Eagles of Death Metal Speak Out on Horrific Attack at Bataclan
Eagles of Death Metal were an hour into their set at the Bataclan theater in Paris, playing to a crowd of cheering fans on Friday, Nov. 13. Then something terrible happened, something not one member of the band, their crew, or the audience could have predicted. The venue was stormed by four gunmen, who killed 89 people either by shooting or later when three detonated their suicide belts.
The band had kept very quiet until Wednesday, when they finally spoke out on the horrific event since the first time. In an interview with Vice, the band recounted their experiences of the harrowing incident.
One by one, the band members fought to hold back their tears as they recounted the moments of horror, panic, and shock as they tried to get out of the venue alive. Drummer Julian Dorio described the moment he saw two gunmen firing into the crowd as the “most awful thing” he had ever seen.
Co-founder Josh Homme and frontman Jesse Hughes gave a separate interview, in which Homme (who was in the U.S. during the performance) shared the initial messages he received from his bandmates following the horrific incident.
He reads: “Everyone got shot. They took hostages. I’ve got blood all over me,” a text from one of his bandmates.
They also paid tribute to Nick Alexander, the band’s merchandise manager, who lost his life at the Bataclan.
(photo: Frank Augstein/AP)
“Nick protected a friend of his,” said Homme, while Hughes added: “He stayed quiet and never called for help until he bled out, because he didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
“We represent the fans that did not make it, the people who did not make it, whose stories may never be told,” Homme said.
Hughes also revealed that a number of fans hid in the band’s dressing room for safety, but a gunman broke in and killed all except for one man who hid under his leather jacket.
He added: “A great reason why so many are dead is because so many wouldn’t leave their friends. So many people put themselves in front of others.”
(photo: VICE media)
Asked what he would say to the victims and their parents, Homme responded, “I sort of just want to get down on my knees and say, ‘Whatever you need.’ There’s nothing I can really say, because words fail to grasp the thing.”
Despite clearly being deeply upset by the events, the pair expressed that the attacks would not keep them from playing future gigs.
“I cannot wait to get back to Paris… Our friends went there to see rock ‘n’ roll and died, I’m going to go back there and live,” said Hughes, and Homme added that the band plans to finish the entirety of their European tour.
He said: “We don’t really have a choice. Not only for ourselves and our fans, not only for Nick Alexander, not only because this is our way of life… it’s the human condition.”
