularly selling out major arenas around the world and every record they’ve released since their 2007 debut, The Way Of The Fist, has achieved either Gold or Platinum status.
If you want to get a feel for them, watch the videos for their single releases, Inside Out, Full Circle and Living The Dream on YouTube.
