Taylor Swift Inspired Five Finger Death Punch to Re-Record Their Earlier Hits

It looks like Taylor Swift isn’t just shaking it off; she’s shaking up the entire music industry. The latest band to take a page out of her playbook? None other than the heavy-metal band Five Finger Death Punch. The band decided to re-record their earlier hits, and they’ve got one muse to thank: the queen of pop music herself, Taylor Swift. 

Apparently, seeing Swift reclaim her masters inspired the band. 5FDP founder and rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory told Page Six, “Her actually doing it, battle-testing it, gave everyone real-life telemetry. A proof of concept.” 

Bathory added, “Now there’s precedent, an actual measurable example that it’s worth the heavy lifting. After that proven chess move, artists choosing to respond the same way are not jumping into this blind.” 

As a result, fans are hoping for a collaboration of sorts. 

“Metalheads and Swifties in the same comment sections, in agreement, writing a quite unexpected symphony,” Bathory said. “Clearly, this one is not about genres. It’s about principles. It’s about truth that resonates, passion that resonates. I don’t know if it ends up leading there, but it would definitely be an interesting collab… some people could for sure use a Swift Five Finger Death Punch.” 

In 2017, Prospect Park founder Jeff Kwatinetz sold his shares with 5FDP and the label to Spirit Music Group. The band’s manager, Allen Kovac, said, “He never contacted the band to tell them he was selling. He didn’t even give them the opportunity to go to the bank, get a down payment, and pay him with assets from their side,” per Music Radar. 

Kovac also alleged that Kwatinetz, who promised a 50-50 joint venture with the band, took 50% of the band’s touring, publishing, and merchandising revenues, with the band never really having ownership, even though they thought they did.  

Kwatinetz denied Kovac’s claims: “Allen’s allegations, as usual, are utterly false. We took a band no one else wanted to sign (and) made them the most-played band at active rock for over a decade. The band made millions and millions of dollars, had nine or 10 gold or platinum records. Allen’s intent was always to try to break the contract so he could put it out on his own label.” 

20 Years of Five Finger Death Punch – Best Of, Volume 1, is scheduled for release on July 18. Aside from the re-recording of the band’s classic hits, it will also include three previously unreleased live tracks. The album will also honor the 20^th anniversary of the band’s formation.