Jeremy Spencer

Jeremy Spencer Heyde, known as Jeremy Spencer, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, author, and pornographic actor. He is the former drummer of heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch. In 2012, Spencer was named Golden God's "Best Drummer" by Revolver Magazine, and was voted "Best Drummer of 2015" by Loudwire. He was also voted "Best Drummer" at the 5th Annual Loudwire Music Awards. Spencer's autobiography, Death Punch'd – Surviving Five Finger Death Punch's Metal Mayhem, was published on September 2, 2014 by HarperCollins imprint Dey St, and named a New York Times Celebrity Bestseller.

Career

Spencer started playing drums at age of nine on a drum set his grandmother purchased at Sears. Spencer's musical influences include a lot of 1980s metal. Growing up in Boonville, Indiana, he was a member of several local bands, one of which (Cornucopia of Death) opened in Indianapolis for Pantera, when he was 17. After high school, Spencer moved to Los Angeles, where he met BulletBoys guitarist Mick Sweda. In L.A., he became friends with future Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Jason Hook. Spencer played in a number of bands, with the typical frustration of unreleased material and shelved projects—while working a variety of odd jobs—including recording tracks with heavy metal band W.A.S.P.

Five Finger Death Punch (2005–2018)

In 2005, Spencer and former U.P.O. bassist, Zoltan Bathory, formed the heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch, with vocalist Ivan Moody, bassist Matt Snell (replaced by Chris Kael in 2011), and guitarist Caleb Bingham (replaced by Darrell Roberts in 2006, then by Jason Hook in 2009).

The group recorded its first album in 2006. They signed a record deal with Firm Music and on July 10, 2007, released an EP called "Pre-Emptive Strike" from their debut album, The Way of the Fist, followed by the album's lead single, "The Bleeding". The album was certified Gold and spawned three Top 10 singles. The band's second album, War Is the Answer, debuted at #7 on Billboard Top 200—staying in the Top 100 for 89 weeks and selling over 500,000 units. American Capitalist, debuted at #3 on the Billboard Album charts (October 2011) and achieved Gold status (September 2012). "Coming Down" is the band's first #1 single (2012). In 2013, Five Finger Death Punch released The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol I & II. Both volumes debuted at #2 on Billboard's Hot 200 Album Chart. The first single, Lift Me Up (with Rob Halford of Judas Priest), reached #1 on the Active Rock Chart and won the Revolver Golden Gods Award for "Song of the Year". In 2015, Got Your Six debuted at #1 on the Billboard top album charts.

For a fall 2018 tour with Breaking Benjamin, Spencer was replaced by Charlie Engen in order to undergo surgery on his back. On December 18, it was announced that Spencer would not be returning to the band due to the damage in his back.

Post–drumming career and PsychoSexual (2018–present)

On December 18, 2018, it was announced that Spencer had departed the band permanently. In June 2019, it was announced that Jeremy Spencer has continued the band's support of 1st responders and was sworn in as a reserve police officer in Indiana.

On September 17, 2019, it was announced that Spencer would be acting, co-directing, writing and providing the music for the erotic horror parody series Lady Killer TV, which he also created. In the announcement, he stated: "I've had this idea in my head for a long time, and it was now or never in terms of pulling the trigger and making this series happen." The series features several prominent pornographic actors and actresses, such as Tori Black, Adriana Chechik and Tommy Pistol.

Personal life

Jeremy Spencer is the son of novelist Austin Gary, and actress Glory Heyde (née Kissel). His sister Rachel Rockwell was an acclaimed stage director before her death in 2018. He currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.