On November 13, horror was about to be unleashed on a concert venue in the center of Paris.
An American rock band was playing and photos posted to social media reveal that the gig was packed, with people smiling and dancing.
However, an hour into the show it all changed. Three armed Islamic extremists burst into the venue and opened fire, shooting indiscriminately whilst shouting "Allahu akbar!" ("God is great"). The carnage lasted for hours. 89 concert-goers were killed. The venue was the worst hit of a series of violent attacks in the French capital, which killed a total of 129 people.
All of the band's members survived, and now they've given their first interview since the attack. Speaking to Vice Magazine, they described what happened and how they've been trying to come to terms with the tragedy.
The interview reveals that Jesse Hughes, co-founder and vocalist, came face to face to one of the killers as he fled the stage in search of his girlfriend. Hughes said:
"He turned on me, brought his gun down, and the barrel hit the door frame."
Hughes immediately called for those following him to turn around as he ran back in a different direction.
Clearly distraught, and with his head bowed, Hughes also described how terrorists killed their fans, who were hiding in the band's dressing room.
"They [fans] were hiding in our dressing room, and the killers were able to get in. They killed all of them, except for a kid who was hiding under my leather jacket."
In a tearful tribute to those who died, band members Hughes and Josh Homme commended the heroism of the many people who chose to risk their lives and died trying to protect others.
Nick Alexander, 36, who sold merchandise for the band, was one such victim.
The band's drummer Josh Homme said Alexander died "never calling for help because he didn't want others to get hurt."
Fantastic should Eagles of Death Metal reopened Le Bataclan to defy the murderers. Would love them to invite survivors and their rescuers
— Kevin Maguire (@Kevin_Maguire) November 26, 2015
He continued:
"People were playing dead, and they were so scared. A great reason why so many were killed is because so many people wouldn't leave their friends, and so many people put themselves in front of people."
In a defiant rebuff to the terrorists' attempt to spread fear, Jesse Hughes said he wants "to be the first band to play in the Bataclan when it opens back up.
"Our friends went there to see rock and roll and died. I want to go back there and live," he said.
