The deluxe version of Five Finger Death Punch’s 2022 album Afterlife features a guest star many people didn’t see coming. The late DMX, who passed away in 2021, was a rapper that guitarist Zoltan Bathory had his eye on for a feature for a long time.
“The idea of collaborating with DMX had been in discussion for years, and it was a long and winding road to turn this particular item on our wish list into reality. He was a lyrical warrior, a true original who spoke his mind incorruptibly. We have always viewed DMX as “the metalhead of hip-hop’ because of his aggressive, raw, and untamed style. He growled and snarled, aiming to rattle some cages–an attitude we share, as Five Finger Death Punch has always been drawn to the fearless and the real. It made all the sense in the world, but today this is more than just a song; it’s a salute to a legend, a way to honor DMX’s memory.”
And if you’re looking for an outside perspective to give this song and collaboration a bit more street cred, here’s what DMC of Run DMC had to say about the track.
“The sound of the music, what Ivan is singing about, and what X is talking about, is how X lived his life. The struggle, the dark with the light, the bad with the good, the pain with the joy. This song is very emotional, very musical, it’s very well rounded.”
Five Finger will be very busy starting on the best day of the year, May 23rd, through the summer with a headlining tour featuring Ice Nine Kills and playing support of Metallica on their North American tour.
Five Finger Death Punch is a band that is no stranger to collaborations, some that may be a bit weird to see on paper. Zoltan sat down to discuss this process before they went on tour with Brantley Gilbert last year, saying this about their collaboration.
“The conversation and Brantley mentioned he wanted to be involved…we decided he would sing on it…he’s a country guy but still very much a rock guy as well…and he’s got a great voice…so that’s where it started and then we became friends…and we found out our fan bases kind of overlapped…and that’s where the conversation started…”
The future is a mystery, let’s see where it goes from here.
[YouTube: Five Finger Death Punch] [Razor Wisconsin] [Spreaker: Decker] [Hollywood Reporter]
