The metal party of the year that is Hammerfest grows ever closer and to celebrate, we’re bringing you an interview from one of the band’s on this year’s stellar bill every day! First up, Five Finger Death Punch! Get details and tickets for Hammerfest here!

We sat down for a quick natter with Five Finger Death Punch shredder, Zoltan Bathory, to find out how much he was looking forward to slaying all who stand before him at Hammerfest in Prestatyn, North Wales on 11-13 March!

What are your expectations of Hammerfest?

Zoltan Bathory: “Every time we’ve come to the UK, the crowd has tripled in size and got twice as crazy. On our last run, they tore the roof off the buildings, so I guess this time we expect nothing less than absolute mayhem and earth-scorching motherf@#king fire!”

What does it mean to you to be picked by Metal Hammer magazine?

Zoltan: “We’ve had to fight for everything, for every inch of ground we’ve covered, so it’s really a 15 year ‘overnight’ success story, and this is definitely a big shiny stainless steel milestone and big fat reminder that anything is possible if you don’t lay down for the circumstances and get up to fight one more round. Just four years ago, we were five guys crawling out from the crushed smouldering remains of our previous bands, starting all over once again from almost zero. It takes a lot of heart…  but that’s all we had – just the pure love of heavy metal.

“The people heard us and connected to our music, and the guys at Metal Hammer grew up on the same shit we did, and immediately understood what we were doing and where we all came from. It’s like a secret handshake, the nod amongst the warriors. It is a huge honour to be picked to join the cause, because through festivals like this one, Metal Hammer is clearly making an attempt to rebuild that brotherhood that was so tightly knit with the birth of this genre. I can’t even describe how it feels to be handed Metal Hammer’s battle flag but I CAN promise that we’ll carry it proudly and loudly…”

Have you got anything special lined up for the weekend?

Zoltan: “Yes, I’m thinking of sending my band-mates’ mugshots to airport security with a bomb warning so they can’t board any airplanes going anywhere near Amsterdam. Other than that, it’s HAMMERFEST! How much more special does it need to get?!”

Have you got your drinking hat ready for after you’ve played?

Zoltan: “Haha… drinking hat? Some of my guys need a drinking HELMET – you know, those 2 gallon kevlar ballistic ones  …it would serve a double purpose: first as a beer stein, and then when they face-plant, it would also give some level of protection.”

Is there anyone on the bill who you are going to make sure you see?

Zoltan: “There are a lot of bands I want to see, I always check out what everyone is doing. It will be cool to reunite with guys we played with before like DevilDriver and Rise To Remain…  also, I haven’t seen Suicidal Tendencies for over a decade, and they were a band I really liked. In fact, I will miss Rocky George, he was a real favourite guitarist when I was growing up but I want to see what today’s ST is up to…”

Hammerfest is headlined by Five Finger Death Punch and Suicidal Tendencies and will also feature DevilDriver (Spring Exclusive), Iced Earth (UK exclusive), Skindred, Napalm Death , Epica (Only UK Show), Katatonia and many, many more at Hammerfest II in Prestatyn, North Wales on 11-13 March, 2010! You’d be crazy to miss it!

Get details and tickets for Hammerfest here!