After days of mounting speculation, Ivan Moody has stepped in to set the record straight about his relationship with Motograter, the industrial metal band that launched his career long before Five Finger Death Punch became a multi-platinum force.

Rumors ignited this week when former Motograter member Michael “The Kidd” Stewart claimed in a now-deleted social media post that Moody was reuniting with the band. The speculation intensified after Moody shared photos and posts showing him reconnecting with former Motograter associates, leading many fans to assume a full-fledged return was imminent.

Now, Moody has confirmed that he is not rejoining Motograter — but he is playing a pivotal role in shaping and safeguarding the band’s future.

In a lengthy explanation shared via Instagram Stories, the singer revealed that his recent involvement stemmed from long-standing concerns about how the Motograter name and legacy were being handled after his departure in the mid-2000s.

According to Moody, he ultimately purchased the Motograter trademark, ensuring that the band’s identity could not be “abused or misused.” While he did not go into legal specifics, the move appears to give him final authority over how the Motograter name is used moving forward.

“Through the years I’ve watched, the last two decades I’ve watched that project whittle out into dust on a memory. And it hurt. And knowing that there was so much involved with that and the way that there was so much potential and it was X’d out,” said Moody at one point.

“When [Noah and I] started talking, it became very evident to me that there was a lot of people in play. And there was a lot of crap, man. So I decided to buy it. And that’s what I did. I bought the trademark for Motograter and the Machine. And I patented it, the whole spiel. That way, nobody could take it anymore and it couldn’t be abused or misused.”

About the original reunion rumor, Moody was pissed: “First and foremost, to Michael ‘The Kidd’ Stewart, you bottom-feeding bubbleheaded boob. How dare you step on my toes, spreading rumors and causing commotion.” He added: “I was so pissed off when I read all that man. This Michael fucking Stewart guy. Who the fuck do you think you are dude? Fucking peon.”

Motograter, which formed in 1995, have had a famously turbulent history — breaking up and reforming multiple times between 2005 and 2018. Though Moody achieved global fame after leaving to form Five Finger Death Punch, Motograter has remained an important chapter in his life, as it marked the point where his career truly began to gain momentum.

Moody also addressed the recent photos that helped fuel reunion chatter, explaining that they were taken during a birthday gathering where he met up with former bandmates and associates. He additionally expressed respect for Noah “Shark” Robertson, the drummer who helped keep the band’s spirit alive in the years following Moody’s exit.

Though the two had not met in person previously, Moody revealed that he has discussed potentially producing a Motograter record with Robertson and has had conversations about the band’s creative direction — a role that places him more behind the scenes than onstage.

Two seasons of Landman have given fans more than a dozen jaw-dropping scenes and bits of dialogue. Here are the most shocking.

• Landman‘s Season 2 finale begins streaming on Sunday (Jan. 18).
• Season 3 is confirmed although the timeline has not yet been announced.
• The Dutton Rules podcast breaks down episodes every Tuesday.

This list of controversial scenes from the Paramount+ show includes plenty of Ainsley Norris. In fact she’s got the most controversial moment on the show. Here’s a hint: it involves her boyfriend.

Angela Norris (Ali Larter) is featured plenty and Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) shows up too. Watch the video or keep reading. This article does contain spoilers from the first 19 episodes of the series.

Landman‘s Most Controversial Scenes, Ranked:

No. 9: Dale’s Shower Surprise

Tommy’s daughter comes to live with him at the start of the series but he doesn’t tell his roommates. Dale (played by James Jordan) strips down to shower only to find 17-year-old Ainsley Norris under the water, weeping.

She punches him, kicks him the berries and runs away screaming. It makes the list because it’s always creepy when grown men shower with teenagers, intentional or not.

No. 8: TL Norris’ Physical Therapist

This has the potential to move up the list but for now it’s only No. 8 controversial. Tommy hired a stripper to exercise with his father. So far, the pair have kept it PG but there seems to be a still-undefinable chemistry between them.

No. 7: Angela’s Best Prayer

During Season 1, Episode 5 Angela hosts a dinner party for her family and midway through the prayer she blasphemies. Nate makes a crack about it and the show carries on but conservative fans unsure about this show may have tapped out for good at that point.

No. 6: Ainsley’s “Bible Study”

Ainsley is a part of most of these controversial scenes, in part because she acts like a grown woman most of the time. Her mother condones it.

During Episode 9 of Season 1 she wants to take her boyfriend Ryder up to her bedroom but Tommy says no. Angela agrees, saying that if they don’t allow it the two young lovers will just end up getting frisky in the bushes like stray cats.

No. 5: Angela and Ainsley Go Day-Drinking

Ainsley Norris isn’t afraid to get drunk while out partying with mom. An early Season 1 scene where the two women are over-served at country club raised some eyebrows but — as it turns out — Texas state law permits a minor to drink if he or she is with their parents. Who know?

No. 4 + No. 3: Ryder’s Risk and Reward

Ryder is also a high school senior but he’s powerless when seduced by Ainsley. She asks him to strip for the old folks and he reluctantly agrees under a promise that whatever he does for them, Ainsley will do for him.

In real life the actors are close to 30 so that made it all less comfortable but there was something very Varsity Blues about the arrangement.

No. 2: Landman’s Hotel Scene

At the start of Season 2, Ep. 7, Angela tries to surprise Tommy with breakfast in bed. When the waitress comes to serve it he accidentally flashes her, which leads to a big fight and insinuated omelet abuse.

What got everyone talking was the blink-and-you-miss it shot of Billy Bob Thornton’s penis at attention. You can’t show that on television but you sure can show it on a streaming device.

No. 1: Ainsley Norris’ “Rule”

Landman was very much an unknown commodity at the end of Season 1, Episode 1, when Tommy asks his daughter if she and her boyfriend Dakota are having sex.

They were, she admits. Then she shares her rule for safe sex. “As long as he doesn’t c– in me, he can c– anywhere on me,” she says.

Related: Yellowstone: The Beth + Rip Spinoff Has a Name!

Nothing like showing what you’re all about at the very start!

Actor Michelle Randolph says she could never have that kind of conversation with her father, but maybe you knew that already.

Perhaps we can stump you with these 11 Landman facts.