Five Finger Death Punch Released Their Track with DMX and It’s Not What You’d Expect
When it was announced earlier this year that tribal tattoo, divorced dad energy having band Five Finger Death Punch was including a collaboration they did with the late rapper DMX for a new digital deluxe version of their 2022 album Afterlife, I’ll admit — I thought it was going to be a loud and bumping piece of butt rap rock. In my head, I imagined “X Gon Give It To Ya” mixed with the most basic ass FFDP radio rock track to reach as wide an audience as possible.
And while “This Is The Way” will definitely fit in perfectly with radio stations everywhere for the normies to eat up, what we actually got was an emotional track about the struggle with the good, the bad, and the in-between of daily life. Is it cheesy? Listen to the track below and you can kinda agree that it is. Does DMX sound great in it? Also yes.
And let’s talk about DMX for a second here. He was arguably one of the most metal rappers of all time. Just listen to It’s Dark and Hell is Hot or Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood and tell me some of those tracks wouldn’t work as some sort of ultra gorey death metal or something. Getting him featured on a FFDP song, even a couple years after his death, will get more people listening to his music in the long run, and that’s always a good thing.
Back when the band revealed that they’d collaborated with DMX before his untimely death, Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Zoltan Bathory said the collaboration fell in line with the band’s willingness to mix things up musically.
“Music is meant to be shared, and it starts at the top with us, the artists. We have always embraced the mixing of genres, whether it be the remake of LL Cool J’s ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’ featuring Tech N9ne as a guest or our collaboration with blues warrior Kenny Wayne Shepherd, country star Brantley Gilbert, and Brian May, the legendary guitarist of Queen, on the song ‘Blue On Black’.
“The idea of collaborating with DMX had been in discussion for years, and it was a long and winding road to turn this particular item on our wish list into reality. He was a lyrical warrior, a true original who spoke his mind incorruptibly. We have always viewed DMX as ‘the metalhead of hip-hop’ because of his aggressive, raw, and untamed style. He growled and snarled, aiming to rattle some cages — an attitude we share, as Five Finger Death Punch has always been drawn to the fearless and the real. It made all the sense in the world, but today this is more than just a song; it’s a salute to a legend, a way to honor DMX’s memory.”
The digital deluxe edition of Aftermath is out today, so you can check out “This Is The Way,” as well as a bunch of other extras right now.
If you’d like to catch Five Finger Death Punch live, you can check out the list of dates below and get yourself some tickets.
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH – Summer 2024 UK/European Tour:
Thur 23rd May 2024 – London, OVO Arena, UK [Tickets]
Sun 26th May 2024 – Munich, Olympiastadion, DE * [Tickets]
Tue 28th May 2024 – Zurich, Hallenstadion, CH [Tickets]
Wed 29th May 2024 – Milan, Idays Festival, IT ** [Tickets]
Fri 31st May 2024 – Plzen, Metalfest Open Air Plazen, CZ ** [Tickets]
Sat 1st Jun 2024 – Vienna, Rancino Rocks, AT * [Tickets]
Mon 3rd Jun 2024 – Hannover, ZAG Arena, DE [Tickets]
Wed 5th Jun 2024 – Solvesborg, Sweden Rock Festival, SE ** [Tickets]
Thur 6th Jun 2024 – Trondheim, Trondheim Rocks, NO ** [Tickets]
Sun 9th Jun 2024 – Helsinki, Olympic Stadium, FI * [Tickets]
Tue 11th Jun 2024 – Tallin, Unibet Arena, EE [Tickets]
Thu 13th Jun 2024 – Kaunas, Zalgiris Arena, LT [Tickets]
Sun 16th Jun 2024 – Copenhagen, Parken Stadium, DK * [Tickets]
Tue 18th Jun 2024 – Frankfurt, Festhalle, DE [Tickets]
Wed 19th Jun 2024 – Amsterdam, AFAS Live, NL [Tickets]
Fri 21st Jun 2024 – Dessel, Graspop Metal Meeting, BE ** [Tickets]
Sun 23rd Jun 2024 – Ferropolis, Full Force Festival, DE ** [Tickets]
Tue 25th Jun 2024 – Oberhausen, Rudolf Weber-Arena, DE [Tickets]
Wed 26th Jun 2024 – Esch-Sur-Alzette, Rockhal, LU *** [Tickets]
Sat 29th Jun 2024 – Zilina, Topfest, SK ** [Tickets]
Tue 2nd July 2024 – Sofia, Armeec Arena, BG [Tickets]
Thurs 4th July 2024 – Bucharest, Metalhead Festival – 20 years aLIVE, RO [Tickets]
Sun 7th July 2024 – Warsaw, PGE Narodowy, PL * [Tickets]
Tue 9th July 2024 – Budapest, Barba Negra, HU [Tickets]
Sun 14th July 2024 – Madrid, Estadio Civitas Metropolitano, ES * [Tickets]
*Metallica support
**festival dates
***no Ice Nine Kills
