ZOLTAN Bathory

About me:

Hungarian born guitarist - songwriter - producer Zoltan Bathrory is the founder and principal songwriter of the band Five Finger Death Punch.

5FDP started in 2005 when Zoltan recruited Jeremy Spencer (drums) , Matt Snell (bass) and Ivan Moody (vocals) to his start up project he named after the infamous "Dim Mak" (點脈)- The Death Punch - as a nod to classic Hong-Kong Kung-Fu Cinema. The second guitarist post was filled by Darrell Roberts, who was later replaced by the band's long time friend, guitar virtuoso Jason Hook.

Five Finger Death Punch recorded their DIY album "The Way Of The Fist" in 2006, produced by Zoltan & Jeremy Spencer, and Mixed By Soulfly/Machine Head Guitarist Logan Mader.

After a few songs begun circulating online, 5FDP became a word of mouth phenonema that sent shockwaves through the underground metal community. The brute power of the band's live shows, and their quickly elevating notoriety soon became the talk of the industry as well. Consequently, their already finished record was picked up and released by Firm Music the recording arm of industry powerhouse "The Firm" Management (Korn, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit)

Five Finger Death Punch spent over two years on the road with bands such as Disturbed, Korn, Slipknot, Machine Head, Lamb Of God, and built a hardcore following (The Knuckleheads) that by now are infamous on their own as one of the loudest rowdiest crowds of recent history.

The Way Of The Fist yielded 3 Top 10 US radio hits, a top 5 MTV Metal Video, a Kerrang Best New band Award Nomination, and brought home Metal Hammer's prestigeous Golden God Award for Best New International Band. Record sales exceeded 400,000 world wide, elevating the band to the forefront of the current metal scene, while slowly eroding the walls that keep heavier music outside of mainstream media.

The question, if 5FDP's success was just a one time fluke was promptly squashed by the band's sophomore album. "War Is The Answer" - which debuted #7 on the Billboard 200, shifting an astonishing 44,000 copies in its first week of release. The First single "Hard To See" took only a couple of weeks before crashing the party in Rock Radio's top 10.

The band enlisted an A List production team in award winning co-producer Kevin Churko (Ozzy) and legendary mixing engineer Randy Staub (Metallica, Stone Sour, Motley Crue) to make sure War Is The Answer lives up to its title. According to the leading magazines of the Metal Press - 5FDP accomplished just that and is a "Jaggernaut in the making"

"A Colossal Beast Of Hard Rock Brilliance" (Metal Hammer)

"A Sophomore Knockout" (Billboard Magazine)

"Five Finger Death Punch are going to be a very big noise indeed. This is not opinion but fact.” (Kerrang!)


Five Finger Death Punch begun its 2009/2010 touring cycle - "The Shock And Raw" tour - bringing their sonic "War" to all continents:


Upcoming Tour Dates:


JAPAN:

Aug 7 2009 Maishima: Summer Sonic Festival Osaka
Aug 9 2009 Marine Stadium: Summer Sonic Festival Tokyo


AUSTRALIA:

Aug 13 2009 7:00P The Zoo Brisbane
Aug 14 2009 7:00P The Metro Sydney
Aug 15 2009 7:00P The Hi Fi Melbourne

USA:

