Five Finger Death Punch: Zoltan Bathory Talks About Ivan Moody’s Drinking Problem

To say Ivan Moody has taken Five Finger Death Punch fans on a real rollercoaster of WTF-ness over the past few years would be to put it mildly. In 2015, he may or may not have had domestic abuse allegations brought against him by a woman to whom he may or may not have been married. Last year, he had a self-proclaimed “meltdown” in the middle of a show in Massachusetts, during which he told the crowd his mother had just passed away, despite the fact that this was not the case. This year, he had another legendarily bizarre show, during which he quit the band mid-concert. Finally, he went back to rehab this summer, which made all of us — even those of who dislike Moody’s music — breathe a sigh of relief, because the guy so clearly has a very serious problem and needs help.

Now guitarist Zoltan Bathory has commented on Moody’s drinking in a new interview with Loudwire, and for his part, he’s optimistic about Moody’s chances of remaining sober this time around:

“He’s been battling his demons for a long, long time, actually since I’ve known him,” Bathory says. “He’s always had an issue and sometimes he’s great, sometimes he’s not. It’s a battle. He doesn’t have a substance issue, he’s always had a drinking issue. I started to realize that it was a real misalignment, it’s a real illness. It can’t simply be discarded like, ‘Why can’t you get yourself straight?’ It’s not that simple. So he’s battling this and he’s trying. He’s been in rehab a few times, he’s been in for a longer period of time now.”

Five Finger have been performing sporadically at festivals throughout the summer, which has given Bathory a bright outlook for Moody’s future in the band. “The last three shows were the best shows I’ve seen him do for years,” raves Zoltan. “He looked happy and he looked healthier. Obviously, the whole band is around him and everybody’s supporting him and trying to be brothers and understanding and trying to keep him straight. So cross your fingers, I think this is the time when he can do it.”

I sincerely hope Bathory is right, for the sake of both Moody and his fans. Like Zoltan says: cross your fingers.