Eagles of Death Metal express horror at Paris attacks in statement

Eagles of Death Metal have stated their horror at what happened during their concert in Paris and how they are trying to deal with the aftermath.

The Californian rock band were playing on Friday night at the Bataclan concert venue in the French capital when it was invaded by Islamic State militants who killed 89 people there.

"While the band is now home safe, we are horrified and still trying to come to terms with what happened in France, " Eagles of Death Metal stated on their Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon.

"Our thoughts and hearts are first and foremost with our brother Nick Alexander, our record company comrades Thomas Ayad, Marie Mosser, and Manu Perez, and all the friends and fans whose lives were taken in Paris, as well as their friends, families, and loved ones."

‘Bonded in grief’

The band said although they were “bonded in grief” with the victims, fans, those families affected and the citizens of Paris, and all people affected by terrorism, “we are proud to stand together, with our new family, now united by a common goal of love and compassion”.

“We would like to thank the French police, the FBI, the US and French state departments, and especially all those at ‘ground zero’ with us who helped each other as best they could during this unimaginable ordeal, proving once again that love overshadows evil.”

The statement said all Eagles of Death Metal concerts would be on hold until further notice.

‘Vive la liberté’

“Vive la musique, vive la liberté, vive la France, and vive EODM,” it concluded.

The statement follows an online campaign mounted in the wake of the Paris attacks to boost downloads of the band’s newly recorded track Save a Prayer.

A Facebook page titled Eagles of Death Metal for No. 1 was launched over the weekend, according to the site, by a handful of British-based “regular gig-goers” with no ties to the band’s organisation, its management, marketing or music label. A companion Twitter page was also established.

Save a Prayer

They urged fans to show solidarity with the band and victims by purchasing Save a Prayer, a cover version of a 1982 Duran Duran single, from music sites like Amazon. com and iTunes and by playing the track on the Spotify music streaming website.

Organizers said they were aiming to drive the song to the top of the British pop singles charts this week, and that the track already had hit No 1 on Amazon and iTunes rock charts within 24 hours.

Save a Prayer is the 10th track among 11 songs recorded by the band on its fourth album, Zipper Down, which was released in October to mostly positive reviews.

Additional reporting: Reuters