Founding Five Finger Death Punch drummer Jeremy Spencer left the band in 2018 after undergoing spinal surgery. Spencer was replaced by Charlie Engen that same year, and has since gone on to form a new band called Psychosexual. Now in an interview with Rock Feed, Spencer details his back surgery and what it was like to realize he couldn't drum for Five Finger Death Punch anymore. Spencer also said he approves of Engen, and even helped train the new drummer prior to his departure.
"I did surgery and then I went back out on tour a little early, so it never healed. It kind of got worse," said Spencer. "I had a degenerative disc in my back from sitting hunched over, bad-posture drumming, double bass, traveling, wearing backpacks, being older.
"My body was breaking down. And when you're up there playing shows and you can't do what you used to do, you start to not enjoy it as much. And I was struggling – and it should be fun. That should be the best time of your life when you're up there, and I was like, 'Ugh, I'm not enjoying this.' And I wanted to be able to do all the things I could do. That's why athletes retire, their bodies aren't holding up. You still can do it here points to head but it's, like, 'What the crap? I can't execute it the way I wanna do it.'
"I think the fans needed some new, fresh energy in there that was somebody that was excited that could execute and do everything. That's why I thought Charlie was the perfect guy. I helped prepare him as much I can; I made videos, conversations… He came out and he watched me from behind the stage right towards the end, and it was a great transition. He's a great guy. He's working out for them – they're kicking ass with him. I'm happy for all of 'em, I think it's great.
"For me, it was the right time to step off, do other things, but first I had to get my back fixed. And I got this brutal back surgery where they went in through the front and the back, and they took my guts out and put it on the table. It was awful, man. I was depressed for like six months, laying around. I was miserable. And then finally, I started noticing, 'OK, I'm healing. This is better.' Now my back feels great, but I don't still think I could do the drumming that I did.
"It would just break my body down worse in other areas 'cause what's fixed is like 'Terminator' – whatever they put in there, aluminum or titanium, but everything around it would break. Standing and singing is a little different than playing double bass for 90 minutes every night."
Spencer later adds he wouldn't come back to Five Finger Death Punch because he's just not up to it. Though he does add he'd love to do a one-off show with Ghost.
"It's not something that's on my radar or something that I think that I would wanna do. I don't think my body is gonna be in good enough shape to go back and do headlining shows or anything. Would I make an appearance with someone? Perhaps.
"If I could play a show with Ghost, I would probably do it. [Laughs] There's some stuff I wouldn't mind doing, drumming-wise, but it's on my radar. I'm focused on this new project that I love. So we'll see – we'll see what the future holds, drumming-wise, but that's certainly not something I'm really thinking about at this point."
