Five Finger Death Punch Cancel Australian Dates After Frontman Ivan Moody Hospitalized In Denver

March 31st, 2016 at 10:30am
Emperor Rhombus

It appears that Five Finger Death Punch won’t be opening for Black Sabbath in Australia as planned. The band has cancelled their upcoming Australian stint after frontman Ivan Moody was hospitalized in Denver.

The reasons for Moody’s hospitalization have not yet been announced, but Live Nation did make the following statement regarding the cancelled tour:

Last Thursday, Five Finger Death Punch singer Ivan Moody was hospitalized in his hometown of Denver. He is expected to make a full recovery but it is with deep regret that Five Finger Death Punch will be forced to cancel their appearances in Australia, both with Black Sabbath and as headliners in Sydney and in Melbourne.
It is especially disappointing to Five Finger Death Punch that they will not be able to play before Black Sabbath, a band Five Finger Death Punch has deep reverence for, on Black Sabbath’s last ever shows in Australia.
Ivan and Five Finger Death Punch express their sincere apologies to both their fans and to the fans of Black Sabbath.

Those fans who bought tickets for the band’s headlining shows in Melbourne and Sydney will be contacted regarding refunds, and Sabbath are still set to play.

The big question, of course, is why Moody had to go to the hospital. It must have been a pretty terrible situation to warrant cancelling a run opening for Black Sabbath. My best guess is it has something to do with Moody’s substance abuse; he previously embarrassed his band by having an onstage meltdown in Memphis, during which he was “shitfaced drunk”. As we’ve seen with other musicians like Wes Scantlin, ignoring your singer’s demons in the name of going on tour and making money can be a more disastrous move than turning down a huge tour, so if Moody’s drinking is behind his stay in the hospital, this is probably the right way to go.