During a recent conversation with Loudwire where he discusses his past struggles with alcoholism, Five Finger Death Punch frontman Ivan Moody shared that Rob Halford was one of the people to provide him emotional support while he worked towards becoming sober.
Moody starts off by talking about how he would base his day off the reactions of his band; if they gave him a certain look, he knew some shit went down the night before. He then goes on to share how his “legacy” became an important factor in his decision to kick alcohol. Speaking to this, Ivan shared the following:
“The biggest part of it is my legacy. Just seeing peers of mine, Chester [Bennington] included, people that fought with addiction — Scott Weiland, Layne Staley… the list goes on and on. I didn’t want to be one of those headstones where people walked by and took pictures in front of it and had some lost fucking idea of who they thought I should be or was. It really came down to legacy. How did I want to be remembered? How did I want my kids to go through the rest of their lives answering for me? Not being proud of who their father was.”
Moody then goes on to talk about how Judas Priest singer Rob Halford got involved, and how much it helped him to have Rob by his side.
“When I was in my fifth recovery center, Rob Halford [reached out to my manager]. He said, ‘I really want to meet this gentleman, I want to know this kid. I want him to know there’s somebody out here who understands.’ When I was in this center, we got four phone calls a day, five minute intervals. I made it a point to call him once a day … That’s one of my heroes. Taking those phone calls meant so much to me, that somebody of a different status was reaching down for me and saying, ‘It’s okay, dude. We’ve been there. I’ve been there.’”
Along with that of the Metal God providing him support, Moody also got some additional insight from that of Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx. Talking about what Sixx had to share with him, Moody said:
“Nikki Sixx once told me, ‘It’s an honest program.’ That’s really fucking cheesy but it’s very, very, very true. You have to be able to identify with yourself, confront yourself and embrace the goods and the bads of yourself. You have to be willing to commit everything you’ve got to it. And when I say hate [alcohol], I’m talking worse than anything you’ve ever hated in your life. When I smell booze from across the room, I get bile in my stomach. I hate it so fucking deeply … Make it your worst fucking enemy.”
We congratulate Ivan on all his efforts to knock alcohol and the work he has made towards his health. We hope you have found greater peace in your days Ivan! You can find the Loudwire video interview featuring Ivan Moody below.
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