Five Finger Death Punch Premiere New Song; Ivan Moody Unclear on Fiction vs. Nonfiction

I know some readers were pissed that I didn’t even try to listen to Five Finger Death Punch’s last single, “Full Circle,” so I actually did listen to their new single, “Living the Dream”… and I’m SO very, very glad that I did. Not because it’s a good song — it’s terrible — but because the lyrics, which I assume were written by singer Ivan Moody, are inadvertently quite droll.

Take, for example, the first verse:

Captain America, are you off to fight the bad guys?
Hey, mighty Superman, can you save us from ourselves?
Hey, Mr. Universe, can you lift us up above this?
‘Cause I’m just Iron Man, I’m a ghost within a shell

Captain America, Superman, and Iron Man are all, of course, fictional superheroes. And assuming the “ghost within a shell” line is a reference to the manga/anime/Scarlett Johansson movie, Ghost in the Shell, that’s also a reference to a fictional badass.

But then there’s the bit about Mr. Universe. This is the title bestowed upon the winner of the annual Universe Championships competition put on by the National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association (NABBA). So it’s not a fictional character. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger was famously a Mr. Universe.

And it’s not as though there were no other superheroes or fictional characters Moody could have referenced here. The beginning of each line is six syllables, so let’s assume that’s how much space Moody had to fill. He could have said “Hey, Mr. Spider-Man,” “Hey, Mr. Wolverine,” “Hey, Mr. Green Lantern,” “Hey, Mr. Black Lightening,” “Hail to the worthy Thor,” “Hey, Mr. Hercules”… that’s just off the top of my head.

Things get even stranger in the next verse, though:

Hey there, Your Majesty, is there anyone above you?
It must be lonely when you’re up there looking down
Hey, Lady Amnesty, there’s no one that can judge you
We’re all just broken toys beneath your crooked crown

Again, this would seem to be an odd mix of nonfictional people (“Your Majesty”) with fictional characters (“Lady Amnesty”)… except there’s no such thing as “Lady Amnesty,” fictional or otherwise. Based on the line about the crown, I suspect Moody means “Lady Liberty,” a.k.a. The Statue of Liberty.

And if you’re a Five Finger Death Punch fan, I assume you’ll see this as no big deal. But it’s a bizarre thematic inconsistency that suggests Moody may not know the difference between fictional characters and nonfictional human beings. It also makes me wonder how many people in FFDP’s camp heard that “Lady Amnesty” line and allowed it to sail by without correcting Moody. Pretty funny.

Scroll down to the bottom of the post if you wanna hear the song and have a few yuks. FFDP’s new album, F8, comes out February 28. The band is on tour in Europe right now (without guitarist Jason Hook) with Megadeth and Bad Wolves, and then they tour the U.S. with Papa Roach, I Prevail and Ice Nine Kills starting in April. Dates are below.

w/ Megadeth and Bad Wolves
02/08 Oberhausen, GER – Koenig-Pilsener Arena [tickets]
02/09 Stuttgart, GER – Schleyerhalle [tickets]
02/10 Munich, GER – Olympiahalle [tickets]
02/12 Warsaw, POL – Torwar [tickets]
02/14 Prague, CZE – Tipsport Arena [tickets]
02/16 Milano, ITA – Alcatrazz [tickets]
02/17 Zurich, SWI – Hallenstadion [tickets]
02/19 Vienna, AUT – Stadthalle [tickets]
02/20 Budapest, HUN – Budapest Sportarena [tickets]

w/ Papa Roach, I Prevail and Ice Nine Kills
04/08 Sunrise, FL – BB&T Center [tickets]
04/10 Duluth, GA – Infinite Energy Center [tickets]
04/11 Pelham, AL – Oak Mountain Amphitheater [tickets]
04/13 San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center [tickets]
04/14 Ft. Worth, TX – Dickies Arena [tickets]
04/16 Houston, TX – Toyota Center [tickets]
04/18 Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Arena [tickets]
04/19 San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena [tickets]
04/21 Los Angeles, CA – The Forum [tickets]
04/23 Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome [tickets]
04/25 Portland, OR – Veteran Memorial Coliseum [tickets]
04/27 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks [tickets]
04/29 Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center [tickets]
05/03 Baltimore, MD – Royal Farms Arena [tickets]
05/05 Worcester, MA – DCU Center [tickets]
05/06 Newark, NJ – Prudential Center [tickets]
05/08 Cincinnati, OH – Heritage Bank Center [tickets]
05/10 Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre [tickets]
05/12 Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena [tickets]
05/14 Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena [tickets]
05/15 Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion [tickets]
05/17 Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena [tickets]
05/19 Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena [tickets]
05/20 St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center [tickets]
05/22-24 Pryor, OK – Rocklahoma Festival [tickets]