Eagles of Death Metal, the band who were performing at the Bataclan in Paris when terrorists entered and killed 89 people on November 13, have given their first interview since the horrific attacks in the city.
As well as recalling what happened, Jesse Hughes, the band’s singer, also stated that they want to be the first band to play the venue when it re-opens.
Copyright [VICE]
Vice conducted the emotional interview with vocalist Jesse, guitarist Eden Galindo, bassist Matt McJunkins, and sound engineer Shawn London, with drummer Julian Dorio participating remotely. Co-founder Josh Homme also joined the interview later (he was not present in Paris).
Recounting the tragedy, Julian explained he knew something was wrong as soon as he heard gunshots inside the theatre, recalling: “The initial shots were so powerful for me that, I immediately, I knew something was wrong.
“I kind of bailed off of my stool. Almost immediately, the gunpowder hit my nose. I turned, looked through my drum hardware to the side of an amp. That’s when the second round started.
“I saw two guys out front and that might be the most awful thing ever - them just relentlessly shooting into the audience.”
Copyright [VICE]
Jesse described how fans fled to their dressing room in the hope of escaping, but tragically, all were found and killed by the gunmen, except one fan who had hidden under the singer’s coat.
The vocalist recalled: “People were playing dead, and they were so scared.”
Bassist Matt, along with another group of fans, barricaded himself into a separate room, which was starting to get flooded, making them worry that the water trickling out of the room would alert the gunman to the fact that there were people in there.
Shawn, the sound engineer, described how he made eye contact with the gunmen and hid behind the soundboard after narrowly missing a bullet.
He said: “He looked right at me. He shot at me and missed. It hit my console and buttons went flying everywhere.”
Copyright [Instagram/Julian Dorio]
The gunman must have presumed he was dead.
The group also spoke about merchandise seller Nick Alexander, who was killed in the terrifying attacks, with a tearful Jesse recounting: “(Nick) stayed quiet and never called for help until he bled out, because he didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
The vocalist, who broke down in tears several times during the interview, vows to play the Bataclan again, stating: “I cannot wait to get back to Paris. I cannot wait to play. I want to come back.
“I want to be the first band to play in the Bataclan when it comes 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 want to go back there and live.”
Here’s the full interview: