Five days after escaping the attack on the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, the Eagles of Death Metal spoke out for the first time in a statement on Facebook.
"Although bonded in grief with the victims, the fans, the families, the citizens of Paris, and all those affected by terrorism, we are proud to stand together, with our new family, now united by a common goal of love and compassion."
The band members, who lost four friends there and are now back home in the U.S., said they were canceling all upcoming shows until further notice.
Shortly after the post went live, however, survivors began commenting. They told their personal stories about what happened that Friday night, how they escaped and who they lost. But nearly all of them were unanimous: Keep playing. Don't let terror win.
Here are some of those survivors' stories.
'The healing can now begin, and it starts with listening to EODM again'
'We have to win against fear and violence'
'I was there with 9 friends and by a miracle we all got out'
'In a way, our lives were saved because of you'
'I still listen to you, I still love you'
'We need you to get well soon'
'I can't wait to be at your next show. THEY DID NOT WIN'
'My cousin died there, please do not forget him'
'Come back soon, we need Peace, Love and Death Metal'
'We witnessed the horror, but also love and compassion'
'Keep on playing for us so we can dance and sing one day again together'
'I know you will be back in concert soon, and we will be here'
'I cried when I heard a song from you yesterday... It was the first song of any music I was listening to after out tragic night'
'If, next time you are onstage, you guys could just read out loud the names of all the persons who died'
'We will fight this horror together. And we will drink beer and listen to rock n roll till our last breath'
'We were 7 at the show. And we still are 7 now. I fucking don't know how'
'They made us exactly what they don't want'
'We survived. You survived. We have this luck!'
'Know that this is not your fault'
'This thread, the most inspiring thing that has emerged so far from all of this insanity. No surprise from where it comes'
