Five Finger Death Punch Make It OFFICIALLY Officially Official: Jason Hook Is Out, Andy James Is In
SHOCKING BREAKING NEWS: Five Finger Death Punch have parted ways with longtime guitarist Jason Hook.
The development will surely come as a shock to FFDP fans. The relationship between the band and Hook appeared stable from the outside, what with Hook dropping out of not one but two tours in the past year before getting into a hot tub and all but explicitly telling everyone he was out of the band earlier this week.
Punchies (that’s what Five Finger Death Punch calls their fans, right?) may also be taken aback to learn that Hook will be replaced by Andy James (ex-Sacred Mother Tongue), who has done multiple tours with the band and is featured in a new promo photo (below), which recently appeared on Spotify.
Said the band in a statement:
“We’re glad we could make this announcement not a moment too late.”
Dictating from a sauna, Hook added:
“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.”
Added the band’s other guitarist, Zoltan Bathory:
“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.”
Vocalist Ivan Moody chimed in:
“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.”
Bassist Chris Kael concluded by sharing this video footage of James’ audition for the band:
This past Friday, October 9, Five Finger Death Punch released A Decade of Destruction, Vol. 2, a compilation including “12 of the band’s most popular radio and streaming favorites that were originally recorded for the Prospect Park label during the group’s first decade of existence.” You can stream that below.
