Z2 Comics further cements their place as the leading publisher of music-inspired books and graphic novels across all genres and formats with the announcement of this book of original poetry from Five Finger Death Punch’s Ivan Moody!
Presented in an exquisite hardcover format, Ivan Moody’s Dirty Poetry will be released this fall, with signed special editions available exclusively through the Z2 website!
Ivan Moody says, “Out of all the projects I’ve undertaken this is something truly out of the ordinary, completely unorthodox, and without ‘creative walls.’ It is by far the oddest thing I’ve ever done (and that’s saying something).
I had no idea how this would turn out but thankfully – between Blake and myself – I’m ecstatic with this first edition of Dirty Poetry. I’m intrigued and excited to share this FULL DOSE of my thought provoking/chaotic and emotionally stimulating artistic vision with all of you. Welcome… to My rabbit hole.”
Ever wondered what really lies beyond “where the sidewalk ends?” From the wonderfully twisted mind of the front man of Five Finger Death Punch; Ivan Moody’s Dirty Poetry is a book of original poems punctuated with dark art that’s guaranteed to inspire upside-down dreamscapes in the minds of its readers. Written by Ivan Moody himself, with beautifully haunting ink and watercolor illustrations by Blake Armstrong, Z2 Comics offers this Halloween treat to readers everywhere this October!
Artist Blake Armstrong says, “Dirty Poetry definitely stands out as one of the more free and unique creative experiences I’ve had in my career. Ivan’s overall vision for this book was so twisted and tantalizing it would have been hard to keep me away from it. Our collaboration was truly a blast and I think the love shows on every page. My only hope is that the readers enjoy the book at least half as much as we did working on it. It’s gratifying to be a part of something so weird, unexpected and special.”
SIXX:A.M. Presents: Artists For Recovery release “Maybe It’s Time” (feat. Corey Taylor, Joe Elliott, Brantley Gilbert, Ivan Moody, Slash, AWOLNATION, Tommy Vext). The song is the cornerstone of an industry-wide initiative to draw attention to the opioid crisis and raise funds to serve the recovery community and save lives. Timed to launch National Recovery Month in September, this campaign leverages all manners of entertainment to send an important message of hope for recovery, starting on International Overdose Awareness Day 8/31 and continuing through International Recovery Day 9/30.
The idea for the song, featuring a who’s who line up of rock, country and alternative stars, was conceived by Nikki Sixx, co-founder of Mötley Crüe and Sixx: A.M., recovery spokesperson and advocate, and one of the leading public figures fighting to destigmatize substance use disorders and recovery. All artist royalties from the song are being donated to The Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) to support those in early recovery, with a matching contribution from Better Noise Music.
Says Sixx: “I am proud to bring together these artists to help raise funds for the Global Recovery Initiative Foundation. The opioid epidemic did not go away when the pandemic came along. Just the opposite…those in early recovery became even more at risk than before so it’s more important now than ever to raise awareness and support them. I really believe that united we can make a difference and save lives.”
Major entertainment industry companies including Live Nation, Ticketmaster, iHeart, Pandora, SiriusXM, Entercom and many others have come together on this project to raise awareness and save lives. Allen Kovac, CEO of Better Noise Entertainment explains, “Label and studio heads know there is nothing sadder than when an artist or actor you’ve worked with passes away due to substance use disorders. This initiative is a wakeup call to the entertainment industry that we can’t lose more legends like Prince, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Petty and Michael Jackson.”
“So, Nikki rang me to see if I’d lend a vocal to ‘Maybe It’s Time.’ After hearing the track for the first time in a while, I was reminded how good it is so I was in! It felt right, all around, giving back to the much-needed Global Recovery Initiative,” explains Joe Elliott of Def Leppard.
The song is also featured on the soundtrack for the upcoming Better Noise Films release SNO BABIES. The film, out on video on demand September 29th, depicts the grim realities of teen-age addiction and its effects on a middle-class suburban town. SNO BABIES shows how easy it can be to both miss and hide the signs of addiction behind the facade of “good” neighborhoods and busy communities. Better Noise Films’ share of profits is also being donated to GRI.
The film aims to help start the difficult conversation within families about substance use disorders. “Alcoholism and drug addiction are family diseases. They’re the only diseases that everyone is mad at and hurt if you have it,” explains vocalist of Bad Wolves and sober coach, Tommy Vext. “People don’t get upset at you if you get cancer. It’s because with addiction, it affects everyone whose life touches the sufferer.” Vext’s #1 hit song “Sober” is also featured on the film’s soundtrack, which is available September 4th.
“It’s a real issue… It’s affecting young people more and more every year, so it’s very, very important for all of us to pitch in and do our part, especially some of us who have lived through it…those of us who have survived… it’s the least I can do,” said Corey Taylor of Slipknot of his participation in the project.
