As the release date of their upcoming album Afterlife approaches, Five Finger Death Punch have dropped another new song from it called “Welcome to the Circus” and an accompanying visualizer video. It’s the third song they’ve unveiled from the record, following the title track and “I.O.U.”
“Welcome to the Circus” serves as the opening track on the album, which will be out Aug. 19 via Better Noise Music. It’s the first and only Afterlife song that the rockers have played live, as they debuted it last month at the Welcome to Rockville festival in Daytona, according to Setlist.fm.
Check out the song and its lyrics below.
Guitarist Zoltan Bathory recently explained why the band decided to name the album Afterlife in an interview with Loudwire Nights host Toni Gonzalez.
“The reason we called it Afterlife, Ivan [Moody] and I share a couple of experiences that, generally are private things people don’t really talk about, but we both had near-death experiences being on the other side,” the guitarist said.
“Ivan generally writes very personal lyrics anyway, if you read his lyrics from [The Way of the Fist], he’s an open book, it’s his life and his experiences. So everything is very personal, nothing is fictional. We’re not talking about mythology or historical events really, it’s all real and actual events and actual feelings that he has.”
Afterlife serves as the band’s first record since their 2019 release F8. The self-titled track, which the group unveiled back in April, became their 13th No. 1 single this week. A variety of editions of the album are available for purchase — pre-order your copy here now.
Five Finger Death Punch will hit the road in the U.S. in support of Afterlife this summer with Megadeth, The Hu and Fire From the Gods. The tour kicks off Aug. 19 — album release day — in Ridgefield, Wash., and will run through mid-October. Get tickets on the band’s website.
Five Finger Death Punch, “Welcome to the Circus” Lyrics
Welcome to the circus
Welcome to the shit show
Just another freak show
Hang your hat and hate at the doorIt’s a game of torture
Souls are made to order
Everything you wanted and moreYou gotta kill somebody to thrill somebody
Everybody’s gotta reason to bleed
You gotta fuck somebody to know somebody
That motherfucker ain’t meAm I the only one
That doesn’t buy into the liesAm I the only one
That doesn’t wear a disguiseCause If I can’t break it
And I can’t change it
Then tell me how will I knowAm I the only one
That isn’t just here for the showWelcome to the Circus
Grab your favorite stones
They came for broken bones
That’s what happens when you sign on the lineThere’s no need for excuses
Everybody loses
The only way you’ll ever win is to dieYou gotta burn somebody to learn somebody
Everybody’s got a Jekyll and Hyde
You gotta curse somebody to hurt somebody
Everybody needs a reason to dieAm I the only one
That doesn’t buy into the liesAm I the only one
That doesn’t wear a disguiseCause If I can’t break it
And I can’t change it
Then tell me how will I knowAm I the only one
That isn’t just here for the showWelcome to the Circus
You gotta hide your face
Sell them what they bought cha
Teach them what they taught chaYou gotta hide your veins
This is how they gut cha
Right before they cut yaYou gotta hide your pain
Ugly how they rule you
That’s just how they screw youYou gotta hide your rage
Everyone’s earned this
Welcome to the circusTicky ticky tasket
Time to burn the casket
Time to burn this motherfucker downAm I the only one
That doesn’t buy into the liesAm I the only one
That doesn’t wear a disguiseCause If I can’t break it
And I can’t change it
Then tell me how will I knowAm I the only one
That isn’t just here for the showWelcome to the Circus
Five Finger Death Punch, “Welcome to the Circus”
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