Type 3 Media: And as you mentioned, it was a good opportunity for you guys to hit the studio again.

Darrell Roberts: Absolutely, it gave us a chance to write some stuff and hit the studio to record, and do new photos, and think about new video concepts and ideas, and start looking at footage that we filmed while touring last year, and start thinking about editing that stuff together for a future DVD... just keeping really busy.

T3M: Is any of the material from the recording sessions going to be made available to the public?

DR: Definitely. We have a second single that's going to come out in mid-May I believe. One of the songs we just recorded is going to be that second single.

T3M: The song "Never Enough"?

DR: Yeah. We just recorded it a couple weeks ago at Jonathan Davis' studio. We were lucky enough to get in there. He's got a total state-of-the-art studio in Hollywood. We got to go in there and do four or five tracks. One of them was the song "Never Enough". It came out really really good and everyone is happy with it, so we're going to release that as the second single. The problem we have is that a lot of our record is really really heavy and aggressive music. Trying to get mainstream radio and things like that, it's tough when you have a vocal that's really brutal. So we did this "Never Enough" song and everyone really liked it, and thought it would be a smart thing to release as a second single. It will be available online as a free download... there's this Push technology where people who've already bought The Way of the Fist CD, they can put it in their computer and download the new track onto their latest hits disc for free. There will be future editions of The Way of the Fist that will have that track added to it, as well as probably a couple other tracks. I think we're going to put the acoustic "The Bleeding" on it, and maybe something else. We'll see.

T3M: That's a great thing to do for fans.

DR: It's just one of those things that we didn't really plan; it's kind of on of those things that happened. We don't want to just put one new song on the CD and put it out and expect people that had already bought the CD to go buy it again. So we figured we'd put the song out and make it available to people as a free download. We're releasing the record with the song on it, and a couple other things to make it interesting. A lot of people really like the acoustic version of "The Bleeding" so it's a smart thing for us to do to put that on the record too.

T3M: Do think any of the other material from the recording sessions will see the light of day?

DR: Yeah. I think something... maybe a Japanese release. There are so many options and we're still talking about it. We did a couple cover songs. I don't know exactly what they're going to do with the material. We have so many things going on right now preparing for these tours, and getting ready to release this second single and promote it, that it's just one of those things we have to talk about in the future and figure out what we're going to do with it. I think the stuff is all very strong and will eventually be used for something. You will be able to hear it at some point.

T3M: Based on your previous band experience, how does this past year compare?

DR: I'm super excited. It's basically what I've been trying to attain for my entire career doing this. I did an interview last night, and the girl asked me "how would I compare being in W.A.S.P. to being in Five Finger Death Punch?" Being in W.A.S.P. was a great experience and I learned a lot about every aspect of the music business. I feel really fortunate that I had a chance to work with someone like Blackie, but they were already an established act, a successful band, set in their ways, it's Blackie's thing, it's Blackie's baby. Five Finger Death Punch is a new project. I think we have a real shot at success with this band. It's just a great feeling to be a part of it. To take something that's nothing and make it into something that a lot of people care about or are interested in, and knowing that I'm a part of that is really cool. It's something I really didn't have in other bands where I was just a hired player. It's really cool and I'm super-happy about it.

T3M: I grant myself one stupid question per interview, so here it is.

DR: No problem, I'll probably have a stupid answer (laughs).

T3M: What's the craziest thing you've seen over the past year while on tour?

DR: Well I always say that if you can remember it, it probably wasn't all that crazy. All the stories you hear from other people, like Motley Crue and shit like that, I don't know if I can say anything that would seem crazy. There's probably some shit that happened that I don't remember that would make a great story. I just can't remember it. During Family Values we hung out a lot with Hellyeah… Bob Zilla, Vinnie Paul and those guys, every night. It was just crazy drinking and debauchery all the time. I don't really want to get into specifics, but it's probably everything you've ever read about and worse.

T3M: Did you ever sit in on one of Jonathan Davis' poker games?

DR: I haven't yet. I'm a huge poker fan. I've got sucked into that whole Texas Hold'em craze like everybody else. I would sit for hours and watch re-runs of the World Series of Poker. I actually haven't had a chance to sit with Jonathan and play, but I hope he invites me someday. We were on tour, so it was always business, business, business pretty much. Very cool guys though. But there wasn't a lot of spare time to sit around and play poker. We had these pesky shows to play every night.

T3M: Any closing thoughts?

DR: I think we talked about everything man. The summer tours, Disturbed coming up in May, the Mayhem festival in July, and just look for us on the road all summer 2008. We'll be hitting it hard. We're out there to kick ass and take names, and we can't wait to get out and get started.

T3M: We hope to catch you guys live soon.

DR: That would be awesome. Drink a beer with us or something.

T3M: You got it! Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today.

DR: No problem man, I appreciate it.

 
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| 04.22.2008 | Interview by J. Pierson |