While chatting with US shock jock Howard Stern back in 2006, Eddie Van Halen wasn’t shy about bigging up his then teenage son. “Wait ‘til you hear this kid play bass, guitar and drums,” the late shred-legend said. “He can do anything I do on guitar. If I excel at the speed of sound, this kid excels at the speed of light.” More than 15 years later that declaration about Wolfgang Van Halen seems less like parental cheerleading than it does a reserved understatement.
Sandwiched by his stint as Van Halen’s bassist from 2007 until his father’s passing in 2020, and his stealing the show at last year’s Taylor Hawkins tribute show in Los Angeles, shredding away on Hot For Teacher and Panama with jaw-dropping familial flair, Wolfgang’s debut solo album, released in 2019 under the Mammoth WVH tag, only confirmed his credentials as a multi-talented prodigy.
Inspired by the successful one-man-band approach Dave Grohl employed on Foo Fighters’ debut outing, and ably abetted by producer Michael ‘Elvis’ Baskette, he sang and played every instrument on his acclaimed bow with so much aplomb you’d never guess it wasn’t the work of a watertight band operating at the peak of their powers.
But where that effort still had the exploratory air of an artist discovering his voice, ‘Mammoth II’ finds its creator confidently asserting his identity by pushing the Mammoth sound, and his own compositional capabilities, forwards with complete authority.
Once again excelling in every role, whether deftly deploying fresh rhythmic patterns, contagious vocal layering or colourful guitar strokes, an evolving train of textural embellishments are gradually woven in to each song by Van Halen as they progress, adding extra momentum and dynamism to tighter, sharper, broader tunes that draw upon a wider range of his influences.
Although largely retaining the debut’s post-grunge-Alter Bridge foundation, Wolfgang skilfully lobs everything from progressive time signatures and explosive Meshuggah drumming to harmonically-rich Beatles melodies and nasty drop-tuned fretwork into the mix. And that’s just on the opening song.
Elsewhere, Miles Above channels the Foos and ‘80s Van Hagar at their most radio-friendly, while the stabbing new wave-tinted strains of Like A Pastime, and rock n’ rolling metallic monster Another Celebration At The End of the World, have crowd participation refrains stamped into their anthemic DNA. And then there’s the epic centrepiece Take A Bow, a beguiling piece of sonic architecture that finds Wolf elevating the song’s emotional impact with one of the most bedazzling guitar solos of the modern age.
Instrumental flair aside, Van Halen’s singing, full of infectious rhythmic phrasing, impassioned indignation and existential melancholy, perfectly conveys the damaged-yet-unbroken soul within these personal songs. Whether wryly destroying internet trolls who question his worth on the swaggering Aerosmith-powered I'm Alright to Optimist’s claustrophobic brew of vitriol and vulnerability, this is an album that, touching on his father’s passing, betrayal and unhealthy relationships, feels like a necessary exorcism.
It will be very interesting to see where Wolfgang goes from here. He could easily keep making albums like this, ratcheting up the quality, execution and scope each time. But with so much ability, knowledge and imagination at his disposal, the potential is there for him to do something completely fresh in a way that, while building upon his ancestral legacy, could well give modern rock-based music the injection of innovation it’s long been crying out for.
Mammoth WVH Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue August 22 2023 - TUCSON Arizona - Rialto Theatre-Tucson (USA)
Sat August 26 2023 - SACRAMENTO California - Ace of Spades (USA)
Sun August 27 2023 - SANTA ANA California - Observatory Santa Ana (USA)
Wed August 30 2023 - MONTEREY California - Golden State Theatre (USA)
Tue September 05 2023 - LINCOLN Nebraska - Bourbon Theatre (USA)
Sat November 04 2023 - MILWAUKEE Wisconsin - Rave - Eagles Club (USA)
Sun November 05 2023 - MINNEAPOLIS Minnesota - First Avenue Minneapolis (USA)
Tue November 07 2023 - COLUMBUS Ohio - Bluestone (USA)
Thu November 09 2023 - CHICAGO Illinois - Vic Theatre (USA)
Sat November 11 2023 - GRAND RAPIDS Michigan - Elevation at Intersection - Complex (USA)
Mon November 13 2023 - TORONTO - Danforth Music Hall (USA)
Tue November 14 2023 - MONTREAL - Beanfield Theatre (USA)
Wed November 15 2023 - BOSTON Massachusetts - Big Night Live (USA)
Fri November 17 2023 - SAYREVILLE New Jersey - Starland Ballroom (USA)
Sat November 18 2023 - GLENSIDE Pennsylvania - Keswick Theatre (USA)
Sun November 19 2023 - BALTIMORE Maryland - Rams Head Live (USA)
Tue November 21 2023 - ATLANTA Georgia - Buckhead Theatre (USA)
Wed November 22 2023 - ORLANDO Florida - House of Blues Orlando (USA)
Fri November 24 2023 - HOUSTON Texas - Ballroom at Warehouse Live - Complex (USA)
Sat November 25 2023 - DALLAS Texas - Factory in Deep Ellum - Complex (USA)
Sun November 26 2023 - AUSTIN Texas - Emos (USA)
Tue November 28 2023 - ENGLEWOOD Colorado - Gothic Theatre (USA)
Wed November 29 2023 - SALT LAKE CITY Utah - Depot (USA)
Thu November 30 2023 - BOISE Idaho - Knitting Factory Boise (USA)
Sat December 02 2023 - SPOKANE Washington - Knitting Factory Spokane (USA)
Sun December 03 2023 - SEATTLE Washington - Showbox (USA)
Mon December 04 2023 - PORTLAND Oregon - Roseland Theater (USA)
Thu December 07 2023 - SAN DIEGO California - House of Blues San Diego (USA)
Fri December 08 2023 - LAS VEGAS Nevada - House of Blues Las Vegas (USA)
Sat December 09 2023 - LOS ANGELES California - Belasco (USA)
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