Chris Kael recently spoke to France’s Heavy1 on the Megadeathpunch tour when the band performed in Paris about a number of topics including the impact that Charlie Engen has had since joining the band.
In the interview, Chris talks about the bands new album F8 and describes it as the most introspective release to date in terms of personal lyrical content. He goes on to share how this brought the band closer together in the writing process.
On touring with Megadeth, Kael says he initially thought Five Finger Death Punch was opening for Megadeth in Europe when he heard about the tour. He explainst that despite being a little nervous about going on after them, that he has learnt a lot from the Megadeth guys and it lit a fire beneath the band.
On the Grammy awards and their tendancy to generally snub Metal bands, he explains Five Finger Death Punch’s award is playing in front of fans, performing with legendary bands such as Megadeth and making a difference to people’s live through music.
Chris also shares how Charlie Engen came to join the band following Jeremy Spencer’s back surgery commenting, “Jeremy knew that he was going to have to go back for another back surgery and was going to require the recovery time to recover from the back surgery. The whole reason he had problems again was that he had surgery and went right back into playing and he didn’t have the proper time to heal.”
“We were originally just going to have Charlie as a fill in. Jeremy had seen his [Charlie’s] stuff online. Charlie used to do a bunch of YouTube instructional videos and also used to played with another band called Scale The Summit. Anyone who listens to that knows how incredible tecynical those dudes are. We were gifted with the skill that he brought behind the kit.”
“I think the evolution of Charlie has been really awesome for me to watch. When he first joined us on stage to fill in for Jeremy, he was basically trying to be Jeremy Spencer. As a fill in, that’s what you do.”
“To see him be able to flex his own creative muscles and really show Charlie for what Charlie actually is. Its added a whole new level of technical prowess and within the band just the personality thing. He’s very humble and down to earth and just damn happy to be here. I think that reminds us all of how great the gig with Five Finger Death Punch is.”
Watch the full interview with Chris Kael here:
Five Finger Death Punch has just completed its 2020 European Tour and is preparing to launch its Spring U.S Tour in arenas across the United States in April and May 2020 with Papa Roach, I Prevail and Ice Nine Kills.
Spring U.S Tour Dates 2020
4/8 – Sunrise, FL // BB&T Center
4/10 – Duluth, GA // Infinite Energy Center
4/11 – Pelham, AL // Oak Mountain Amphitheater
4/13 – San Antonio, TX // AT&T Center
4/14 – Ft. Worth, TX // Dickies Arena
4/16 – Houston, TX // Toyota Center
4/18 – Phoenix, AZ // Talking Stick Resort Arena
4/19 – San Diego, CA // Viejas Arena
4/21 – Los Angeles, CA // The Forum
4/23 – Tacoma, WA // Tacoma Dome
4/25 – Portland, OR // Veteran Memorial Coliseum
4/27 – Morrison, CO // Red Rocks Amphitheatre
4/29 – Kansas City, MO // Sprint Center
5/3 – Baltimore, MD // Royal Farms Arena
5/5 – Worcester, MA // DCU Cente
5/6 – Newark, NJ // Prudential Center
5/8 – Cincinnati, OH // Heritage Bank Center
5/12 – Detroit, MI // Little Caesars Arena
5/14 – Pittsburgh, PA // PPG Paints Center
5/15 – Camden, NJ // BB&T Pavilion
5/17 – Nashville, TN // Bridgestone Arena
5/19 – Rosemont, IL // Allstate Arena
5/20 – St. Paul, MN // Xcel Energy Center