Five Finger Death Punch officially reveal new line-up
Jason Hook is no longer a member of the band
Last updated 14th Oct 2020
Las Vegas metallers Five Finger Death Punch have officially announced their new line-up today (Wednesday 14th October).
Lead guitarist Jason Hook was forced to quit Five Finger Death Punch’s European tour in February 2020 after he suffered complications after undergoing emergency gallbladder surgery at the end of last year.
There have been question marks about Jason Hook’s future in the band, and yesterday he posted a now-deleted video to Instagram confirming he is no longer in Five Finger Death Punch.
FFDP have now officially confirmed Hook’s departure and that he personally handed over the lead guitarist torch to British axeman Andy James.
Explaining why he has left Five Finger Death Punch, Jason Hook said: “I have had the pleasure of meeting so many of you in person. Thank you for the endless stories of how our music has touched your heart in some way! But the best part of being on tour the last 12 years, by far, has been playing my guitar and seeing the joy on your faces every night. I will miss that more than anything.
“As far the reason I’m leaving…well, there really isn’t just one. I’ve been in bands my entire life and I feel like I’ve done all the good that I can here. It’s time to pass the baton and move on to new challenges.”
Guitarist Zoltan Bathory adds: “Jason is an incredible guitar player so we had to find someone on the absolute top of their game. Someone like Andy James who was already a well-known virtuoso and had the chops to step into Jason’s shoes.
“Andy completed our European Tour with us back in February so he was already tried by fire. We instantly clicked both musically and personally so he was the obvious choice. We even have the same birthday… Some things are just meant to be.”
Frontman Ivan Moody adds: “I just congratulated Jason on his recent wedding, and I hope he finds peace and happiness. As for us, I’m really excited to keep working with Andy and I just can’t wait for this Covid madness to be over so we can go back out on the road.”
Five Finger Death Punch’s eighth studio album ‘F8’ was released earlier this year. They played Cardiff Motorpoint Arena and London The SSE Arena Wembley in January alongside Megadeth and Bad Wolves.