Ex-FFDP Guitarist Reveals Why He Left Band

Guitarist Jason Hook played in Five Finger Death Punch from 2009 to 2020. Health issues forced Hook to step away from the band, but he hadn’t elaborated on them until a recent interview with “Talkin’ Bout Rock.”

When he left the band, Hook thanked the fans but added “I’ve kinda been issued a gag order, so I’m not saying anything.”

Hook has now opened up about his struggles saying: “It was horrible. In most cases, our body is just listening to our brain, and I was experiencing a tremendous amount of stress at that phase of that situation, and it caught up to me. Because I had asked, ‘What makes something like this happen?’ I’m, like, super healthy, take care of myself, blah, blah, blah, blah. And all the analysts and the doctors are, like, ‘Well, stress can be a big component.’ I’m, like, ‘Well, that makes sense.’ And it kind of freaked me out too, because I realized that you can die in a hotel room in the middle of nowhere and that’s how it ends.”

Hook said that at the time he didn’t feel like his bandmates and crew cared about him. “I didn’t feel like I was surrounded by anyone who cared about me. I was just sort of, like, ‘Go see if he can play.’ And then I’m, like, ‘I can’t. I’ve gotta go to the hospital.’ And then everyone left. So, it’s fine. But right after that, we were supposed to go to Europe and start all up again, and I’m just, like… [I thought] ‘I’m not dying this way.’ I’m not trying to be overly dramatic, but I saw what it was. And quality of life is everything.”

Hook now plays in metal outfit Flat Black, who released a song with Slipknot’s Corey Taylor earlier this year. His full interview with “Talkin’ Bout Rock” can be heard below.