Ivan L. Moody

Ivan L. Moody (born Ivan Lewis Greening^[1]), (born January 7, 1980) known by the pseudonym Ghost during his time with Motograter, is the lead vocalist for American heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch. He had performed for several bands before settling down with Five Finger Death Punch (often abbreviated to FFDP or 5FDP). As an actor, he also starred in the films Bled as Incubus, and The Devil's Carnival as the hobo clown.

Career

Moody moved from his hometown Denver to Los Angeles in 2001, where he joined his first band called Toiz. The band played a few shows around the Los Angeles area in 2002 and made a demo which was not released. The following year, he joined the nu metal band Motograter. They released their self-titled studio album of the same name on June 24, 2003. They gained some mainstream success playing the second stage at Ozzfest 2003 and touring with bands like Korn, Disturbed, Marilyn Manson, Nothingface, Slipknot, Mushroomhead, and Killswitch Engage. Motograter went on a hiatus in 2005 but played a one-time re-union show in 2006 at the Delicious Rox Festival and Moody made it perfectly clear to fans and band members alike that he was finished with the band. Moody also made songs with old roommates and family members, Ryan Morrow (bass), Bill Stonebraker (guitar), and Jim "Dugan" Demongey (drums), calling themselves Black Blood Orchestra.

Soon after, Moody joined the heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch and his side project Ghost Machine released their debut self-titled album on July 26, 2005. Ghost Machine released their second album, Hypersensitive, on November 21, 2006. On the same year, Five Finger Death Punch entered the studio to record their debut album at Next Level Studios and Complex Studios in Los Angeles, California with Steve Bruno and Mike Sarkisyan. The album was produced by guitarist Zoltan Bathory and drummer Jeremy Spencer and was mixed by former Machine Head and Soulfly guitarist Logan Mader. Ivan also starred in the 2009 horror film Bled, playing the role of Incubus.

They achieved rapid commercial success: their debut album, The Way of the Fist (2007) has currently sold over 600,000 copies in the United States and spawned three top 10 hit singles. Their second album, War is the Answer (2009), sold more than 44,000 copies in its first week of release, spawned 5 top 10 singles and has gone on to sell more than 700,000 copies to date. Their even more successful third record American Capitalist debuted #3 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold over 90,000 copies in its first week of release. It was the band's third consecutive RIAA-certified Gold record, however, has sold less copies than War is the Answer overall, with total sales to date around 550,000. Then, on July 30, 2013, The Wrong side of Heaven and Righteous side of Hell Volume One was released, having sold over 210,000 copies so far, and is debuted as the #1 rock album across the globe. Roughly four months later, The Wrong Side of Heaven and Righteous Side of Hell Volume Two was released, landing #2 on the billboard 200, and widely recognized for its extremely popular single, Battle Born. They have played many major tours and festivals including Korn's Family Values and Bitch We Have a Problem Tours, the Jägermeister Stage (second stage) at Mayhem Festival in 2008 and the main stage at Mayhem Festival in 2010 and 2013. They also performed at Download Festival during 2009, 2010, 2013 & 2015 and the Monster Stage (main stage) at Rock on the Range in Columbus, Ohio in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 as well as at Rockfest 2012 in Kansas City.

He is featured in the new book Full Metal: The 50 Most Influential Heavy Metal Songs of the 1980s and the True Stories Behind Their Lyrics. In a new interview conducted exclusively for the book, Moody discusses the impact of Metallica's “Fade to Black” on him as a lyricist, in a full chapter about the song that also examines its social and cultural significance, both back during 1984 and today.

Moody co-starred with Shawn Crahan in Darren Lynn Bousman's short horror musical film The Devil's Carnival, which screened on tour in April 2012.^[2]

Personal life

Although born in Denver, Colorado, Moody shared to a crowd in La Crosse, Wisconsin, that he used to spend several summers with his grandmother in Somerset, Wisconsin. "My grandmother put me in choir when I was about seven years old. I was only in it about two or three years. Music's always been real close to my heart. Like anybody else, there were ups and downs in my life and music just always seemed to be consistent, so it was easy to latch on to." Moody started singing in bands when he was 16 years old, kicking him out of bars after his set was done. Ivan currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada and has an 18 year old daughter back in Colorado.^[3]

Alcoholism

In 2012, Ivan Moody revealed that his alcohol problem had nearly got him fired from the band. Other members of Five Finger Death Punch wouldn't answer his phone calls and they had lost many tour managers, all harming the band and themselves. Ivan had even performed while drunk; he claimed he would perform in front of large crowds and not remember any of it the next day. He started to cut down on the alcohol and drink with more responsibility, before stopping completely. Ivan says that he "felt like a junkie and from that extreme, it takes a lot of effort to go back." ^[4]

Moody appears to reference his alcoholism and it's battles in the video "I Apologize". Whereas Moody himself is walking through a graveyard filled with those artists that have died from some kind of drug overdose; including Janis Joplin, Sid Vicious, Layne Staley, and Elvis Presley.

Awards and nominations

Motograter was voted the best band of 2003 by Hit Parader.^[5] Five Finger Death Punch has won several awards including The Best New Band award at the 2009 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards, the Most Promising Artist award from FMQB’s 2009 year-end Metal poll. They were also nominated for the Best International Newcomer award at 2009 Kerrang! Awards and won the Best Breakthrough Band award at the 2010 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. Best Song for "Lift Me Up" at the 2014 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards.

Discography

Motograter

• 2003: Motograter

There are also four Motograter demos with Moody on lead vocals, including "Down (2002 Demo), "No Name (2002 Demo), "Red (2002 Demo)", and "Failure (Live 2004)".

Ghost Machine

• 2005: Ghost Machine
• 2006: Hypersensitive

After Hypersensitive, Ghost Machine started working on a remix album that they had to put on the back burner because of the success of Five Finger Death Punch. Four remixes were released for stream on the band's MySpace music remix page: "God Forbid (Black Cape Remix)", "Vegas Moon (Pete Murray Remix)", "Siesta Loca (Steven's Organic Drum Remix)" and "Burning Bridges (Depression Remix)".

Five Finger Death Punch

• 2007: The Way of the Fist
• 2009: War Is the Answer
• 2011: American Capitalist
• 2013: The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1
• 2013: The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 2
• 2015: Got Your Six

Guest appearances

Filmography

• Bled (2009) (as Incubus)
• The Devil's Carnival (2012) (as the hobo clown)

References

External links

• Five Finger Death Punch's official website