FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH carries on US tour with PHIL LABONTE of ALL THAT REMAINS

Five Finger Death Punch

December 2, 2016

With only seven shows left of their current U.S. co-headlining arena tour with Shinedown, Five Finger Death Punch announced yesterday that they have decided to honor their obligation to fans and finish out the current tour with All That Remains frontman Phil Labonte, filling in for Ivan Moody who has fallen ill.

Phil Labonte of All That Remains at Welcome to Rockville 2016
Photo Credit:  Bloodrock Media

Zoltan Bathory, 5FDP guitarist, says of Moody: "Ivan is our brother and we fully and wholeheartedly support him taking care of himself so he can get well as soon as possible. We discussed possibly canceling the remaining shows but the responses from the other bands on the tour were so overwhelmingly supportive that we decided to move forward and deliver the great night to the fans that they expect.”

Labonte says of filling in for Moody: "I got their six and stepped up right away. I'm honored to be able to help Five Finger Death Punch to finish their tour and give Ivan a chance to take care of himself. I did the same for Killswitch Engage years ago. I was humbled to get the call and get a chance to play in front of such a great audience."

The announcement of Moody's illness comes after a bizarre few days; first, an incident in Worcester where he revealed his mother was gravely ill and left the stage, the announcement was later contradicted by Moody's sister stating Moody's mother was not ill nor was any member of his family.  Then, at their Newark stop Moody told fans that he had "a mental moment that had nothing to do with alcohol, drugs, or any of it", mentioning Kanye West's recent hospitalization for mental exhaustion and his personal struggle with it.

As fans we often forget that our favorite artists are human; they tire, cry, need a day (or month) to decompress, struggle with demons old and new, and become ill (physically, emotionally, physically, or mentally).  They spend months away from their family and friends recording, touring, and promoting; some would call it 'the dream', while others would consider it a sacrifice for the art they love, obviously not a sacrifice the caliber of our men and women in uniform, but a sacrifice of that stability, predictability, and comfort most of get to enjoy with our 40 hour, 5 day week jobs where we get to hug our kids, snuggle with our fur babies, or kiss our significant others every night.  With that, the staff at Bloodrock Media would like to wish Ivan Moody a speedy recovery and that he finds the healthy state of mind he so desperately needs and deserves.  We'd also like to say good luck to Phil Labonte and the rest of the guys in 5FDP, we are certain you will kick ass.

The remaining dates of the tour are as follows:

Dec. 02 - Hershey, PA - Giant Center
Dec. 03 - Huntington, WV - Big Sandy Superstore Arena
Dec. 05 - Greenville, SC - Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Dec. 06 - Charleston, SC - N. Charleston Civic Center
Dec. 08 - Orlando, FL - Amway Arena
Dec. 09 - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena
Dec. 10 - Duluth, GA - Infinite Energy Center

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