Ivan Moody
Ivan L. Moody | |
|---|---|
 Ivan Moody performing at Rock on the Range 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Ghost |
| Genres | Heavy metal, groove metal, alternative metal, nu metal, hard rock, progressive rock, experimental rock, industrial metal |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician, music producer, actor |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Labels | Firm Music/EMI |
Ivan L. Moody, (born January 7, 1980) also known by the pseudonym Ghost, is the singer for American Heavy metal group Five Finger Death Punch Sacramento, California. He had performed for several bands before settling down with FFDP (or 5FDP.)
Career
Moody performed with a few small bands before joining the nu metal band Motograter in 2002. They released their self-titled album Motograter 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, SkinCrawl, and Killswitch Engage. Motograter went on a hiatus in 2006. Motograter played a one time re-union show in 2006 at the Delicious Rox Festival in which Ivan made it perfectly clear to fans and band members alike that he was finished with the band.
Soon after, Ivan 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. That 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. He 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 420,000 copies in the United States and spawned 3 top 10 hit singles. Their second album, War Is the Answer (2009), sold more than 44,006 copies in its first week of release, spawned 5 top 10 singles and has gone on to sell more than 500,000 copies to date. They have played many major tours and festivals including Korn's Family Values and Bitch We Have a Problem Tours, they played on the Jägermeister Stage (second stage) at Mayhem Festival in 2008 and played the main stage at Mayhem Festival in 2010. They also performed at Download Festival during both 2009 and 2010 and the Monster Stage (main stage) at Rock on the Range 2010.
He is featured in the new book Full Metal The 50 Most Influential Heavy Metal Songs of the '80s and the True Stories Behind Their Lyrics. In a new interview conducted exclusively for the book, Ivan 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 in 1983 and today.
Prior to Motograter, Ivan was in a band called Black Blood Orchestra. They have a MySpace Music page with four songs for stream: "Cold", "Red Moon of Vegas [Rough Cut]" (a Demo Version of Ghost Machine's "Vegas Moon"), "Black Blood" and "Sunspot ["Cold" Reprise)" (basically an Acoustic Version of "Cold").
Awards and nominations
Motograter was voted the best band of 2003 by Hit Parader.[1] 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.
Discography
- Motograter
- 2003: Motograter
There are also three Motograter Demos with Ivan on Vocals: "Flesh Burns (1999 Demo)", "Pile Driver (2000 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
Filmography
- Bled (2009)...Incubus