Eagles of Death Metal are a rock band formed in Palm Desert, California in 1998. Despite the name, Eagles of Death Metal is not a death metal band. Hughes said that a friend was trying to introduce Josh Homme to the death metal genre. When he played the Polish band Vader and made a claim that the song was death metal, Homme called them “The Eagles of death metal”. After hearing this phrase, he 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.” Jesse Hughes is known and loved by fans for his enthusiastic and charismatic interaction with audiences at live performances.
Eagles of Death Metal is the embodiment of all fuzzed out, overdriven guitar rock to shake your booty to. Don’t look for deeper meanings or avant-garde synthesizer tricks, because these Eagles are strictly business. On their first album, Jesse “The Devil” Hughes tackles the subjects of dancing, dancing, speed, boogeying (see: Dancing), sex, and killing his ex-wife, all with smooth falsetto vocals, infectious guitar by Tim Vanhamel from Millionaire, and Josh Homme’s solid percussion skills. The grand idea of the Eagles of Death Metal is to make music that people will enjoy, that doesn’t have to be taken too seriously. This is not joke rock, but something to blare at a party with all of your friends, girls and guys alike, with lyrics that don’t beg interpretation or teach lessons. Eagles of Death Metal is what would happen if early Rolling Stones, Little Richard, and Queens of the Stone Age made sweet musical love. Like Queens of the Stone Age, groove and a solid melody is their central force and they’ll stomp a rhythm into your head that isn’t bothersome when it inevitably nests there. Despite the current state of rock, the EODM are fueled by pure driving blues guitar rather than effects-laden fretboard acrobatics, and cowbell instead of double-bass thunder. Where other bands want you to cry with them, agree with their politics, or get you pissed off, Eagles of Death Metal invites you to have a good time.
Dave Catching AKA: Darlin’ Dave, Davey Jo plays guitar and has contributed on albums and on tours. Gene Trautmann AKA: Teen Dream, plays drums and has contributed on albums and on tours. |
