Members of the California-based band Eagles of Death Metal on Wednesday tweeted their first public statement after their show at Paris' Le Bataclan concert hall became the center of an international tragedy last Friday. The band reportedly was playing their song "Kiss the Devil" when three terrorists stormed the Paris theater, and indiscriminately began shooting into an estimated 1,000 concert-goers.
The band's full statement reads: "While the band is now home safe, we are horrified and still trying to come to terms with what happened in France. 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. Although bonded in grief with the victims, the fans, the families, the citizens of Paris, and all those 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 U.S. 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. "
"All EODM shows are on hold until further notice. Vive la musique, vive la liberté, vive la France, and vive EODM," the band proclaimed.
Band members escaped out the backstage door during the attack. However, their merchandise manager, Nick Alexander, was killed.
The lyrics to this particular song include the questions: "Who'll love the devil? Who'll sing his song? Who will kiss the devil on his tongue?"
NowTheEndBegins blogger, web designer and self-proclaimed street preacher Geoffrey Grider commented on the matter, expressed concern about the eternal destiny of people who were reveling to "Kiss the Devil" right before they lost their lives. He posted: "Mere moments away from slaughter, Paris fans at Eagles of Death Metal concert sang song glorifying the devil."
"It is safe to say that there were just about no Christians at the concert that night, that the vast majority of those people were lost, unsaved people," he wrote. "As those people bled and died on the dance floor of the death metal concert, they went from singing about the devil (Satan) to meeting the devil face to face. Hell is no joke, it is absolutely not a party, and you do not have to end up there."
Grider further analyzed: "As the French Death Metal fans were singing along with those lyrics, offering their love to Satan, the devil responded as the devil always does. With death and destruction. Now, you go ahead and spin that any way you like, any way that makes you feel comfortable. But as a Bible believer, I know exactly what happened Friday night at 9:40PM GMT in Paris, France. People asked for a manifestation of the Satan, and guess what? They got one."
Eagles of Death Metal fans have launched a campaign to get the band to Number One in a show of solidarity in the wake of the attack.
Maxime Dourlens, one of the band's Facebook fans, posted Wednesday: "They tried to kill me and my wife, while dancing in front of our favorite band, thankfully they failed. We saw what no one should have to see. Our thoughts are with everyone who lost their lives and their relatives. The healing can now begin, and it starts with listening to EODM again...Peace, Love and Death Metal."
