Five Finger Death Punch founding guitarist Zoltan Bathory has revealed the band is celebrating its 20th anniversary by releasing Best Of – Volume 1, a collection of re-recorded versions of their most popular chart-topping songs. This strategic move comes in direct response to the recent sale of the band’s original master recordings by their former label, an action taken without their knowledge or an opportunity to reclaim their own work.
Speaking to Audacy Music, Bathory explained the situation regarding their masters (as transcribey by Blabbermouth): “It’s pretty common in the music industry. Outside the music [industry], people don’t really know that this actually happens, but record labels do trade or sell masters many times without letting the artists know or having the chance even to participate. So this kind of happens. From a business perspective, from the record label’s side, it’s a move on the chess board. And this is our move now.”
Bathory acknowledged the parallels to pop superstar Taylor Swift, who famously re-recorded her first six albums after her original masters were sold. “Taylor Swift did what she did. It was a brilliant move,” Zoltan commented. “And many artists, when it happens to them, they feel helpless and they don’t really have an answer. And some artists go, like, ‘You made your move. Now we are gonna make ours.’ And it is what it is.” He expressed confidence in their dedicated fanbase to embrace the new recordings: “Now, Taylor Swift has a rabid fanbase, a very hardcore fanbase, so when she put out the new songs, the fanbase just simply switched to the new streams. It just happens so that we have probably the craziest fanbase on the planet… so probably the same thing is gonna happen. They’ll just switch.”
The initial phase of this re-recording project focuses on the band’s 30 most popular tracks, which will form Best Of – Volume 1. Bathory described the dual motivation behind this: “We started with these 30 [tracks]… And this is the 20th anniversary. So besides what happened with the masters, we were also already looking for something to do for the fans. So it was kind of, like, ‘Oh, here’s some lemon. Let’s make some lemonade.’ This happened anyway, so, well, it’s a perfect opportunity then — instead of getting pissed off or getting mad about, it’s, like, ‘You know what? Well, it is what it is. Then why don’t we turn it into a positive?’… We are gonna re-record it. Fans are gonna be happy… Let’s reimagine them. Let’s record them with today’s sound and today’s voice. And we lived with these songs for years and years, so how would they sound today? And we just did that.” This collection will feature new renditions of fan favorites such as “The Bleeding,” “Bad Company,” and “Wrong Side Of Heaven.”
Looking beyond this anniversary project, Bathory confirmed that a brand new studio album from Five Finger Death Punch, a follow-up to 2022’s AfterLife, is also in the works. “Yeah, definitely. We’ll be doing this first, and then the new album,” he stated.
As for live performances, Five Finger Death Punch has several major festival appearances booked for the summer of 2025, including the Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival in July. Bathory also mentioned that discussions for touring in 2026 are already underway: “Bands this size usually have to plan a year ahead, sometimes more. So we are already talking about 2026, what’s happening.”
Best Of – Volume 1:
01. Under And Over It (2025 Version)
02. Wash It All Away (2025 Version)
03. Battle Born (2025 Version)
04. I Refuse (feat. Maria Brink of In This Moment) (2025 Version)
05. Jekyll And Hyde (2025 Version)
06. Wrong Side Of Heaven (2025 Version)
07. Lift Me Up (2025 Version)
08. Far From Home (2025 Version)
09. Bad Company (2025 Version)
10. House Of The Rising Sun (2025 Version)
11. Gone Away (2025 Version)
12. Remember Everything (2025 Version)
13. Coming Down (2025 Version)
14. The Bleeding (2025 Version)
15. Trouble (Live)
16. Welcome To The Circus (Live)
17. The Bleeding (Live)
