Nuno Bettencourt and Sammy Hagar share their thoughts on Gary Cherone, the new lead singer in Van Halen.

Nuno Bettencourt

Gary's former bandmate Nuno Bettencourt, who heard several songs the band had written, pronounced it "the first stuff that sounds like real rock'n roll since Roth, like the old days. It's going to be like the Van Halen like they haven't heard in years." Gary "doesn't sing as high as Sammy does but he has much more charisma, he's between Sammy and Dave. I think he's the best frontman as far as energy, I just think he's a great frontman," said Nuno. "They never had anybody that had lyrics that had any meaning and they were always frustrated. Now they're writing stuff that has a bit of depth and they're excited. I went over to the house (Ed's) and they're like brothers, like they'd known each other for years. That's what it's all about."

Sammy Hagar

Metal Edge: "Do you think it'll work out with Gary?"

Hagar: Absolutely not. I wish them the best and all that but I know the fans aren't gonna go for it. The music could be really great and everything, but like Motley Crue, they made a great record but it wasn't what people were used to, what they wanted, what they expected. It could be good, I don't think Eddie and Al are capable of playing garbage, but I don't think it's gonna work. I don't know, once I hear it I'll tell you whether it's gonna work or not but in theory it can't. We had a hard enough time getting accepted when I joined the band. Now there's been two guys. I think they should have done it with Dave

Metal Edge: "Did you see the MTV Awards?"

Hagar: I did. That would have changed anybody's mind.

Metal Edge: "But with his behaviour, didn't Dave shoot himself in the foot?"

Hagar: He shot himself good in the foot. I don't blame them.

For the full interviews, check out the March 1997 Metal Edge which is available now!

Thanks to John for typing this up for us all!