In the Eagles of Death Metal's first recorded interview since the Paris attack on the Bataclan theater, lead singer Jesse Hughes emotionally detailed the events of the night breaking down in tears a number of times along with accounts from the rest of the band.
The band was formed in 1998 by Hughes and Josh Homme, who was not on tour with the band during the attack but joined the rest of the members part-way through the interview for emotional support and to recount how he learned of the events and attempted to lend support from his Los Angeles office.
More than 89 people were killed in the theater and over 130 across the city on Nov. 13.
The members at the show – guitarist Eden Galindo, Hughes, bassist Matt McJunkins, sound engineer Shawn London and drummer Julian Dorio (via video chat) – recounted their experiences with, Dorio hiding behind the drum risers until he could make it to an exit crawling across the stage, and McJunkins held up in a room with only a champagne bottle to defend him and the people in the room.
Galindo said he immediately went backstage with Hughes to find the lead singer's girlfriend Tuesday Cross, but when they came out of the dressing room they were met by one of the shooters who stumbled when he attempted to pull his gun on Hughes, allowing him to escape.
One of the most terrifying stories came from London, who was posted up in the sound both at the very back of the room by the front doors. London said he came face-to-face with the gunman, who shot at him but missed hitting the consul. London said he dropped so fast that the gunman must have thought he was dead or hit, and from there he was able to escape by hiding during the shooting and running while the terrorist reloaded.
There's much more detail in the 26-minute long video from VICE that you can watch below.
Warning: Early on at the 1:13 mark, there's footage of the shooting in which you can hear gunshots and people ducking to the stage.
