The leader of the band that was performing the night of the Paris terror attacks has a surprising backstory:
The Eagles of Death Metal frontman, Jesse “The Devil” Hughes has been referred to as a “fascinating walking contradiction” among other things. A film documentary about Hughes’ life called, The Redemption of The Devil is being presented by VICE. The film is a very intimate portrayal of the year that Hughes and Josh Hommes complete the new album of Hughes’ band, Eagles of Death Metal (EODM) together. Hommes has been the best friend of Jesse Hughes since their childhood. Jesse “The Devil” Hughes is a mustachioed, tattooed man who commands the stage as one of the sharpest “walking contradictions” the music industry has ever seen. Hughes is the frontman for the EODM band, and he is also a father, an NRA member, an avid Donald Trump supporter, and ironically enough, an ordained Catholic priest. The charismatic EODM front man whose band performs hard rock songs with lyrics about drugs, sex, and Satan, among other things, also wears his faith for all to see right out on his tattooed sleeves. Hughes also is not afraid to voice his passionate opinions, however controversial they may be, on two of the most sensitive and controversial issues that continue to loom over the numerous tragic attacks by terrorists of this 21st century: “religion and guns.”
However, an interview in September with the Calgary Herald notes he’s “appointed with the independent Catholic diocese” that isn’t “under the dominion of the Vatican”:
Q: Speaking of heaven, I see that you’ve become, what, a priest, a bishop or a pope or king of the popes? A: (Laughs) I’m a functioning bishop but appointed with the independent Catholic diocese. So instead of being under the dominion of the Vatican it’s working in league with the Vatican. Q: That sounds a little nefarious, like we’re stepping into Da Vinci Code territory. A: Well, I’m a southern Baptist so anything that puts me into a Catholic frame of mind has to be nefarious. But it was the quickest and most direct and truly Christian organization for a dude like me. I hold my ministry, if you will, on the road. When I’m on the road, when it’s festivals, when I’m around other rock n rollers, I provide Catholic and Christian services to those who would otherwise be deprived of it in the rock ’n’ roll environment. Q: How often does that actually come up? A: I honestly thought it would just turn into being a blip as a publicity stunt. But we just did a tour where we were on the road for six weeks, there were four Sundays that we were on the road, and three of them I had mass, I received a couple of confessions … Like, real rock ‘n’ rollers coming to see me and saying things like, “How does this priest thing work? Think I could just talk to you for a minute?” And I thought it was awesome, really. Q: I know there are some people who think what you’re doing and dismiss it outright as something cynical. A: You know what? They absolutely should, and there’s a good reason why most intelligent people would dismiss out of hand what I’m doing. God puts us all into an interesting position some times. And some times we’re in a position where it doesn’t really … matter if it’s going to get us somewhere, we still have to do the right thing. The only thing I can do is not be that cliché. That to me seems like a really easy goal when it comes to this because, dude, you’ve gotta admit the dichotomy, the two sides that you’re trying to reconcile here, the dark and the light … they are utterly irreconcilable, that’s why I don’t try to. I’m never trying to say that I ain’t going to hell because I can assure that it’s going to be hotter in hell for me than you my friend, but when I’m being passed into the lake of fire, at least I won’t be the fool who believes in magic talking monkeys, I believe that God made us.
Bottom line: he may be something, but he’s not a Catholic priest in communion with Rome.
Photo: Wikipedia
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