An award-winning Heavy Metal drummer, New York Times Bestseller, and all around hard-worker, Jeremy Spencer has accomplished a great deal in his career. Falling in love with Rock-n-Roll at a young age, he would go on to be a part of many bands before eventually co-founding the juggernaut Five Finger Death Punch. An intricate part of their success, Spencer stepped away from Five Finger Death Punch in 2018, and has since started a new chapter in his musical evolution.
Finding new life with his band Psychosexual, Spencer unites various influences in one melting pot of dark, heavy music that is bound to draw attention. Excited about what the future holds, he recently sat down to talk about the decision to leave Five Finger Death Punch, his interest in filmmaking, the formation of Psychosexual, plus a lot more.
Cryptic Rock – You have attained an extremely successful career in music over the past fifteen years. One of the original/co-founding members of Five Finger Death Punch, you would go on to assist the band in becoming one of the biggest in the American Metal music. Since then, following various artistic interests, how would you describe your career in music to this point?
Jeremy Spencer – I’ve been busier than ever, musically. I was always writing and recording, and when I left the band that productivity increased more because I didn’t have band obligations anymore.
Cryptic Rock – It is great that you have been able to find freedom to pursue what you want. As mentioned, you were an intricate part of Five Finger Death Punch’s success. In 2014, you would release your book, Death Punch’d, which was a candid and very human telling. All this in mind, with all your time and energy invested into Five Finger, was it a difficult decision to step away from the band?
Jeremy Spencer – The decision wasn’t difficult at all. It had run its course for me, physically and mentally. I couldn’t do it anymore at the level I wanted with my physical ailments. Not to mention, there were so many other things I wanted to do creatively and there’s not time when you’re in a busy band.
Cryptic Rock – Very understandable. Well, you have certainly kept busy since then, and have done some interesting things. First, let’s talk about your series, LadykillerTV. What inspired this project, and can we expect more from it in the future?
Jeremy Spencer – LadykillerTV is one of a few passion projects of mine. That whole thing started when I asked my business partner if he could get me pornstars to be in a Horror movie I was writing. He suggested that I start doing a few parody scenes with the girls to sort of break into that world first. My imagination went wild and I came up with LadykillerTV.
I wrote a full season and shot the entire thing. I co-directed it and acted in every scene, as well. It has softcore elements, but to me it’s still mainstream enough for a more widespread audience. Sexy women who kill – who doesn’t wanna see that? (Laughs)
Cryptic Rock – (Laughs) It is a pretty interesting concept. Beyond this, you also have your new band Psychosexual. Different than your previous works, with this project you take a darker, more dramatic approach to the music. So, how did Psychosexual come about?
Jeremy Spencer – I’ve been working on solo music for years. I was always a fan of ’80s New Wave; I wrote and recorded a lot of that stuff and released it under the name ‘Devil Daddy.’ You can hear it wherever streaming is available. But I wanted to start performing live and I felt the need to make the music heavier and darker. That’s kind of just the natural progression that it took and what I wanted to write.
Cryptic Rock – Very interesting. You recently released the band’s first single/music video, “Let the Sin Begin.” A very dark, seductive track, is it a good example of what we can expect from the forthcoming album, Torch the Faith?
Jeremy Spencer – There is plenty of dark and sexy on the album, but it’s not all like “Let the Sin Begin.” There’s plenty of Gothic Metal and New Wave tones, as well, besides the Industrial flavor you get with “Let the Sin Begin.”
Cryptic Rock – It is a fun sound and it will be exciting to hear the rest of the album. For Psychosexual, you actually step away from the drum kit and take on lead vocals under the persona Devil Daddy. You mentioned Devil Daddy was something you came up with a while ago. What has it been like to take on lead vocals, and what spawned the idea of Devil Daddy?
Jeremy Spencer – I’ve always wrote and sang my own music, so it feels natural to me. My focus is on creating a character and a whole presentation that’s interesting to the fans. I didn’t think calling myself Satan really worked. (Laughs) Devil Daddy is your charismatic, loving, sex commander who wants everyone to get laid while listening to sexy devil music!
Cryptic Rock – (Laughs) He can’t be half bad then, right? As someone who has an eye for film, would you like to pursue production and directing of feature films in the future?
Jeremy Spencer – Absolutely. It’s already in the works.
Cryptic Rock – That is something to look out for. With “Let the Sin Begin” out now and the album slated for later in 2020, what is next for you?
Jeremy Spencer – We actually just finished an EP of covers to follow the album and we’re starting work on the second full-length album next week. We’re also filming some live performances from our home base in quarantine. Touring will follow as soon as everything opens up again.
Cryptic Rock – It sounds like the band has a lot lined up. Last question. What are some of your favorite Horror and Sci-Fi films, and why?
Jeremy Spencer – I love all Horror, but The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) is close to my heart because I love fucked up serial killer families. (Laughs) I have a huge list of films that I love: House of 100 Corpses (2003), Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), The Exorcist (1973), The Shining (1980), Wrong Turn (2003), The Conjuring (2013), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), The Evil Dead (1981) and Halloween (1978), just to name a few.
