Zoltan Bathory (born in 1978) is a Hungarian-American musician and
martial artist
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...
. He is the founder and rhythm guitarist of Las Vegas-based
heavy metal band
Five Finger Death Punch
Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead gui ...
. In 2010, he was named
Golden God's "Best Shredder" by ''
Metal Hammer
''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
'' magazine.
He is an actively competing martial artist, a
black belt in both
jiu-jitsu
Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...
and
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
, and 2021's Jiu-Jitsu American Nationals Silver Medalist. in Black Belt Masters Super Heavy Division. Bathory is also a founding board member of the
veteran
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military.
A military veteran that has ...
s nonprofit Home Deployment Project in Las Vegas and sits on the Board of Advisors at VETPAW (Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife), an anti-
poaching
Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights.
Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
organization operating on the African continent, composed of US combat veterans.
Career
Bathory joined the
post-grunge
Post-grunge is a derivative of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox and Collective So ...
band
U.P.O.
U.P.O. was an American Rock music, rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1997. The band's line-up originally included Shawn Albro (lead vocals), Chris Weber (guitar), Ben Shirley (bass) and Tommy Holt (drums). Shirley and Holt left and were repl ...
in 2004, replacing Ben Shirley on bass. He left the band in 2005, switched back to guitar, and went on to form the
heavy metal band
Five Finger Death Punch
Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead gui ...
in Los Angeles, California.
Five Finger Death Punch recorded their debut album in 2006 with engineers Steve Bruno and Mike Sarkisyan. It was mixed by
Soulfly
Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1997, and later based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 199 ...
/
Machine Head
A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...
guitarist
Logan Mader
Logan Conrad Mader (born November 16, 1970) is a Canadian record producer and current guitarist of melodic death metal band Once Human, as well as the former lead guitarist of groove metal band Machine Head.
Mader is most famous for his time i ...
. Soon after finishing the album, the band was signed by a major management company
The Firm and ''
The Way of the Fist
''The Way of the Fist'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch, released on July 31, 2007. The album sold 3,800 copies in its first week of release. ''The Way of the Fist'' made its ''Billboard'' 200 deb ...
'' was released on July 31, 2007. This self-produced record sold 500,000 copies in the US and spawned three top-10 singles. Their follow-up album, ''
War Is the Answer
''War Is the Answer'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch. It was released on September 22, 2009 through Prospect Park. The album debuted at number seven on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling approximate ...
'' was released on September 22, 2009, through Prospect Park Records. The record debuted number 7 on the
''Billboard'' 200 and all four singles (off of the album) made it to the top 10 mainstream rock charts. ''War Is the Answer'' stayed on ''Billboard''s Top 100 for over a record-breaking 92 weeks and sold over 1,000,000 copies.
![ZoltanBathory-photo-cred-stephen-jensen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/ZoltanBathory-photo-cred-stephen-jensen.jpg)
Their third record ''
American Capitalist
''American Capitalist'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal music, heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch, released on October 11, 2011. It is the band's first album not to feature bassist Matt Snell, as he departed from the band i ...
'' was even more successful. It debuted at number 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200, had another three top 10 singles and it achieved Gold status within a year of its release. It has since been certified Platinum. In 2013, the band released a double studio album ''
'' and ''
Volume 2 Volume Two, Volume 2, Volume II or Vol. II may refer to:
* '' Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life'', a 1998 album by rapper Jay-Z
* ''Volume 2'' (Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass album), 1963
* '' Vol. 2 (Breaking Through)'', by The West Coast Pop Art Experimenta ...
'' within three months from each other. Both albums debuted at number 2 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. ''Volume 1'' featured guest vocalists
Rob Halford
Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. He has b ...
of
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
,
Maria Brink
Maria Brink (born December 18, 1977) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the frontwoman of the metal band The band has gone on to release seven studio albums and receive four nominations, two from Alternative Press Music Awards, ...
of
In This Moment
In This Moment is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed by singer Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth in 2005. They found drummer Jeff Fabb and started the band as Dying Star. Unhappy with their musical direction, they ...
,
Tech N9ne
Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold over two m ...
,
Jamey Jasta
James Shanahan (born August 7, 1977), known professionally as Jamey Jasta, is an American vocalist, best known as the lead singer of metalcore band Hatebreed and sludge metal band Kingdom of Sorrow. Jasta also fronts metalcore band Icepick. P ...
of
Hatebreed
Hatebreed is an American hardcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, formed in 1994. The band released its debut album '' Satisfaction is the Death of Desire'' in 1997, which gave the band a cult following. The band signed to Universal Records ...
