Could Defenders Of The Faith participants Five Finger Death Punch be the next big thing in metal? Deputy Editor Caren Gibson saw the buzz at Islington’s Bar Academy on Friday and thinks so. Get your Defenders Of The Faith tickets!

I am a cynical old bastard. I have been since a young age. When my schoolmates were listening to Bros and Kylie & Jason, I was listening to Def Leppard and Whitesnake. By the time Take That and New Kids On The Block came around I had discovered Pantera and Corrosion Of Conformity. I was in a minority of one. Even when Rage Against The Machine got big I couldn’t care less – fuck you I won’t do all my homework? Whatever. I was happier listening to Kyuss, Tool and Danzig. Nu-metal came around. I have never owned a Korn album. Ever. I was too into Down, Crowbar and Eyehategod. I have never been swayed by trends, even in metal. I like what I like and don’t analyse why.

Five Finger Death Punch are lowest common denominator metal. Like Disturbed. Not that they sound like Disturbed, but they have the same sort of base appeal. Ask an American 5FDP fan what they like and you imagine the answer would be ‘wrestling and drinking with my buddies’. The way of the fist… I was hanging with Machine Head in Paris in November. They mentioned 5FDP who they partied with on last summer’s Mayhem tour in the States and I smirked – mostly at the thought of guitarist Darrell Roberts’ biceps a colleague and myself had discovered that week. ‘I can tell you like them’ MH said. Not their music, I thought…

I’ll probably never listen to their album, much less get any enjoyment out of doing so. But there’s something about them that I ‘get’. Maybe even love. I’m not sure if it’s their energy, their commanding stage presence or the power of the riffs. Maybe it’s the melodies? Darrell’s not in the band anymore so it’s not his biceps. Whatever. I like what I like…

Perhaps it was only fair that the tiny Islington Bar Academy was jammed wall to wall. Their album has been out in the States for 18 months despite only just having being released this side of the pond. It wasn’t such a surprise that everyone sang along word for word. What was a surprise was the type of fans they attract. People who look as though they’ve never been to a metal show in their lives. Or at least since Limp Bizkit played a free show at Finsbury Park in 2003. Metal heads, emo kids, rude boys, ageing rockers… everyone. I’ve not seen anything like it since – against my better judgement – I saw Disturbed at the LA2 in 2000. And look what happened to them.

And they seem like cool guys as well; totally down to earth and more than happy to hang out with fans after the show. It’s their first time touring outside the States so they’re determined to make the best of it. You should too. Get down to Defenders Of The Faith early and see for yourselves.