"There will be more moustaches per square mile than anywhere in London tonight," laughs Josh Homme as he overlooks the balcony of Koko, hours before Eagles Of Death Metal make their triumphant return. "And there's a cross-section of cross-dressers that also come to our shows," smiles Jesse Hughes. "A criss-cross section."
That sounds about right to us. With Eagles Of Death Metal being a band like no other, their fans are a perfect mirror of that - here's a bunch of guys that take having fun very, very seriously.
The good times don't stop rolling, and as we step off the roof of Koko for a crafty smoke with Josh 'Baby Duck' Homme and Jesse 'Boots Electric' Hughes, they're always on form. Wise-ass moments, pure smut and foul-mouthed in-jokes frequently de-rail the interview, but we wouldn't want it any other way. They just want a good time, all the time.
"Joshua and I have created this thing where there's no rules," Hughes tells Gigwise. "Anyone can come along. You know when you see a dude wearing a Crass t-shirt and someone's like 'you can't wear that unless you've been into them since '81'. But for for us, if you just figured it out yesterday then you're welcome. It's a very Christian attitude."
Watch our interview with Eagles Of Death Metal below
If there was a word that best summed up Eagles Of Death Metal, we'd use 'freedom'. A rag-collective of friends and artists where all they want to do is hang out and jam, any music that is born of that is just a bonus. Fortunately, their latest effort Zipper Down is as close as you can get to pouring pure sex into your ears - a decadent and shameless rush of hedonism, without going overboard.
But if this is all just for the fuck of it, what do Eagles Of Death Metal have left to prove?
"That global warming was a fraud - and I feel like I've done that with this album," slyly smiles Hughes, with Josh adding "He's been melting a lot of polar ice lately."
Hughes nods: "I needed a lot of polar ice to get to where I needed to with this album. Done."
Josh adds: "I don't know if there's anything to prove. I don't really quantify things in terms of that."
The train of thought comes back to the tracks for a brief moment. "You have to prove that it was real," a wide-eyed Hughes, stroking his resplendent handlebar moustache. "I look at a record as a promise of what you're going to get live. It's always 'wear a condom or you might get pregnant'. I don't have to prove anything or they wouldn't be at the show, they have to prove to me that I should be rocking this hard.
"The only people that matter are the ones that like the music - if you don't then you're an asshole."
Photo: Thanira Rates/Gigwise
With Hughes often consumed by solo projects and polymath Josh Homme's main outfit Queens Of The Stone Age becoming one of the biggest bands on the planet with 2013's ...Like Clockwork, it stands to reason that we've had to endure a seven year wait between Eagles' albums.
"It is too long, I don't think we'll go that long again - but Joshua and I don't really believe in the concept of a certain time - we believe in 'right on time'," snarls Hughes. "And it was right on time.
"The way he puts it is hilarious. It's like he's holding a handkerchief at the train station going 'bye, bye, I'll feed the fish'. We make this thing together and I can't say how hard it is to be on the road without him. I'm also a jealous vain, fuck, and I certainly don't want to compete with this motherfucker too much."
But when the time does to 'compete', you'd better strap in and get ready - the band themselves can't even comprehend the madness that unfolds.
"Most of the time, it's Josh and I giving each other shit-eating grins going 'can you believe that a couple of fucking rednecks are actually doing this?'" shrugs Hughes. "We're like the special forces of rock n' roll - we're the best of the fucking best. I've got the drummer from Devo right now, what the fuck?
"Joshua is larger than life, and when he's on stage he's larger than life. As a band, we just need to be that much bigger than life."
Photo: Gigwise/Thanira Rates
That powerful sense of free and easy abandon that best captures not only the spirit of this band but their awesomeness as a live band was neatly wrapped up in the bubble of brilliance that was lead single 'Complexity'.
"It's like a cool song," admits Homme. "It's the mantra of the record - drop the hangups and get with the programme. Eagles is like fun VD . It's really contagious and everybody's getting it."
Hughes whips back: "You don't want a penicillin shot for this - you're going to want to keep it. If you bent George Clinton over and butt-fucked him using Keith Richards as a dick, and Little Richards as the balls, that's what it would sound like.
"Have you ever heard of the porn star Jon Holmes? He was like the biggest dick in pornography, he had like a 12 inch dick. The feel of this album is like Jon Holmes, but with a bigger dick."
A baffled Homme returns:"...it's hard to add to that."
We wind down the chat and prepare to say our goodbyes, never expecting a sane farewell without losing anyone in their trail of consciousness. But, with a vain hope, we ask what the guys have been listening to.
"I listen to classical music every day," is Hughes' unnervingly sensible response. "Right now Puccini's Turandot, Beethoven's Seventh is also just incomparable."
We did not expect that.
"I listen to Dean Martin every morning because I just hear him smiling," adds Homme.
"We were talking about doing a concept album called 'Mean Martin'," aaand we're back - with Hughes' admission, "where we sing Dean Martin songs but really mean in a death metal voice. It didn't work out the way we wanted it to."
A subtle smirk from Homme ends with: "'Mambo Italiano' is crazy."
Cool, we're not sure how we got here, but we wouldn't be anywhere else. Grow your moustache, put on your dress and come flying with the Eagles Of Death Metal whenever you can. It's one hell of a ride.
Eagles of Death Metal's fourth album, Zipper Down, is out now.
The band will embark on a lengthy tour of the UK and Ireland later this year. Full dates are below and visit here for tickets and more information.
OCTOBER
31 - Beckett University - Leeds
NOVEMBER
1 - UEA - Norwich
2 - O2 Academy - Bristol
4 - Engine Rooms - Southampton
5 - Forum - London
6 - Institute - Birmingham
7 - Ritz - Manchester
9 - O2 Academy - Newcastle
10 - Olympia Theatre - Dublin
11 - O2 ABC - Glasgow