, and
Max Cavalera
Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera (; born August 4, 1969) is a Brazilian musician. He co-founded the heavy metal band Sepultura in 1984 with his brother Igor Cavalera, and was the band's lead singer and rhythm guitarist until his departure i ...
of
Sepultura
Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...
and
Soulfly
Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1997, and later based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 199 ...
. Both albums also became certified Platinum.
The band's sixth record ''
Got Your Six
''Got Your Six'' is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch. It was released on September 4, 2015, by Prospect Park. ''Got Your Six'' sold 119,000 units to debut at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200. The 11 ...
'' was the band's biggest first-week commercial success. The record was number one on ''Billboard'' 200's physical sales chart and number 2 on the overall charts. Since 2010, only six metal albums had achieved RIAA Certified Platinum Status:
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
's ''
Hardwired... to Self-Destruct'' and five of Five Finger Death Punch's albums (''War Is the Answer'', ''American Capitalist'', ''Wrong Side of Heaven, Volume 1'' and ''Volume 2'', and ''Got Your Six''). The band have had twenty one top 10 hit singles on U.S. Mainstream Rock Radio. Bathory won the "Best Shredder" award at the
2010 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. The award was the third Golden God trophy the band received (the first was for 2009 Best New Artist and the second for 2010 Breakthrough Artist, respectively).
In 2013, the band was nominated and won another Golden God Award (Song of the Year) with "Lift Me Up". This number one mainstream rock hit featured
Rob Halford
Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. He has b ...
of
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
as a guest vocalist. Halford and
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...
joined the band's performance at the Golden Gods Award Ceremony.
In 2017, it was announced that Bathory expanded into artist management and took a new band,
Bad Wolves
Bad Wolves is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 2017. Initially finding fame from their first single, a cover of the Cranberries' 1994 hit "Zombie (The Cranberries song)#Bad Wolves cover, Zombie", the band proceeded to fi ...
, under his wing. Bad Wolves' first record ''
Disobey'' was released in May 2018 via
Eleven Seven Records. The Bathory managed band's first single "
Zombie
A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
" became a number one hit in the United States and several other countries.
Shortly after, Bathory signed a second band to his management company,
Fire from the Gods.
Equipment
![Zoltan Bathory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Zoltan_Bathory.jpg)
In 2009,
B.C. Rich launched three Zoltan Bathory Artist Signature Guitars: Bathory – Assassin (Artist Signature Model). Bathory runs this through
TC Electronic
TC Electronic (sometimes stylized as t.c. electronic) is a Danish audio equipment company that designs and imports guitar effects, bass amplification, computer audio interfaces, audio plug-in software, live sound equalisers, studio and post-pro ...
G-System and Diamond Amplifiers. He uses a Dunlop heavy core string set (gauge of .13 to .66).
It was announced in November 2014, that
DBZ Guitars
Diamond Guitars is an American guitar manufacturer owned and operated by Mountain High Holdings LLC, Jason Struble, the president and CEO, along with Jeff Diamant of Diamond Amplification. Former Dean Guitars founder and owner Dean Zelinsky was a ...
had teamed up with Bathory to create the company's first ever Diamond signature guitars. Although Bathory made the switch to Diamond/DBZ guitars in late 2014, the company claims he goes way back with Diamond, as he designed several guitars in Diamond's arsenal in the past (Bird of Pray, Halcyon) and he's used their amplifiers for over a decade.
Philanthropy
Five Finger Death Punch have played many military benefit concerts, visited bases around the world and spearheaded a fundraising campaign for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
In 2014, the band launched a campaign that raised over $225,000. The band used their recent music video for their latest single "Wrong Side of Heaven" to focus on the theme and launched website 5fdp4Vets.com. They also started selling a custom jersey which was designed by Bathory, on
Indiegogo. The funds raised went to organizations that raise awareness about
post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
.
Bathory was elected as the chairman of development of the non-profit organization The Home Deployment Project in Las Vegas, helping veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic homelessness.
