FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH’s Zoltan Bathory has confirmed that the band is actively working on their next studio album. In an interview with Belgium’s Graspop Metal Meeting, Bathory responded to a question about the follow-up to their 2022 album “AfterLife,” saying (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “We are working. So there’s definitely a new record coming, hopefully next year. We’ll see when, but we’ve been working on some stuff. There’s always things in the vault — we’re always doing something. And when it’s not time yet, then we just put it in the vault.”
Bathory emphasized the importance of releasing new music regularly: “I do believe that we have to record an album every two years, maybe three at the most. Because we are in a fast lane. Every band is in a fast lane. Time changes, [and it’s] very different for us. And so I feel like every two years is about the time when we are kind of different people. A lot happens to a band in two years. And so every record is a snapshot. And I feel like you have to — if you wanna follow a band, it’s like it’s about the right time. Every two, three years, you put out a record and people can follow where you are. If it’s a longer period, I’m not sure that they can, because in three, four, five years, a lot changes.”
He further explained that their songwriting is heavily influenced by current events and personal experiences: “For us, another thing is that everything that we write about is either socially, politically or personally relevant. We’re not writing about historical events. So that means that whatever we’re working on has to be relevant right now. And the world, obviously, like we all know, changes in six months. It’s a different world, right? So that’s another reason that we work that way, that we kind of take snapshots of the world and where we are in the world every two years.”
In addition to their work on the new album, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has been busy touring. They recently announced a headlining U.S. tour this August, starting in Hershey, Pennsylvania on August 2nd and ending in Houston, Texas on September 19th. Joining them on tour are Marilyn Manson and SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL. Before this, the band has been touring Europe in support of METALLICA’s “M72” world tour, also headlining their own European shows with special guest ICE NINE KILLS and performing at major festivals.
Their ninth album, “AfterLife,” released in August 2022 via Better Noise, has been a focal point of their tour. In April 2023, they released a digital deluxe edition of “AfterLife,” featuring the original 12 tracks produced by Kevin Churko, along with acoustic versions of “The End,” “Judgement Day,” and “Thanks For Asking,” plus a new track “This Is The Way,” featuring the late rapper DMX.
