“It’s with mixed emotion that I share with you the following news: I regret that I’ve decided to step down as the drummer of Five Finger Death Punch,” Spencer said in a statement. “This decision has been weighing on me for months. Now the time has finally come. I’ve been playing drums since I was six years old. After years of the physicality leading to surgeries, I feel it’s best to step down.
“As with professional athletes, when the body and mental state don’t achieve the standard required to meet the rigorous demands necessary to perform at a high level, the choice is clear. I feel fortunate that my body has provided me with several decades of doing what I love: playing double-bass and shredding the drums. However, the rigorous physical wear and tear has worn down my body to the point where I feel I can no longer deliver a performance you great fans deserve and one that brings me satisfaction and joy. In addition, I feel the band deserves to get someone with fresh fire and energy — capable of delivering Death Punch music the way fans deserve. I’m confident they will! Like you, I will be cheering on the band to continue making great music as they tour the world and bring exciting shows to all our cherished fans.
“Personally, I have a number of future projects I’m excited about — all of which require that I be physically able to move fluidly and without pain. I hope you’ll continue to be part of the next chapter of my life. I sincerely wish nothing but the very best for my brothers in DEATH PUNCH family. And I encourage our fans to continue supporting whoever replaces me.
“We decided early on to do everything possible to make you fans feel special. As a result, we’ve always had the most supportive and dedicated Knuckleheads. I know I speak for everyone when I saw we’re grateful beyond words. Personally, you have made these years the highlight of my life. Thank you for helping make this dream a reality. Please know I am eternally grateful. Thank you for everything.”
Jeremy Spencer’s autobiography Death Punch’d: Surviving Five Finger Death Punch’s Metal Mayhem hit bookstore shelves back in 2014. It cracked the Top 10 on the New York Times Celebrities Best Sellers list. “I decided to clean myself up and I went into rehab a few years ago, and the day I got out I basically just started writing my whole life as a therapeutic kind of exercise,” Spencer told The Pulse of Radio in an interview when the book hit store shelves. “I was writing about a thousand to two thousand words a day. Writing on tour, in the tour bus, wherever we were, and it started to shape up into something kind of interesting.”
Five Finger Death Punch’s latest album And Justice For None dropped back in May. It debuted at #4 on the Billboard Top 200. It is the band’s seventh full-length studio LP.