FFDP’s Chris Kael Talks About His Struggles With Addiction
Five Finger Death Punch was the headliner for Day 2 of Las Rageous, the anti-Coachella for those who would rather mosh in black leather than frolic in flower crowns. The two day festival happens in the heart of downtown Las Vegas but it's the perfect time of year where the Vegas sun won't melt you from standing under it all day. During the festival, Chris Kael of Five Finger Death Punch sat down for a long chat, where we broached a broad variety of topics, from the new album, the bands bond with the military and even the personal topic of his trip to rehab.
Five Finger Death Punch are back and better than ever after the band had to overcome personal demons and professional issues. A lawsuit shelved their new album while it went through the court process and during that time was when bassist Chris Kael said his battle with depression and drug addiction got bad.
"I was going through about an eight-ball of cocaine a week. That got to be the biggest problem for me. That and depression, the two things, were not good. I didn't realize it until I got into rehab that I was self-medicating with cocaine to get my dopamine levels up to fight the depression. I never even thought about that. And then when you come off it, you crash hard."
Chris also said that he had some guilt that Ivan was one the publicly dealing with his issues and Chris was able to hide his addiction.
"Ivan was going through his thing, and me, no one really knew, I was the quiet one that was kind of doing things on the side," Kael said. "It hit me hard when I got off the road last time. Going home was always hard anyway, 'cause you've got so much stimulation out on the road, and then you come home and you're, like, 'Wait a minute? I've gotta take out the trash? That's the biggest part of my job now?'"
Chris also talked about the role social media played in hiding his addiction and why he felt the need to be so open with fans about his personal struggles. You ca watch the full interview with Chris in the video above. Five Finger Death Punch's new album And Justice For None comes out on May 18. The band is out on tour currently with Shinedown and will be hitting the road with Breaking Benjamin this summer. The band is also performing at various festivals around the US this spring and summer.