Wolfgang Van Halen has yet to release a single song from his debut solo album, but he is already preparing for the backlash it could provoke in the rock community.
“Being who I am, I think people will at least be interested in what my work will sound like, which is good,” she wrote on Instagram this week. “But on the other hand, if it’s not exactly what they want to hear or if I don’t sound ‘Van Halen-y’ enough for them, they will hate me and not give me the time of day. I am fully prepared for a wave of hatred when my music is released because it won’t be what people think it will be. I am not trying to be my father; I’m trying to be me. “
Wolfgang replaced Michael Anthony as bassist for Van Halen in 2007 when he was just 16 years old. He has also toured and recorded with Creed / Alter Bridge Mark Tremonti and has been recording a solo album since at least 2015. Eddie Van Halen has described the music as “AC / DC meets Van Halen meets aggressive pop” and There were reports in 2018 that the album was finished, but it never surfaced.
“I’m working in it!” Wolfgang explained in a Tweet on July 7. “The state of the world has really thrown a key in the way I saw this release (since you can’t tour until this is all over), but I have some ideas that really get me excited, so stay tuned!”
Van Halen, meanwhile, hasn’t put on a show since the conclusion of his 2015 summer tour. David Lee Roth started playing solo shows earlier this year and has hinted that the band will not be returning.
“I don’t know that Eddie [Van Halen] will ever recover again from the rigors of the road, “he told the New York Times this week. “I don’t even want to say that I have waited, I have supported for five years. Because what I do is both physical and musical and spiritual: you can’t take five years out of the ring. But I did it. And I don’t regret it for a second. He is a bandmate. We had a fallen colleague. And now he’s depressed long enough that he doesn’t know he’s going to hit the road again. Do you want to hear the classics? You are talking to him.
