Jason Hook confirms departure from Five Finger Death Punch

Andy James has been a consistent presence on this site, whether performing playthroughs of his own instrumental music or demoing signature gear.

Now, the British guitar shredder has been announced as the newest member of Las Vegas hard rockers Five Finger Death Punch, replacing longtime electric guitar player Jason Hook.

Hook, who recovered from emergency gall bladder surgery at the end of 2019, parted ways with the band back in February, leaving midway through their European tour to address further complications, leaving James to take his place. 

Said Hook in a statement, “I have had the pleasure of meeting so many of you in person. Thank you for the endless stories of how our music has touched your heart in some way! But the best part of being on tour the last 12 years, by far, has been playing my guitar and seeing the joy on your faces every night. I will miss that more than anything.

“As far the reason I’m leaving… well, there really isn’t just one. I’ve been in bands my entire life and I feel like I’ve done all the good that I can here. It’s time to pass the baton and move on to new challenges.”

Founding guitarist Zoltan Bathory added, “Jason is an incredible guitar player so we had to find someone on the absolute top of their game. Someone like Andy James who was already a well-known virtuoso and had the chops to step into Jason’s shoes.

“Andy completed our European Tour with us back in February so he was already tried by fire. We instantly clicked both musically and personally so he was the obvious choice. We even have the same birthday… Some things are just meant to be.”

James is featured on Broken World, a previously unreleased track on FFDP’s recent Decade of Destruction, Volume 2 greatest hits compilation. You can check it out above.