FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has set "American Capitalist" as the title of its third album, tentatively due in the fall. The follow-up to 2009's "War Is The Answer", which is expected to include 14 songs, was recorded with producer Kevin Churko, who helmed Ozzy Osbourne's 2010 effort "Scream".

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH worked on the set in Las Vegas, which four of its five current members call home, and guitarist Zoltan Bathory told The Pulse Of Radio living and working in Sin City can be distracting. "Writing a record is not like a nine-to-five job," he said. "It's a 24/7 job, you know. Once you're done with the studio, you have to go home and we still, you know, keep writing. So that's how it gets distracting because, you know, you kind of — you worked already whole day, you want to relax, but in the second you want to relax for a second, Las Vegas will get you. You know, there's always something going on and you have to force yourself to not be distracted."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH played its first show with new bassist Chris Kael on July 1 at Boonstock in Gibbons, Alberta, Canada.
Kael replaced Matt Snell, who left the group late last year for reasons that have not been disclosed. Originally from Kentucky, Kael moved to FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's home base of Las Vegas to pursue playing music full-time. He said in a statement about landing the job, "Never give up on your dreams — I'm living proof that with hard work and a little bit of luck, they can come true."

Zoltan confirmed to HardDrive Radio in April that Snell was let go back in December, but was unable to speak about the reason for Snell's exit for contractual reasons.

Bathory told The Pulse Of Radio at the time that Snell's exit would not have any impact on the band's sound. "He wasn't a writing member, so it doesn't really affect how we sound like or how the songs are coming out, and especially [since] we were about to embark on the third record, it didn't matter really if the bass was gonna sound the same," he said.

"War Is The Answer" has sold 531,000 copies in the United States since its release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It included the singles "Walk Away", "Bad Company" and "No One Gets Left Behind".

Note: Artwork below is the back side of the new FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH jerseys; it is not the "American Capitalist" album artwork. -blabbermouth.net