Eagles of Death Metal: Desert Rock, a Joke of a Name and a Band That Came Back

Photo: Andreas Lawen, Fotandi / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eagles_of_Death_Metal_-_Rock_am_Ring_2019-5704.jpg

First things first: Eagles of Death Metal are not a death metal band. According to Wikipedia, the name is meant to be funny. In a 2003 interview, Josh Homme described the band's sound as "bluegrass slide guitar mixed with stripper drum beats and Canned Heat vocals." Their 2008 single "Wannabe in L.A." is on U-Rock®'s WURN-dB Underground playlist.

Two friends from Palm Desert

Wikipedia says Eagles of Death Metal formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1998, founded by Jesse Hughes (vocals, guitar) and Homme (drums). They first appeared that year on Homme's The Desert Sessions Volumes 3 & 4. Hughes and Homme are the only permanent members. Homme rarely plays live because of his commitments to Queens of the Stone Age, so a rotating cast of musicians fills out the stage show. Even so, Wikipedia quotes him in 2008: "This isn't a side project for me. I'm in two bands. I have musical schizophrenia, and this is one of those personalities."

The BBC's review of the third album fills in the history. It says Homme coaxed his former school friend Hughes "from fledgling guitarist to songwriter-in-chief and personality both behind and in front of the project."

Where the name came from

The band has offered conflicting stories, Wikipedia notes. In one, Hughes and Homme were in a bar watching a man dance to the Scorpions' "Wind of Change." The man yelled, "This is death metal, dude!" and Homme replied, "No, it's not. This is like the Eagles of death metal." In another, a friend was trying to convert Hughes to death metal by playing him the Polish band Vader, and Homme called Vader "the Eagles of death metal."

Peace, love and soundtracks

According to Wikipedia, the debut Peace, Love, Death Metal came out in March 2004, and its songs turned up in a long list of TV commercials, films and video games. Death by Sexy followed in April 2006. That year the band toured with The Strokes, opened for Peaches and played with Joan Jett. They lasted one night as Guns N' Roses' support act: Axl Rose called them "Pigeons of Shit Metal" from the stage, and the band put the phrase on a T-shirt.

Heart On and "Wannabe in L.A."

Third album Heart On was released on 28 October 2008, Wikipedia says. Its first single, "Wannabe in L.A.," appeared in the video game Midnight Club: Los Angeles, and the band played a launch concert for the game at the Hollywood & Highland Virgin Megastore. The song later featured in Guitar Hero 5 and DiRT 2.

The BBC called the record a "two man, sex-drenched cabaret" mixing "authentic 60s blues rock" with "a generous sprinkling of glam-pomposity." It described tales of "that most cruel and unusual species: the Hollywood dweller," delivered with "all the cynicism and sarcasm" but "with the warmth which makes it all banter, not bitter." Hughes, the review noted, calls himself a disciple of Little Richard and Keith Richards.

Paris, and after

On 13 November 2015, Wikipedia records, the band were playing a sold-out show at the Bataclan in Paris when terrorists attacked, killing about 90 fans. Among the dead was Nick Alexander, who ran the band's merchandise table on that tour. The band members escaped. Three weeks later, without Homme, they joined U2 on stage in Paris. In February 2016 they returned to the city on the renamed "Nos Amis Tour," and Bataclan ticket holders got in free. Colin Hanks' HBO documentary Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends) premiered in 2017. Wikipedia also records that Hughes made comments about Bataclan security staff in 2016, which he later apologised for.

Why it matters on U-Rock®

Eagles of Death Metal began as a desert-rock joke between school friends, but the music is serious fun: raw, rootsy garage rock made by people who love it. "Wannabe in L.A." is on the WURN-dB Underground playlist.

U-Rock® play data: no plays logged in the BROADCAST or CORE histories (2026-07-02 to 2026-10-12). The band appears on the WURN-dB Underground Spotify playlist.

Sources 1. Wikipedia, "Eagles of Death Metal" — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagles_of_Death_Metal 2. BBC Music, review of Heart On — https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/d2xm/ 3. Spotify, "WURN-dB Underground" playlist (embed) — https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/0bZ0fCQCL7IkKfqcQycsMI