The emergence of Covid-19 has exacerbated the epidemic of substance use disorders worldwide. Being trapped in our homes has amplified our need for community and resources to fight the battle against addiction. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)’s director, Dr. Nora Volkow, recently said“For the past three or four months when Covid-19 hit, we don’t have accurate numbers of what the consequences are doing to the overdose fatalities, but from what we hear it’s estimated that there’s at least a 20% increase in the number of calls to the agencies reporting spikes in overdoses.” She attributes this to the loss of support systems. As much as there has been awareness raised about the growing opioid crisis and addiction, there have been few initiatives created to address the issue, head-on, at a scale needed to have the necessary impact.
At a recent Summit of Recovery Researchers, Vice Admiral Jerome M. Adams, U.S. Surgeon General emphasized: “We need local support services for people in early recovery because the protocols of Covid-19 requires isolation and reduces access to support services needed which is the opposite of what is needed to reduce reuse.”
The Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) is the first and only national community foundation dedicated to building a philanthropic source of funding for organizations to expand their capacity to provide people with Substance Use Disorders (SUD) recovery support systems and services to combat the growing problem. GRI’s goal is to deploy 1,000 Recovery Corps workers into communities to provide peer support and access to services for those in early recovery. GRI supports organizations using evidence-based programs that have demonstrated success in: engagement of philanthropy leaders to invest in recovery focused non-profit initiatives, reducing the stigma around substance use disorders and recovery, and deployment of public, private and pop culture resources to strengthen the field of recovery.
Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation board member, Nikki Sixx is an international rock icon, founding member of global multi-platinum rock act Mötley Crüe and Sixx:A.M., and three-time New York Times best-selling author with “The Heroin Diaries,” “This Is Gonna Hurt” and Mötley Crüe’s “The Dirt,” which was recently adapted into a Netflix film. Among Sixx’s many philanthropic efforts is raising money to help the homeless youth through Covenant House California. Currently, Sixx is one of the leading public figures fighting to destigmatize substance use disorders.
Metalhammer.co.uk have posted that a video showing a nine-year-old girl being encouraged to swear on stage by FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH singer Ivan Moody is causing a stir.
The clip was posted on YouTube by Olivia Douglas’ father Mark, who has blasted claims that it was inappropriate.
It shows Moody hugging the girl while trying to make her chant “Burn motherfucker burn,” a lyric from 5FDP track Burn MF, in front of thousands of fans. She appears to be uncomfortable in the situation despite Moody’s encouraging words: “Come on, gorgeous, you know the words.” She does not join in and appears to look towards her father, behind the camera, for reassurance.
Florida’s Wink News quotes a number of sources as being disgusted by the video, including lawyer Miguel Fernandez. He says: “This child is being used as a prop. I feel sorry for this child. This child is helpless in that position. What does this child do? She’s frozen.”
Local sheriff Mike Scott adds: “Words can’t describe my disgust – this should never, ever be allowed in a county park.”
But Douglas insists children hear worse language at school. He says: “It’s a bad word, yeah. It’s a word. That’s all it is. Everyone cusses.
“She goes to a church every Thursday and takes piano lessons. She’s a normal kid – just loves metal.”
Recently LOUD TV conducted an interview with Ivan Moody from 5 FINGER DEATH PUNCH, before the release of The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Volume 1, check out the chat below:
Matt Bahan of the 105.7 The X Rocks radio station in Peoria, Illinois recently conducted an interview with vocalist Ivan Moody of Las Vegas metallers FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH. You can now watch the chat below.
Speaking of FIVE FINGER‘s live performances, Moody said, “We made a promise to ourselves. We’ve toured with so many bands, and we’ve noticed that there are a few of them… METALLICA, RAMMSTEIN, TOOL — those aren’t bands, those are events. You go check out someone like RAMMSTEIN, man, and it changes your life. So we wanna be be one of those projects where people go, ‘You know what?! We’re not just going to see some band hunker around on stage with their guitars,’ which, of course, it always comes back down to. But we really want them to have an experience, man. ‘Cause we notice kids from six to eight years old all the way up to people that are my age. It’s overwhelming sometimes, but at the same token, it’s a responsibility that we’ve taken upon ourselves and we wanna be one of those artists.”
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has confirmed the dates for Trespass America, the new summer festival tour the band is launching this year. The trek kicks off on July 13 in Broomfield, Colorado, hitting 31 cities before winding down on August 28 in Los Angeles. KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, POP EVIL, TRIVIUM, GOD FORBID, EMMURE and BATTLECROSS will round out the lineup of the metal-centric package.
The trek is a joint venture with Europe’s Metal Hammer magazine, which is sponsoring a U.S. tour for the first time.
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is touring behind its third album, “American Capitalist”, which came out last fall and looks likely to be the Las Vegas-based act’s third consecutive gold album.
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 