Wolfgang Van Halen, who will release the debut album from his solo band, MAMMOTH WVH, in June, has confirmed to India’s Indulge that he has already commenced work on the follow-up effort. “Kind of, in a way,” he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “‘Cause I had so many ideas that I recorded for the first album that I think there’s so much left over that if I wanted to throw something together really quick, I could. But I’d wanna put more work into it. It certainly won’t take as long as the first album.”
Asked why he decided to play all the instruments on MAMMOTH WVH‘s first LP, Wolfgang said: “I just figured since I could play everything, I wanted to see if I could do it. [Laughs] Basically, I just wanted to see. And then, since I could — at least I think I could; I guess it’s up to everybody else to decide — I had such a fun time in the studio that I’m looking forward to getting back in there and doing it [again].”
MAMMOTH WVH‘s self-titled debut album will be released on June 11 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records. The LP’s first single, “Distance”, recently reached No. 1 on the MediaBase and BDS Active Rock Radio charts. The song is a tribute to Wolfgang‘s father, legendary VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen. The track was not originally intended to be on MAMMOTH WVH‘s debut album, but due to the overwhelming response to its accompanying video, which has been viewed over four million times on YouTube, it has been added as a bonus track. All of Wolfgang‘s proceeds from “Distance” are being donated to Mr. Holland’s Opus.
“Distance” is an open letter to Wolfgang‘s father, declaring “no matter what the distance is, I will be with you.” The video for the song is created from a collection of family home movies through the years and offers an inside look in to one of music’s most notable personalities. Chronicling the family through the years, the video ends with a touching voicemail left from Eddie to his son.
Last November, Wolfgang confirmed that he asked his father for permission to use the MAMMOTH WVH band name for his solo project. MAMMOTH WVH is a nod to family history — Eddie and Alex Van Halen‘s band was called MAMMOTH when singer David Lee Roth first joined it in 1974.
Photo by Travis Shinn
