Wolfgang Van Halen will begin recording the second Mammoth WVH album today (October 4), he has revealed.
In a new post on social media, the multi-instrumentalist and son of late guitar icon Eddie Van Halen shared three photos of his father jamming in a recording studio eight years ago, and discussed the timeline of his musical evolution as a solo artist, from the initial tracking of Mammoth WVH to the recent pre-production of its long-awaited and yet-to-be-titled followup.
“On December 28, 2014, I was getting ready to start tracking what would become the first Mammoth album,” he says. “I had been practicing drums in the studio when Pop came in, grabbed my bass and started jamming with me. It was so much fun. It’s little moments like these I feel I took for granted. Moments that I can’t have anymore.”
He continues: “As I’m getting ready to start tracking the second Mammoth album tomorrow (I’ve been in pre-production the past month), I can’t stop thinking about this moment and how he won’t be around for it this time. I’m still not used to it. I don’t know when or if I’ll ever get used to it.
“It’ll be two years in three days and I don’t feel any different. All of these emotions just kinda sitting in me at all times. Sometimes it’s easier to carry, other times – like right now – it isn’t. His pride is what keeps me going, but without him here it’s easy to get lost. Easy to get stuck in my head. Easy to fall into that familiar cycle of doubt and self-loathing.
“Somehow, I’ve figured out how to keep going. Music is all I have left when it comes to feeling close to him anymore. But knowing he won’t be here this time to laugh, jam and hang throughout the whole process is tough now that I’ve gotten here. All I can do is try my best and continue to be the son he was proud of.”
Wolfgang concludes simply, and poignantly: “I just miss my dad.”
The multi-instrumentalist touched on his ideas for the second Mammoth WVH album earlier this year in an interview with Full Metal Jackie [per Blabbermouth].
“Basically, I certainly don't wanna take as long as it did [to record Mammoth WVH],” he explained. “I think throughout that first process, I was really just figuring out what it was and who I was as my own artist, finding my own sound and discovering who I was as a lead singer, as a songwriter.
“But when it comes to the next album, now that I've figured out what this is and who I am, within the context of it, I'm really excited to figure out how to condense that process to as an efficient of time as possible, so I can get an album done in a third of the time while it being twice as good. It's always a personal challenge.”
Earlier this month, Wolfgang Van Halen announced the deluxe edition of Mammoth WVH, though I Don’t Know It All – a track revealed during the opening show of Mammoth's Young Guns tour with Dirty Honey – was absent from its track list. It is yet to be seen whether it’ll appear on the outfit’s sophomore outing.
He recently offered a killer tribute to both Taylor Hawkins and his late father Eddie with a performance of the Van Halen classic, Panama at Foo Fighters’ recent tribute concert to their late drummer in LA.
Though he previously stated that he would never play the track onstage – “I’m not fuckin’ playing Panama for you guys,” he said on social media following his father’s passing – Wolfgang lightheartedly acknowledged his hypocrisy, screen-shotting the comment and captioning it “Twice*."