In 2017, it was announced that Bathory had joined VETPAW (Veterans Empowered To Protect African Wildlife),
an anti-poaching organization consisting of US combat veterans. VETPAW focuses on fighting against illegal rhino killings on the continent. To achieve this, VETPAW launched Operation Rhino Shield in South Africa where they deployed a team of Army, Marine and Navy veterans on private reserves that are under direct threat from rhino poachers.
Bathory is a long-time supporter of law enforcement and first responders. In 2017, Five Finger Death Punch donated $58,000 to The Badge of Honor Memorial Foundation, an organization recognized by the Department of Justice, that's available to assist the departments and families of fallen police officers by identifying all the federal and state benefits that are available for them.
In 2018, Bathory spearheaded another campaign wherein his band
Five Finger Death Punch
Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead gui ...
donated a portion of their ticket sales ($95,000) to C.O.P.S. (Concerns of Police Survivors), an organization that supports families of officers killed in the line of duty by offering scholarships, counseling services and peer support.
In 2019, Five Finger Death Punch teamed up with
Brantley Gilbert
Brantley Keith Gilbert (born January 20, 1985) is an American country rock singer, songwriter and record producer from Jefferson, Georgia. He was originally signed to Colt Ford's label, Average Joes Entertainment, where he released ''Modern Day ...
,
Brian May
Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...
of
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
and
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Kenny Wayne Shepherd (born Kenny Wayne Brobst; June 12, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has released several studio albums and experienced significant commercial success as a blues artist.
Life and career
Shepherd wa ...
to re-record a new version of Shepherd's song "Blue on Black". All proceeds from the recording is donated to First Responders via The
Gary Sinise
Gary Alan Sinise (; born March 17, 1955) is an American actor, humanitarian, and musician. Among other awards, he has won a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also received a st ...
Foundation.
Personal life
In his private life, Bathory is an actively competing martial artist, who practices
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
(black belt) and
Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...
(black belt), often appearing in martial art magazines. He is married to Heather Grace Gracie, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s Founding Father Carlos Gracie’s grand daughter. He is a member of the Gracie Humaita Jiu-Jitsu Competition Team, under Professor Amilcar Cipili (5th Degree)
and 8th Degree Black Belt Master
Royler Gracie
Royler Gracie (born December 6, 1965) is a Brazilian-American retired mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. Gracie ran the Gracie Humaitá school in Rio de Janeiro for many years under his father Helio's dir ...
.
Bathory won the silver medal at the 2021 American National JiuJitsu Championship in the Black Belt Super Heavy Weight Masters Division and the Open Weight Class Absolute Division. He also placed second at the Abu-Dhabi Pro Jiu-Jitsu World Trials and at The North American Grappling Championship in 2011. He placed third at the 2012 Masters World Championship in his division. He is one of the few civilians certified by the US Army as an L1 Modern Army Combatives Instructor – Close Quarter Combat. Bathory also practices Wing Chun Kung-Fu under Grand Master Randy Williams C.R.C. Academy and Guerilla Jiu-Jitsu under professor John Simons III. Bathory is featured in former Navy Seal Team 6 operator
Clint Emerson's "100 Deadly Skills Combat Edition – The Most Dangerous Men in America" series.
In May 2014, Bathory joined
Monster Jam
Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour operated by Feld Entertainment. The series began in 1992, and is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association. Events are primarily held in North America, with some additional ...
Free Style World Champion Jimmy Creten's Monster Truck Racing Team
2Xtreme Racing
2Xtreme Racing is a monster truck team consisting of the trucks Bounty Hunter, Scarlet Bandit and Iron Outlaw, all of which compete primarily on the USHRA Monster Jam circuit. The team is owned by Jimmy Creten, and includes Creten, his wife Dawn ...
as their driver behind the wheel of the new ''Knucklehead'' truck. Bathory's professional debut took place in California at the WGAS Motorsport Flip Fest Monster Truck and Motocross Show. Bathory raced at Florida's EastBay Race Way, Kansas City Speedway, Newfoundland Raceway in Canada, and appeared at the 2015 Monster Jam Finals in Las Vegas.
Bathory is a contributing writer and social-political commentator for the nationally distributed ''Skillset'' magazine.
Jiu-Jitsu Championship records
Source:
References
External links
*
Five Finger Death Punch official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bathory, Zoltan
Living people
Hungarian rock guitarists
Male guitarists
American heavy metal guitarists
Hungarian emigrants to the United States
Five Finger Death Punch members
1978 births
Hungarian male musicians