THE BEAST

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH frontman Ivan Moody says that he is "having the best time" of his life, a year after his onstage meltdown which resulted in him leaving the band's European tour to receive treatment for alcohol addiction.

Speaking to the KQXR 100.3 The X Rocks radio station before FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH 's July 20 concert at the Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho, Moody said (hear audio below): "Dude, I am doing so [well]. And I'm not just saying it — I'm having the best time of my life right now. I'm clear-headed, I'm conscious. It's just nice to be present.

"Somebody [came up to me], I think it was just the day before yesterday, and they were, like, 'So good to see you,'" he continued. "And I thought [to myself], 'It's so good to be seen.' Because it really is a struggle, man, and it's a daily thing. And I have a lot of friends that are in recovery, especially in the music industry; you're kind of surrounded by it. I've had a lot of great support. Luckily, my bandmembers, they didn't give up on me."

Moody went on to say that he knew "there were a lot of naysayers" who didn't believe he would be able to get sober. "Don't think that I don't read. I mean, I am somewhat competent," he explained. "So I knew what was going on. But at that point, it was, like, 'What do I do? Do I rebuttal? Do I go out there and start screaming at people for judging me, or do I just step back off the ledge and realize that there's a reason they are.'

"It's so good to be alive, man," he added. "You know, you look at how long a person lives... Possibly, if they're really lucky, somewhere in the 80s. So my life is pretty much half over, is how I look at it. And that's not a negative thing. I just wanna make sure the next half of it is everything and more."

Back in May, Moody opened up about his struggles with alcohol addiction in an interview with Green Bay radio station Razor 94.7 FM . Saying that he was 90 days sober, Moody revealed that he nearly died due to an alcohol-related seizure and woke up surrounded by EMTs and his daughter holding him while crying. Moody claimed that he never relapsed after that, but continued to enter treatment centers after that to avoid relapsing.

Moody admitted that he went to rehab five times before the last time finally stuck, explaining that he worked on fixing his "spirit" this time. He said: "I just don't want my legacy to be [dying from substance abuse]. Chester [ Bennington ] and Chris [ Cornell ] and Scott [ Weiland ] and Layne [ Staley ]… I listen to a LINKIN PARK song now and I can hear [ Chester ] crying for help. That's the difference. Why did it take us so long to hear that?"

The new FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH album, "And Justice For None" , was released in May.

Moody noted during the Razor interview that he was working on a book which he hopes to have out early next year.

He also mentioned that he now has a 65-year-old "metal icon" as a sponsor in his ongoing treatment who he keeps in touch with regularly and has also cut many of the negative influences out of his life.