(Metal Hammer) Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Zoltan Bathory says frontman Ivan Moody could no longer avoid his addiction issues after his onstage meltdown in 2015.
And he believes the publicity surrounding the incident was a blessing in disguise, because it meant the singer could no longer hide his problem. Moody was abandoned by his colleagues during a show in Memphis, Tennessee, after he tried to perform drunk.
He later accepted the drama had been "humiliating" and attended rehab, then the band put the event behind them - although they changed their habits on the road to help prevent a repeat.
Bathory tells Kerrang (via Blabbermouth): "For the longest time, the stage was sacred. After that incident we looked at him like, 'Dude, you've drawn a sword in a church - this is absolutely not okay.'
"I was pissed. By the time you get to the point we'd made it to, you've basically climbed the Himalayas barefoot. We were planting our flag. And he was too f***ing wasted to remember it."
But he says Moody "got better rapidly" afterwards, adding: "By taking ownership, you take control. It put him in a position where the whole world was watching him." Read more here.
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