Ivan Moody of Five Finger Death Punch Says He Died for Three Minutes—“I Saw This Incredibly Blue Light”

Ivan Moody, frontman for Five Finger Death Punch, says he died for three minutes after trying to quit drinking on his own, cold turkey.

Moody says that he was “dead for about three and a half minutes” after trying to quit the sauce without the proper medications and precautionary techniques. He added that he saw an “incredibly blue light” that he says was a sign of “the afterlife.”

Coincidentally, the band is slated to release its new album, Afterlife, on August 19 later this year. They will also head out on a U.S. tour (tickets HERE) with Megadeth.

Moody spoke with Metal Hammer about his alcohol addiction.

“I died. I’d been on a bender for about two years, and I’d gone four days without drinking in an entire year! Which is ridiculous,” said Moody. “So, for four days I locked myself inside the house, and the fourth day my daughter came over and I went to hand her a glass of water, and that’s all I remember.”

Moody continued, “If you quit drinking without the right medications and whatever else, you will die. That’s what happened. I was dead for about three and a half minutes, and I became part of something while I was there. I say ‘there,’ because I was not in this shell. And for the first time in my existence, I felt peace.”

Moody says he’s struggled with alcoholism for years. He described his “blue haze,” by saying, “It was very quiet and peaceful, and I remember not worrying about anything. I didn’t have a unidirectional view. It was wide, and I could see and feel everything. There was no matter involved, I was pure energy, and I saw this incredibly blue light. It was the afterlife and I was on the edge.”

The frontman experienced a seizure and was quickly revived by a defibrillator.

“The next thing I know, I was laying there with two paddles on my chest, and my daughter was crying in my face,” he said. “My daughter was the one saying, ‘Please, not now.’ Her voice pulled me back and that was the wake-up call for me.”

Moody and Five Finger Death Punch highlighted the experience on the band’s music video for the single, “The Tragic Truth,” which is set to be on the upcoming Afterlife LP.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images