Vice have released an exclusive interview with Eagles of Death Metal about the tragic attacks in Paris earlier this month, which saw nearly up to 90 audience members killed by extremists at The Bataclan Theatre in one of a series of attacks throughout the city. Apart from a couple of short statements posted on Facebook, this is the first time the band have opened up about the horrific events that took place throughout the French capital on November 14.
“At first I thought it was the PA cracking up,” said guitarist Eden Galindo. “And then I realised real quick that it wasn’t.”
Visibly shaken and worn out, the band members detail their movements, their fears, and what they saw and felt throughout the entire event. From being caught in a room with frightened fans, to having to use anything they could as a weapon (in their case, a champagne bottle), to the panic of trying to escape, the stopping and starting of gunfire and explosions.
“There’s a woman in front of me, she was bleeding, she’d been shot, there was nothing you could do. This guy was holding her, making sure she had a friend. This guy was just trying to keep her comfortable, her blood was running out on the ground.”
Yesterday, the band took to social media to announce their intentions to one day return to the Bataclan Theatre, to finish the concert that was cut short. Jesse Hughes said, “our friends went [to the Bataclan] to see rock ‘n’ roll and died. I want to go back there and live.”
Halfway through the interview, founding member Josh Homme joins the other four. Homme, who was not in Paris at the time, recalls what happened from his side. “It took a second to believe it was really occurring, it wasn’t on the news yet.”
In one of the most harrowing, emotional interview moments in the band’s history, Hughes breaks down in tears as he talks about the band, how they care about each other, how he was cared they wouldn’t make it off the stage, and about the murder of the band’s merchandise manager, Nick Alexander. “He 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 that did not make it, whose stories might never get told.”
Watch the full video below.