5FDP's Shock And Raw 2009 Tour:
Sep 18 2009 9:00P Wasted Space @ Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada
Sep 22 2009 8:00P The Regency Grand San Francisco, California
Sep 23 2009 8:00P Crest Theater Fresno, California
Sep 24 2009 8:00P The Glass House Pomona, California
Sep 26 2009 2:00P KUPD’s Summer Scorcher @ THE FARM Phoenix
Sep 27 2009 8:00P Sunshine Theater Albuquerque, New Mexico
Sep 28 2009 8:00P The Black Sheep Colorado Springs, Colorado
Sep 30 2009 7:00P Sokol Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska
Oct 2 2009 8:00P The Rock Maplewood, Minnesota
Oct 3 2009 8:00P Club V Chicago, Illinois
Oct 6 2009 8:00P Northern Lights Clifton Park, New York
Oct 8 2009 8:00P House of Blues Boston, Massachusetts
Oct 9 2009 7:30P Bourbon Street Ballroom Baltimore, Maryland
Oct 10 2009 8:00P Webster Theatre Hartford, Connecticut
Oct 11 2009 8:00P Starland Ballroom Sayreville, New Jersey
Oct 13 2009 7:00P TLA Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Oct 15 2009 7:00P The Crofoot Pontiac, Michigan
Oct 16 2009 8:00P Orpheum Theater Madison, Wisconsin
Oct 17 2009 6:30P Orbit Room Grand Rapids, Michigan
Oct 18 2009 7:00P Expo Five Louisville
Oct 20 2009 7:00P Sunset Station San Antonio, Texas
Oct 21 2009 7:30P Pavilion Lubbock, Texas
Oct 23 2009 7:00P The Village Little Rock, Arkansas
Oct 25 2009 7:00P Pop’s Sauget, Illinois
Oct 26 2009 8:00P Diamond Ballroom Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oct 28 2009 6:00P KBPI’s INFEST @ The Fillmore Denver, Colorado
Oct 30 2009 7:00P The Great Salt Air Salt Lake City, Utah
Oct 31 2009 7:00P Knitting Factory Boise, Idaho
Nov 1 2009 7:30P Knitting Factory Spokane, Washington
Nov 2 2009 6:30P Showbox SoDo Seattle, Washington

EUROPE:


Nov 11 2009 8:00P Live Music Hall Koln
Nov 12 2009 8:00P Columbia Club Berlin
Nov 13 2009 7:00P Vox Hall Aarhus
Nov 14 2009 8:00P Klubben Stockholm
Nov 16 2009 8:00P Nosturi Helsinki
Nov 18 2009 8:00P John Dee Oslo
Nov 19 2009 8:00P Brewhouse Gothenburg
Nov 20 2009 8:00P The Rock Copenhagen
Nov 21 2009 8:00P Sputnikhalle Munster
Nov 22 2009 8:00P Grunspan Hamburg
Nov 24 2009 8:00P Wulfrun Hall Wolverhampton
Nov 25 2009 8:00P Garage Glasgow
Nov 26 2009 8:00P Academy Manchester
Nov 27 2009 8:00P Electric Ballroom London
Nov 29 2009 8:00P Academy Oxford
Nov 30 2009 8:00P Waterfront Norwhich




--------------------------------------------------------------------


This is my 'office' :




========= GEAR ===========

Rockin out with BC Rich Guitars (my signature model) Check out Bcrich.com This model have a different neck than other BC Rich models... slim / very fast neck. It comes with a floyd rose but I stop the floyd from floating - it is the most stable guitar I ever played. After a brutal death punch show - beaten and bloody - this fucker is still in perfect tune.

My official pickups are Rockfield Mafias. These pickups are fat - and 'negotiating' my low B pummeling with the amp just the way I like it. The mafias are not a super hot pickups - I don't like the high gain noisy stuff - that shit kills your definition - I wanna hear every damn note when I play

Amplification... I use Diamond Amplification's infamous Nitrox heads and Nitrox cabinets known for their below belt delivey - yes, that's "Kick in The NutSack" in plain English. Nitrox is a high end pro head, super focused - gnarly sound - wasn't built for jokers. It looks good too -Black Grill - Red Light - all metal. The cabs are loaded with 30's - voiced to kill.

I'm using Dunlop H10 Speed Picks with 30 degree Twisted blade. Again - it's all about definition. This pick does make a huge difference.

Then I have One Ri(n)g to control them all. I Use T.C. Electronic's G System - pedal board and effect unit. The TC (finally someone came up with this!) can switch channels on a tube amp - and of course assign effects - even incorporate analog pedals... it's a one stop solution. And did I mention it sounds great!






Five Finger Death Punch - Video Portal
5FDP's Website
Zoltan's Twitter Profile