Five Finger Death Punch is hot off the release of their fifth full length release in just seven years, The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 2,  and are currently busy banging heads across the entire Earth. Even with his extremely busy schedule, Five Finger Death Punch’s fleet-fingered lead guitarist Jason Hook graciously took some time to answer a few questions for us.

Does your gear differ between the studio recording environment and live shows at all? Was there anything special you used in the studio that you’ve had to find a workaround for live?

Yes, it differs a little. When I’m recording in the studio I have a myriad of old Marshalls that I use. These heads sound f***ing awesome, but they’re a one trick pony. By the time we finish a new record there may be five or six sounds that I have used. I started using a programmable preamp live to give me the option to program all the different sounds. I have a few Marshall JMP-1’s that have been modified for higher gain tones as well as improved cleans. This year I’m going back to heads. It’s a lot more s**t to haul around but they sound so good. I’ll use a Custom Audio Electronics head switcher to toggle between heads.
Would you say that there are any particular songs since you joined the band in 2009 that show off your writing style more than others? Anything that just screams “Jason Hook wrote this!”?
Gee, I’d say “Coming Down,” “Lift me Up,” “Battle Born,” and maybe “Remember Everything.” “Coming Down” is the kind of song I always wanted Five Finger Death Punch to have. Funny thing is, it went to number one on the charts and it has a drum solo in the middle of it. You don’t hear that every day!
What made you choose the JB for the bridge and the ’59 in the neck for your signature Gibson Jason Hook M-4 Sherman Explorer over the cornucopia of other models that Seymour Duncan offers?
Well, it sounded the best! [laughs] When we play live, I use in-ear monitors, so I could REALLY hear the subtle differences in each pickup we tried. The JB is very pleasing to the ear. It had the perfect frequency balance of thunk, crunch, bite, silk, and edge. Believe me I’m a picky bastard. The JB was the one! My tech and I agreed. He’s on in ears too. I later found out that the JB is the best selling Duncan pickup of all time. So who knows, maybe you guys nailed it?
How would you say working with Five Finger Death Punch differs from your work with Alice Cooper, Vince Neil, Mandy Moore, and your own solo project?
Five Finger Death Punch is my life’s work. It’s not a job. I was a hired gun in those other situations – a rented guitarist desperate to get out and have my own thing. Five Finger Death Punch is a real band – five equals. We create music that has positively affected many lives. That’s the difference. It belongs to me and the guys. The other stuff did not, with the exception of my solo albums, of course.
Who would you say are your biggest influences? Do you have any unorthodox or unexpected influences?
I was more into great bands than guitar players. My favorite bands growing up were KISS, Van Halen, The Police, and Deep Purple. Of course I have my favorite guitar players but I was more interested in the songs they wrote than anything else. Obviously Eddie Van Halen is an awesome lead/feel player but he could also write great songs. Ed may not have been the technical monster that, say, Steve Vai was but I never liked Vai’s music. It was too weird. I was more into Ace Frehley’s playing. He wrote melodies and great rock n roll riffs.
Here we have one of Jason Hook’s signature Five Finger Death Punch songs for your headbanging pleasure.