EODM's Kat Von D Heart On

12/02/08 5:28pm

by Shehzaad Jiwani (CHARTattack)

It's easy to brush Eagles Of Death Metal off as a joke. They started as the goofy side-project of Queens Of The Stone Age leader Josh Homme; their frontman is an irrepressible, mustachioed man; every song is either about sex, rock or both; and they have song titles like "I Want You So Hard."

Somewhere along the line, though, Eagles Of Death Metal moved beyond the cheesy puns and became a damn good rock 'n' roll band. By the release of 2006's Death By Sexy, frontman Jesse "The Devil" Hughes began to write actual songs instead of humorous jingles, a trend which carries on to their newest release, Heart On. The songs on the disc are just as infectious as the Eagles' previous work, but with smarter hooks and more clever songwriting. It's also less of a party record.

"Less of a party record, but more of a party, if that could make sense," muses Hughes. "This is the album that includes the most planning of all.

"It's a very deliberate record. I wasn't, to a point, such a hindrance with my lack of talent or lack of skills.

"Joshua was able to do more in the studio than I limited him to. Really, I limit him in the studio because he has to stay back with me while I write the songs. I love the record, though, and it's incredibly exciting."

Hughes' songwriting skills have improved exponentially since the release of 2004's Peace Love Death Metal. He manages to slow the tempo down on most of the songs, yet still maintains the good-time vibe the band are known for. Tunes like the quasi-ballad "Now I'm A Fool" stay danceable while being legitimately moving, and opener "Anything 'Cept The Truth" is engaging without being an obvious, super-charged rocker.

Inspiration for the majority of the record came from Hughes' life at the time, and a certain television celebrity became his unsuspecting muse for many songs on Heart On.

"This album was written across some of the coolest moments of my life and it's where I met some of my best friends," he explains. "Kat Von D is probably one of the greatest friends I'm ever going to have.

"I love that girl very much. Half this album's about her. 'High Voltage' is about her tattoo shop. This album's about Kat Von D in a way. She's one of my best friends and I love the girl.

"[I met her] in the night, man, at her tattoo shop. I've known Kat for a while. She worked at different tattoo shops, and I'd be cruising the boulevard late at night. The only thing open late at night are tattoo parlours and, you know, drug dealers."

Hughes insists that his relationship with the famed tattoo artist is entirely platonic, though, much to his own chagrin.

"Oh, I wish, man," Hughes laughs. "Please, God, let that happen!

"She's hot, and I flirted with her as much as I could, believe you me. She's hot, man! This ain't no bible study, and I'm not gay or stupid. Not that being stupid has anything to do with being gay, but you know what I'm saying."