Bad company: Five Finger Death Punch debuts in Maryland

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH (live pix)
IN THIS MOMENT
BURY YOUR DEAD
ANOTHER BLACK DAY

October 27, 2008
Recher Theatre
Towson, Maryland

By GREG MAKI

Though their hit debut album, The Way of the Fist, had been available for 16 months and the band had been on tour for nearly all of that time, Five Finger Death Punch made its first Maryland appearance with this show. Some fans saw them in nearby Virginia on the Family Values tour in 2007 or the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival earlier this year, but many were 5 FDP concert virgins.

This sold-out crowd was hungry for Five Finger Death Punch. Frontman Ivan Moody said he was in a bad mood, but that had to have changed when he heard the fans’ rabid reaction, the chants of “Five Finger! Death Punch!” and the massive sing-alongs to virtually every song.

I have reviewed and interviewed Five Finger Death Punch more than any other band on Live-Metal.net. So I won’t go into detail describing every song, though I will note that “Never Enough” and the “Bad Company” cover—this must be released somewhere—have gotten noticeably tighter since making their live debut at the Lancaster , Pa. , show in April.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH SET LIST:
Ashes, Salvation, The Way of the Fist, The Devil’s Own, Stranger Than Fiction, White Knuckles, Bad Company, Never Enough, Meet the Monster, (Encore) The Bleeding

In This Moment, supporting their sophomore album, The Dream, played a solid set in direct support to Five Finger Death Punch. New songs fit in nicely among the old, and hopefully on future tours more Dream songs will work their way into their show.

IN THIS MOMENT SET LIST: Prayers, All for You, Ashes, Violet Skies, Forever, Mechanical Love, Daddy’s Falling Angel, Beautiful Tragedy

I’ve seen Bury Your Dead several times now, and though they play their brand of hardcore well, it’s just not my thing. I’ve tried, but I cannot get into them. That said, much of the crowd was into them, opening up a pit.

The first band of the night, Another Black Day, played to a half-empty room, as many fans were still waiting in line to get inside. That’s a shame because they are a talented young metal band with Slayer-esque riffs and a good sense of melody.

The opening acts, though, could have been anyone. This night was all about Five Finger Death Punch. The ferocity of their performance—perhaps due to Moody’s mood—seemed even greater than usual. This band has found a lot of success over the past year and a half, but it’s only the beginning.