“Without us, you won’t be able to recruit people for the genre”

If you log on to the internet, you will find a lot of hate speech in the comments for bands like Five Finger Death Punch, Disturbed, Avenged sevenfoldand that whole metal thing. Go to one of their shows and you’ll see a lot of butts in the seats all having a good time. Or look at their sales figures – pretty good, right?

In an interview with Summa Inferno, Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Zoltan Bathory was released after the band’s recent posthumous collaboration with DMX about the song “This Is The Way” and the narrow-mindedness of some fans.

“There is definitely that, there is definitely that narrow-mindedness, there is definitely that idea… It’s almost funny, because the more extreme you listen to it, the more you are controlled from the outside, like, ‘This is our music.’ And if someone who isn’t into extreme metal likes a band, then that narrow circle will leave the band,” Bathory said, according to a transcription from Chatterbox. “That’s what you see when metal bands start to become popular: the original hardcore fans or that narrow-minded circle disappears because they can’t like a band that their parents like, or because a band that normal people who aren’t completely metal would like.

“Then you see that wear off. So, yeah, there’s a little bit of that, but at the same time I think these collaborations are great because they open doors. People who don’t listen to metal now, a lot of people who don’t listen to metal now because of this song, will at least listen to this song, and possibly a part of them will look up who the hell Five Finger Death Punch and they’ll start to get familiar with some of the songs, and some of them, a certain percentage of them, will like what they hear.”

Bathory continued, noting that gatekeeping really only kills bands trying to make a living. Which is fair – if fans start abandoning artists as soon as they release a slightly different track than what they normally do, that really doesn’t promote the art.

“That’s what I would say to those metalheads. It’s like, man, in order for the band that you love, especially the more underground the band is, to be able to create art that you like, they have to survive. And if you want them to survive, that means they have to sell records and they have to be able to sell concert tickets. And because it’s such a subgenre, they’re not going to be able to do that. So you see these great, great artists that are in bands but also have one or two jobs (on the side) and sometimes can’t go on tour. So what you get is that if you’re a fan of these extreme bands, they’re not making any money (and) can’t survive on that.

“The only way they can do that is if the audience gets wider – that’s the only way. And that’s why metal in general needs to get bigger, get more fans and more attention. That way it trickles down so that the subgenres get bigger too, so that your favorite artists can survive. Bands like Disturbed, Avenged sevenfold, Five Finger Death Punchthese are the so-called gatekeeper bands that absolutely have to exist. Because without us you won’t be able to attract people to the genre. We’re the kind of band where people who like metal will listen to us, but people who aren’t necessarily into metal might listen to us, or we might attract a lot of people who aren’t (into metal).

“And when we do these collaborations – that song is now on radio stations and on other Spotify lists and just other avenues where it wouldn’t normally be found. So by doing that, we’re recruiting people who listen to hard rock and heavy metal, and that helps the whole genre. And when the genre is big and the subgenres are big… So if you hate the bands that step out and collaborate with other genres, or hate the bands that you consider to be gatekeepers, you’re actually shooting yourself in the foot.”

Bathory He later mentioned a few bands that he thinks deserve the next step, including the upcoming Five Finger Death Punch Tourmates Slaughter to win.

“Here’s the thing: (I could say) I don’t give a shit. We’re fine. We love our fans. We’re fine. So I must not care. I actually do care, because I love a lot of these underground bands and we take bands on tour, bands that… Fire from the Godsa very different kind of band. I love the band. I managed the band for a while. We toured with them. There were so many of these bands that we gave a platform to because we love them and we think they deserve the attention. I mean, look at the tours that we have our eye on right now.

“We are again taking out bands that… Slaughter to win — this is a very, very heavy band. I love this band. I think they need to be introduced to more people. And that’s why we’re doing our part. And I think it’s really counterproductive when metal fans fight within the genre. To me, it’s actually ridiculous and you’re just shooting yourself in the foot. I think it’s a big misunderstanding or a big – well, not a misunderstanding; a big misunderstanding of how it all works if you have a problem with bands working together or introducing this genre to general fans.”