Review Summary: Wolfgang Van Halen
Wolfgang Van Halen is a name that has been steadily growing in popularity over the past decade. From being instrumental in the revival of Roth-era Van Halen in 2012 and receiving positive acclaim for his performance in their
Tokyo Dome Live In Concert live album, to joining Tremonti and helping Mark create two of his greatest works in
Cauterize and
Dust. It came as no surprise when Wolfgang announced his solo album all the way back in 2016, but the journey to its creation was a long and arduous one for the young prodigy. Not only did Wolfgang do all the instruments on the album himself, he sang the damn vocals too! Of course, this journey didn't come without loss.
On October 6, 2020, Eddie Van Halen, architect of Van Halen and Wolfgang's father, passed away. What followed was a worldwide mourning from fans, friends, and family. However, nobody would be affected quite like Wolfgang, who was just finishing his solo album, and was now without his father. Almost as soon as his death was announced, all eyes became firmly planted on Wolfgang. Critics would insistently compare Wolf to his father, Van Halen fans would beg him to keep the old band alive, and journalists would interrogate him on his feelings regarding the death of his father. Yet all Wolf wanted to do was grieve in privacy.
None of these events stopped Wolf from pumping out one of the finest Post-Grunge albums of 2021. Indeed,
Mammoth WVH is an Alt Rock juggernaut whose Post-Grunge DNA seeps into every pore of its songs. First time listeners would immediately be reminded of Alter Bridge; another band involving Mark Tremonti. This comparison isn't too far off the mark, as it would be foolish to think Wolf's time in Tremonti didn't influence his style somewhat. As if to drive the nail into the wooden frame, the album is produced by Michael Baskette, the man who has not only worked with Alter Bridge, but other Post-Grunge stalwarts like Cold and The Classic Crime. These ingredients become the key flavor that catapults the recipe that is this album straight into excellence.
Wolfgang isn't particularly interested in making some deep artistic statement, nor is he creating some experimental masterpiece that will be read about in text books. What he is interested in, is making music that he loves, and his passion can immediately be heard in hard bangers like
Epiphany and
Mr. Ed, which pump coarse bass playing into thumping percussion. Other songs on the album showcase Wolf's talents as a vocalist, with tracks like
You're To Blame and
The Big Picture featuring heavenly crescendos which are overdubbed to surround the listener and mix with the instrumentation.
Of course, one of the highlights of any Post-Grunge manifesto is the emotional tracks. These are the spine that holds up the genre and set it apart from other Rock and Metal based genres. Indeed, if you want to do justice to the genre, emotional ballads are the most important. Unsurprisingly, Wolfgang doesn't disappoint.
Think It Over is a thunderous power ballad with a catchy hook and smooth bass. Eddie Van Halen once said that Wolfgang is a "Rhythm Bassist"; in listening to
Think It Over he is proven right, with his bass soaring into blistering tones and emotions on most of the album.
Circles is a somewhat darker tune with an acoustic undercurrent powered by somber songwriting:
It's almost over
Was there anymore I could do?
Did I go too far?
We're back to the start
The best track on the album should come as no surprise in being
Distance. A soft ballad with a more compressed opener, followed by an explosion of guitars and percussion. The song is sung with stinging honesty by Wolf, who laments the loss of his father and the deep hole it has left in him. Yet, the song is brought from darkness from it's main ballad, sung with pulsating emotion by Wolf:
No matter what the distance is I will be with you
No matter what the distance is you'll be OK
Wolfgang is a man who has had a wild and sometimes turbulent decade, but his rising popularity is no fluke. He earned it through blood, sweat, ingenuity, and a whole lot of fucking tears.
Mammoth WVH is the conclusion of Wolfgang's decade-long prologue, and now he is poised to grasp the torch and proclaim a new dawn for himself and a resurrection for what was considered a dead and gone genre. That's because nothing ever truly dies, even if bodies decay, even if the features are somewhat forgotten in the memories of loved ones, the legacy left behind and the stories will be remembered by someone, somewhere.
Mammoth WVH is a brilliant and emotional debut for Wolfgang. It is here, Wolf shows us his true talents; from songwriting, to instrumentation, to singing. We can now see just what an absolute monolith Wolf is, and how much the music industry will continue to benefit from him in the coming years.
Everybody is constantly bickering about Eddie Van Halen's greatest achievement. Was it
Eruption? Was it the founding of Van Halen? Was it his use of synthesizers in
1984? No. Most likely, if one were to ask Eddie a year ago what his greatest achievement of all time was, he'd say the same thing this review will say.
Eddie Van Halen's greatest achievement he gave humanity was giving the world Wolfgang Van Halen.
