Eagles Of Death Metal Recount Tragic Paris Attacks; Full Interview Released

26 November 2015 | 9:35 am | Staff Writer

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Just days after the trailer aired, today the full interview with Eagles Of Death Metal has been released in which each band member recount the moment the Bataclan hall came under attack from several gunmen during their concert in Paris just under two weeks ago, where 89 concert-goers were killed.

Speaking to Vice, the near 30-minute interview reveals first hand accounts from each member of the US rock act and how they reacted to the siege. 

Frontman Jesse Hughes spoke about his initial fears of the whereabouts of his girlfriend and occasional EODM vocalist Tuesday Cross as the band rushed off stage when the venue came under attack.

"I ran up to the dressing room…and I opened up the hallway door and that’s when I saw the shooter and he turned on me, brought his gun down and the barrel hit the door frame. I was like ‘Oh, fuck’," Hughes said.

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"I could tell that people were following me, this was a situation where everyone was looking for the place to go, you know?"

"We got to that exit door and I still hadn't seen Tuesday and [drummer Julian Dorio] got out in front of me...I didn't know what to do, but when Tuesday saw Julian and I heard her voice, I knew she was cool..."

Guitarist Eden Galindo recalled when he initially heard the first gun shot and thought that it was simply a PA issue. 

"At that time, Jesse ran towards me and we hid in the corner of the stage, we weren't sure if they were targeting us or what was going on," Galindo said. 

"Boot, whose also in the crew, he saw the gunman…cartridge run out so he took it out to put another one in and that’s when he was like, ‘Let’s go.’"

Band bassist Matt McJunkins was one of many who found themselves trapped in the backstage area which had no exit doors. 

"When the shooting started I threw down my bass, hid for a second sort of behind the curtain, sort of behind the monitor desk and immediately people started pouring through, there’s like a door to get up to the stage…people were coming and Steve, our tour manager…he’s the first person I saw, the look on his face, we both had the same thought of, he was like, ‘There’s no exit over here’ and he was trying to tell people that."

"From my perspective, I see the shooting, I see the pops go off, the lights flashing…I have to make that decision of whether, ‘Do I really want to run across the stage or do I want to just go in this room and hope for the best?’"

In a clip seen later in the interview, Hughes sat down with co-founding member of EODM, Josh Homme who did not join the band on the European tour, though as Hughes reveals, was the first person from out the outside world to know exactly what was going on in the venue. 

"I was at my studio and I just got a text that…it just didn't make sense to me, you know?" Hommes said. 

One of the texts sent from Hughes to Hommes read, "Everyone got shot, they took hostages. I've got blood all over me."

"The one thing that all the guys in the band kept sharing was, like a shared heroism," Hommes continued.

"That people came out of their homes to help, the fans that were in there, even when injured were attempting to help each other and the band."

Commenting on the death of their merchandise seller Nick Alexander, who was shot in the siege Hughes said, "Nick stayed quiet and never called out for help until he bled out because he didn’t want anyone else to get hurt."

Speaking on how the band will move forward Hughes said, "I may be scared and maybe I went through some bad shit, but I'm breathing."

"I get to talk to my son tonight. I have a house that is paid for because rock’n’roll has blessed me and been very good to me."

"My grandmother and mother raised me to never give a shit what an asshole thinks. If Adolf Hitler hates you, that's awesome, you want everyone to know that that asshole hates you. I don't want to spend my life trying to appease or not appease assholes, I want to spend my life smiling with my friends and entertaining them."

Just as Dorio announced yesterday in his own online statement, Hughes hopes to return to Paris and specifically the Bataclan to perform for their fans again. 

"I cannot wait to get back to Paris. I cannot wait to play," he said.

"I want to be the first band to play in the Bataclan when it opens back up because I was there when it went silent for a minute. Our friends went there to see rock'n'roll and died. I'm going to go back there and live."

Watch the full interview below.