It starts with their final moments.
She puts pills on the bathroom counter and looks into the mirror.
He walks up to his parents at the kitchen table with a gun in his hand.
She pops the pills and collapses in the shower. He puts the gun to his head and pulls the trigger.
But the music video “Coming Down,” by metal band Five Finger Death Punch, reminds viewers that lives don’t have to end this way. Suicide is preventable.
“One friend can save a life” is the message of Five Finger Death Punch’s song “Coming Down,” and it’s the band’s reason for partnering with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline this summer as they promote their album “American Capitalist.”
During the Metal Hammer Trespass America Festival tour coming Saturday Memorial Coliseum, $1 from every ticket sold will go to the lifeline’s national network of crisis call centers.
To kick off the campaign, vocalist Ivan Moody and drummer Jeremy Spencer took part in a suicide prevention public service announcement that came out at the beginning of June.
“We chose this campaign because it seemed like there hasn’t been a lot of awareness, and it was perfect to align with our song ‘Coming Down,’” Spencer said.
With lyrics and a music video about the downward spiral of those on the path to suicide, “Coming Down” has received national attention with more than 1.3 million views on the Youtube video since the its June 12 release.
“The feedback we’re getting is very positive,” Spencer said. “Fans are saying, ‘Thank you for bringing attention to this,’ and ‘This helped me through a tough time when we lost a relative to suicide.’”
Though none of the Five Finger Death Punch band members has struggled with suicide, they know people who have, Spencer says. The lyrics were written by vocalist Moody, who has lost a few friends to suicide, according to Spencer.
“It hit home for him,” Spencer said.
Spencer started Five Finger Death Punch with guitarist Zoltan Bathory in 2006 before it grew to include Moody, guitarist Jason Hook and bassist Chris Kael.
So far, “American Capitalist” has sold more than 390,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The group is primarily a metal band, but they also play heavy hard rock, ballads and fast songs, according to Spencer.
“We want to make records that are well balanced, so we don’t have 10 songs that sound the same,” Spencer said.
The band is enthusiastic about sharing its message with fans during the Trespass America Festival tour.
According to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, suicide kills more than 34,000 Americans each year. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24-hour, toll-free, confidential crisis counseling and mental-health referrals at more than 150 crisis centers nationwide, according to the organization’s website, www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
“We just want people to know there’s help out here,” Spencer said.
