FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH Frontman: 'The Bigger We Got, The More Unprepared For It I Was'

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH frontman Ivan Moody was recently interviewed by Terrie Carr for the latest edition of "Box Of Rock" on WDHA-FM 105.5 FM, the rock music station licensed to Dover and Morristown, New Jersey. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On his struggles with substance abuse which caused him to miss a couple of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH tours in the past:

"Life out here is a lot different than what people would assume. And the pressure gets to be really overwhelming sometimes and overbearing. And I just found myself that the bigger we got, the more unprepared for it I was.

"I mean, think of the name FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH — just think of that. When I first joined the band, the music and the lyrics I was writing… I have the utmost respect for people like Corey Taylor [SLIPKNOT] and Jonathan Davis [KORN] and Chester Bennington [LINKIN PARK] and so on and so forth, and I just, at the time, didn't see myself there. And so once that came to fruition, I became a serious recluse.

"When somebody's telling you you're godly and you saved their life, and this and that and the other, I'm going, 'Well, who's saving mine?' And for me, the only attention I truly found that was worth a shit was from myself.

"You know how they say a drunk man will tell no lies. Well, I'm not one to tell lies anyway, so just imagine that on 11. And it just got a little bit too much. Not to mention it just took its toll on me.

"People misconstrue this: I don't want anybody to quit drinking or to quit having a good time. If you can do it without hurting someone else or yourself for that matter, bless you — have fun with it. But myself, I tell everybody I'm allergic to handcuffs. And it just cost me way too much of my life. I became diseased, to a degree. And I don't want that to be my legacy. I don't want my fans going, 'He was so close.' I don't want my family or my children to say that. And that's another thing — I'm the only guy in the band with kids. So that's very hard for them to comprehend. And being away from your children throughout their lives… My youngest daughter, her birthday is actually tomorrow. And I'm FaceTiming, and I send presents and whatnot, but it's not the same thing [as being there in person]. So I have to remind myself that this is not a position of power; this is a blessing to be here [on the road]. I literally work — if that's what you wanna call it — for an hour and a half, two hours a day, and be it not me to take advantage of that or take it for granted. So I just had to step back.

"I used to have this saying, 'There's no 'i' in 'team,' but there's one right in front of 'Ivan.'' And I had to realize that's a fun saying, but it's just a saying. I have to work as a team member to make this all work, on all levels."

On FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's "love affair" with its fans:

"[It's] something we learned from some good friends of ours everybody knows as PANTERA. Poor Vinnie [Paul Abbott, PANTERA drummer]… Vinnie just passed. I shouldn't say, 'Poor Vinnie' — he had a great life. But he was always one to tell me, anytime we hung out, 'Enjoy the small stuff, 'cause that's really what makes a difference. And J.D., same thing — Jonathan Davis has always told me, 'Don't sweat the small shit. It comes and goes. Live for the moment.' Especially with what J.D. is going through right now [with the recent loss of his wife]. It's easy for somebody to read this stuff in tabloids, or on TMZ, or Blabbermouth, or whatever… These are real-life situations for us. Vinnie Paul was a very close friend of mine — he's gone. Jonathan Davis is going through hell right now because of what's happening in his family. You can't say 'I'm sorry' enough times; eventually you have to realize he's a human being. And that's how I stand with my stuff. So I love being here — I absolutely do. I just wish people understood better that I, too, am human."

Back in May, Moody told the Green Bay radio station Razor 94.7 that he was more than three months sober and revealed that he nearly died due to an alcohol-related seizure and woke up surrounded by EMTs and his daughter holding him while crying.

Moody admitted that he went to rehab five times before the last time finally stuck, saying: " I knew I was done during my detox. It took me seven and a half days just to detox. I couldn't walk, I couldn't go to the bathroom by myself, I couldn't smoke a cigarette. I had a staff member actually sleep in the room with me for the first 38 hours, just to make sure that I didn't go under."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "And Justice For None", which came out in May.