Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Five Finger Death Punch hint at releasing an old song – and this could be the reason
This Friday, May 16th, Five Finger Death Punch will release a new version of their 2018 song “I Refuse,” featuring Maria Brink of In This Moment on guest vocals. The following is a teaser for that. The revised song seems to be included in a release that is ostensibly retrospective. Rumours about purported significant changes in the Five Finger Death Punch camp have been circulating for a few weeks now, following the band’s forced cancellation of their spring tour dates due to a “family matter.”
This may be more complicated than it first appears. Five Finger Death Punch claims in a recent Rock Feed interview that the band was unaware of the sale of its album masters until after the relocation was completed. When asked about a recent sale of their masters during the conversation, guitarist Zoltan Bathory promptly refuted any connection between the group and the transaction. “Not exactly,” Bathory replied when asked if they were selling their masters.
From the very beginning we had a personal partnership with the label. I don’t know if you remember a time when the bands used to get 360 deals and profit sharing sort of contract. You could produce the first record, deliver it and just put it out. So that’s the kind of deal we had. We owned the masters with the label. So we are co-owners of the masters and the label sold it without telling us. They sold it without telling us or giving us basically the option. Like we would have bought it. Like why? You know like it’s our masters, at least ask me.
The band might become the “Taylor Swift of Metal,” according to Rock Feed, a reference to the country-pop artist’s conflict with her record label after it changed ownership. According to reports, Swift attempted to buy her masters when the label sale appeared to be about to happen, but was refused due to poor terms. The singer ultimately made the decision to re-record her older work and publish her records under the name “Taylor’s Version” after she and the new ownership couldn’t agree. After her contract expired, the singer eventually left the label. What does Five Finger Death Punch‘s context signify, then?
We found out just as you found out. So we’re thinking about the response. Nothing’s off the table. Obviously that’s a response and that’s not off the table. We could technically do the exact same thing. We may be doing it, we may be not. I don’t know, but that would be an interesting response, wouldn’t it. It’s a chess game, business, life, it’s always a chess game. You know, I could be pissed and hit the board or they made their move, now we’re gonna make our move.
