Lititz, Pa. (April 28, 2025)—Five Finger Death Punch’s 100-plus-date AfterLife tour across Europe and North America deployed a Cohesion P.A. to deliver the band’s signature metal sound.
“It had to be repeatable. I wanted consistency,” said FOH engineer Bruce Reiter, a 34-year industry veteran, of the P.A. “Everything must be perfect for the fans and for the artist, and we wanted to replicate that every night.”
Clair Global deployed the audio system that featured 12 to 16 Cohesion CO12 on the main hangs with another 10 to 12 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. Eight Cohesion CO8 were spread across the front of the stage as fill, and 14 Cohesion CM14 monitors were distributed around the stage.
“Cohesion put out an incredible amount of bottom end—even if you took away the subs,” Reiter added. “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.”
He continued, “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 P.A. that can shoot that far. I had 105 dB at 380 to 420 feet,” said system engineer Bob Alumbaugh, who has also called Aerosmith, Megadeth, and Andrea Bocelli clients.
“My guitars sounded particularly good with the Cohesion system,” Reiter also reported. “I think the midrange 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 midrange is important so you don’t get distortion, and Cohesion just didn’t distort.”
“The guitars were so important. You can’t compromise that,” Alumbaugh said. “We focused on that every day. The guitars would smack you in the face, but they didn’t compete with the vocals. You could feel the power straight out the gate with Cohesion. Headroom, output, ability to do what you want: yes, yes and yes.”
