is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998. Founded by Jesse Hughes (vocals, guitar) and Josh Homme (drums), the band also includes a wide range of other musicians who perform both on the band's studio albums and at live shows. Hughes and Homme are the only permanent members of the band, with Homme rarely performing at live shows due to commitment to his other band, Queens of the Stone Age. The band's current touring lineup includes Hughes alongside Leah Bluestein (drums), Scott Shiflett (guitar), Jennie Vee (bass) and Rex Roulette (guitar).
Despite their name, Eagles of Death Metal are not a death metal band, and the name is intended to be humorous. 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." Hughes is known for his enthusiastic interaction with audiences at live performances.
The band has variously offered conflicting explanations as to the origin of their band name, with all of the offered origin stories of the band name involving the concept of a death metal genre equivalent or version of the band Eagles or a humorous mixture of death metal with the band Eagles. In a video interview taken at an event sponsored Converse Music at the Soho Revue Bar in London, Hughes states that he and Homme were in a bar watching a man dance to the song "Wind of Change" by the Scorpions. When asked what he was doing, the man yelled, "This is death metal, dude!", to which Homme replied, "No, it's not. This is like the Eagles of death metal." An alternative story concerning the origin of the band name claims that the name originated during an exchange in which a friend of Homme was attempting to convert Hughes to the death metal genre. When the friend played a song by the Polish band Vader and made a claim that the song was within the death metal genre, Homme then referred to Vader as "the Eagles of death metal". After hearing this phrase, Hughes wondered what a cross between the Eagles and a death metal band would sound like.
