2023-08-02 04:53:20
Can a band work with just one member? All-rounder Wolfgang Van Halen proves it. Drums, guitar, bass, keyboard and vocals – he records everything himself for his project Mammoth WVH. On “Mammoth II” he not only recorded and sang instruments and vocals himself, but also wrote all the songs himself. Produced at 5150 Studios in Los Angeles, where his father, rock legend Eddie Van Halen, once recorded his albums.
“My father taught me to play the drums when I was nine,” says Wolfgang Van Halen of the German Press Agency in Hamburg. “Most people think I was taught everything because of my famous family tree.” The 32-year-old learned the rest himself. He first got his hands on a guitar when he was 12 – by the time he was 15, following several father-son jam sessions, he was touring the country as a bassist with his father’s band, Van Halen.
The Van Halen name, the legacy of the family, will live on long following his death, his famous father once said during an interview on the “Howard Stern Show”. The legendary guitarist was diagnosed with cancer and died in 2020 at the age of 65. The Mammoth frontman also dedicated his very first single “Distance” to him: The video for the single consists of numerous private video recordings of Eddie Van Halen and his son, which promptly brought him a Grammy nomination shortly following its release.
His ten-track work “Mammoth II” is reminiscent of his debut album in some aspects. At the same time, however, it gives him the opportunity to try out a little more. “‘Another Celebration At The End Of The World’ is definitely a song that reflects what people can expect from the new album. It’s an energetic rocker with some great guitar moments,” says Van Halen.
In the song video, his band – all members of course played by him – breaks up and he is looking for new comrades-in-arms. These are also the musicians who fill the stage at Van Halen’s side for Mammoth WVH’s live performances. “That song was kind of the spearhead for the whole album because it inspired me to write and perform things that weren’t on the first album.”
From the rocking album opener “Right?” up to the Beatlesque end with “Better Than You”, “Mammoth II” shows the development of Van Halen not only as a songwriter and musician, but above all as a singer. The album offers the best listening experience on vinyl, “because it has its flow in every half,” says the musician. Five songs per side, each ending with a seven-minute song. “It’s not a concept album I guess. I think it’s just the way it’s organized. It flows best.”
Mammoth WVH is currently touring around the world to introduce the new record to the public – including with the metal legends Metallica. Van Halen and the band still have to get used to the huge stage: “We’re still trying to figure out how to use the space, but we’re having a really wonderful time. It’s great. It’s a great honor to be a part of it be.”
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