Review: Eagles of Death Metal at O2 Institute, Birmingham

By the band's name, you could be misled. You may expect something fairly sinister when in fact all these guys want to do is have a good time.

They proved that from the outset of the show, making their entrance to Pilot's iconic 1975 hit Magic.

The Eagles of Death Metal have now released four rock and roll albums, and opened with I Only Want You - the first single from debut record Peace Love Death Metal.

After the first couple of songs, frontman Jesse Hughes - who displayed a vast array of outlandish dance moves throughout - took a moment to drink in the atmosphere.

"It looks like a theatre, except the crowd here is much more animalistic in their approach to rock and roll," he said.

Hughes seemed to enjoy every minute, interacting with the audience whenever he could. At no point did he look to be going through the motions.

That was summed up after Wannabe in L.A - full of wild guitar riffs and punchy percussion, as are most of their tracks.

Hughes insisted: "That song isn't true, I don't really want to be in LA. I want to be with you guys, right here, right now."

To them though, this was not just another gig. The band were humbled to be in Birmingham.

"We are in the home of legendary rock gods," Hughes added.

He referred to Black Sabbath as the reason why he wanted to become a rock star, before playing some short, but sweet, versions of their greatest hits on his own.

The band also paid tribute to one of the second city's greatest musical successes with their rendition of Duran Duran's Save a Prayer.

They then reverted to some of their most popular tracks, treating the crowd to Silverlake, Cherry Cola, and Miss Alissa before a truly great finish.

An epic 10-minute long guitar duel ensued between Hughes and the lead guitarist, with the former even entering the crowd at one point, before they took a bow and thanked the fans.

A fantastic end to a spectacular show.