LITITZ, PENNSYLVANIA -
In support of their ninth album AfterLife, Five Finger Death Punch toured across Europe and North America to bring their signature metal sound to packed arenas. Debuting in August 2022 and concluding in September 2024, the tour featured hits from the album that rose to number-one on Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Album chart. At all 100+ intercontinental stops the crew deployed a Cohesion PA.
Five Finger Death Punch and their team prioritized connecting with the audience during their high-energy shows, so vocal intelligibility and musicality from the PA were as important as seamless coverage and output.
“It had to be repeatable. I wanted consistency,” said FOH Engineer Bruce Reiter, a 34-year industry vet. “Everything must be perfect for the fans and for the artist, and we wanted to replicate that every night. One cool thing about Cohesion was how even I could get it. It had a lot of power, it was crystal clear, and I got the dB level 250 feet back in an arena. At our [2022] show in Switzerland, we had the same level at the barricade as the back of the audience.That was something I hadn’t experienced much with others.”
“So rarely do you have a PA that can shoot that far. I had 105 dB at 380–420 feet,” said System Engineer Bob Alumbaugh.
Clair Global deployed the audio system that featured twelve to sixteen Cohesion CO12 on the main hangs with another ten to twelve CO12 for each side hang, depending on the venue. Six Cohesion CP218 II+ subwoofers were deployed per side, three each flown and ground stacked, all in cardioid configuration.
“Cohesion put out an incredible amount of bottom end—even if you took away the subs,” said Reiter. “We were still only using a small amount of their potential even with six of them. Cohesion gave a great, powerful mix before the subs. Then we used them more effectively and more emotionally.”
Eight Cohesion CO8 were spread across the front of the stage as fill, and fourteen Cohesion CM14 monitors were distributed around the stage.
“The guitars were so important. You can’t compromise that,” said Alumbaugh. “We focused on that every day. The guitars would smack you in the face, but they didn’t compete with the vocals.”
“My guitars sounded particularly good with the Cohesion system,” said Reiter. “I think the mid-range was the most important. If you took a filter and removed all the low end and high end, you should be able to hear every single element of the mix. Having a lot of power in the mid-range is important so you don’t get distortion, and Cohesion just didn’t distort.”
“You could feel the power straight out the gate with Cohesion,”said Alumbaugh, who has also called Aerosmith, Megadeth, and Andrea Bocelli clients.
“Headroom, output, ability to do what you want: yes, yes, and yes.”
Clair Global’s Liv Nazare, PA tech on the tour, got the chance to step up and mix supporting act Slaughter to Prevail for one night—her first time behind the console. “I wasn’t fighting with the system. It just sounded good right off the bat—very rock and roll. The 218s are impressive.”
The audio system fit the production team’s needs, particularly in efficient rigging and truck pack. As Production Manager Chris Zakoor explained, Cohesion aided by “going together really quickly—PA left and right is the first to go in, and we were always on time for doors. It was seamless, and it was always in one truck, even underweight a bit.”
Nazare added, “It’s simple, it’s fast, and it’s very intuitive. I’m on the smaller side physically, but I could still handle it myself.”
Ultimately, the crowds who sell out an arena are the best barometer for a show’s emotional impact, and this tour had no shortage of incredible fan stories, from lifelong fans cheering alongside throngs of youngsters attending their first shows to the ritual of the band members giving lucky spectators signed baseball bats and guitar picks.
“I was firing confetti, so I got to see the fans firsthand. It was such a good time,” said Zakoor, who has been the band’s PM since 2020. “There’s a new generation of fans coming, and everyone walked away smiling.”
“Our collective mission is to bring the band and all its energy to the fans,” said Alumbaugh. “One of those amazing concertgoers may be witnessing their last show, unfortunately. The experience must be as memorable as possible, and that gives us as a team a goal every day. That’s how we operate.”
Reiter, who was the Tour Manager for Five Finger Death Punch from 2010 through 2020, illustrated the significance of “Afterlife” by sharing the story of a twelve-year-old cancer survivor who was invited on stage at the September 2024 show in Atlanta to sing alongside the band.
“Fans expected and needed to understand the band. They talk to people about their lives. That’s why the vocals had to be crystal clear,” said Reiter. “This Cohesion system has the clarity. Intelligible vocals are so important in helping people deal with their emotions. If he can release that pressure and pain from life, we had to make that moment special.”
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