Five Finger Death Punch’s metal militia takes the St Joe’s Amphitheater by storm (Review)

The Lakeview on Tuesday night played host to brass knuckles, baseball bats, mosh pits, and fire and smoke galore. This was no apocalyptic riot; it was just a Five Finger Death Punch concert. The Las Vegas-based heavy metal group treated fans to a high-octane, haymaker-filled 85-minute set.

5FDP also brought a knockout metal militia to open for them: Fire From the Gods, the Hu and Megadeth. These bands didn’t provide supporting sets, but rather elevating sets. Megadeth inspired some hooligans in the lawn section to form a ragtag mosh pit that reformed and lasted throughout 5FDP’s set.

The openers whipped the audience into a frenzy, and Five Finger Death Punch capitalized on the energy when they hit the stage at 9:30 with “Inside Out.” This got the crowd jumping, and the next few tracks increased the excitement to the point that, after finishing “Jekyll and Hyde,” lead singer Ivan L. Moody decided to lay out some ground rules.

“If you’re throwing down out there, watch out for these little kids. One of the best things about sharing the stage with Megadeth is the diversity of the crowd,” Moody said, referring to the spectrum of age groups present. “Actually that’s the only rule of the night, all the rest is champagne!”

Moody has a brass knuckle grip attached to his microphone, and laces one hand through this while carrying a baseball bat in the other. Flanked by bassist Chris Kael, (who looks like he could lead a Viking vanguard), Moody’s stage persona is violent and intimidating. The singer, though, has a soft spot for military families, as well as for fans in recovery from substance abuse.

The band’s famous cover of “Bad Company” and their hit “Got Your Six” were both dedicated to service men and women and veterans. Moody brought multiple fans on stage to celebrate their sobriety, and explained that he himself is now 4½ years sober, thanks in large part to the support of Kael.

It was a vulnerable moment, (and rather unexpected from a band that tries to punch your head in with guitar riffs), but it demonstrated the complexity of the group and its singer. One minute Moody is sprinting around the stage chanting the chorus to “Burn MF” before a screen of hellacious fire and smoke, and the next minute he’s sporting a Elton John-esque bedazzled bowler hat for “Welcome to the Circus” wielding a baseball bat like a scepter and carrying on like a heavy metal P.T. Barnum.

“Lift Me Up” closed out the set, and the band then returned for a two-song encore. As the main lights turned on, 5FDP left the stage while a recording of their cover of “House of the Rising Sun” gave fans something to listen to on the walk back to the parking lots.

This show was not for the faint of heart, nor the acute of hearing. The band’s signature sound is loud, and frankly, feels like a baseball hat hitting each ear. But for those that like it heavy, Five Finger Death Punch and their posse of headbangers brought the perfect evening of ear-quaking, earth-shattering anthems.

Setlist

Inside Out

Trouble

Wash It All Away

Jekyll and Hyde

Sham Pain

Bad Company

Got Your Six

Never Enough

My Own Hell

All I Know (a capella)

Wrong Side of Heaven

Burn MF (with drum solo)

Welcome to the Circus

Lift Me Up

Encore:

Under and Over It

The Bleeding

House of the Rising Sun (Recording)

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