Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998 by Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme, who are the only permanent members of the band, though Homme rarely plays live shows because of commitments to other bands. There are also a wide range of other musicians that play under the Eagles of Death Metal name, both on the albums and in live shows, frequently under humorous aliases.
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Despite their band name, Eagles of Death Metal are not a death metal band. In a video interview taken at a converse music.co.uk sponsored event at the Soho Revue Bar in London, Hughes states that he and Homme were in a bar watching a man dance to the song “Wind Of Change” by the Scorpions. When asked what he was doing, the man yelled, “This is death metal, dude!”, to which Homme replied,”No it’s not. This is like the Eagles of death metal.” An alternate story concerning the origin of the band name claims that the name originated during an exchange in which a friend of Josh Homme was attempting to convert Homme to the death metal genre. When the friend played a song by the Polish band Vader and made a claim that the song was within the death metal genre, Homme then referred to Vader as “The Eagles of death metal”. After hearing this phrase, Hughes wondered what a cross between the Eagles and a death metal band would sound like. In a 2003 interview Homme described the sound of the band as a combination of “bluegrass slide guitar mixed with stripper drum beats and Canned Heat vocals.” Hughes is known for his enthusiastic interaction with audiences at live performances.
While the band were on stage at Le Bataclan in Paris, France, on November 13, 2015, the audience was attacked by terrorists wielding automatic rifles, grenades and suicide vests. The death toll inside the venue was 89, including the band’s merchandise manager, but the band members made it safely out of the venue via a door backstage. The band members were mocked across the world for projecting themselves as tough, while scurrying away from others when the shooting happened. Ironically the band’s message was of toughness and death.