Wolfgang Van Halen said the process of making the debut Mammoth WVH album was also a journey of self-discovery.
“This music is me,” he told Hollywood Life. “I figured out who I was as my own artist through this whole process. I like to joke with my friends and everyone that I never went to college, but this was basically my own little college for me, was making this album and writing.”
With his debut solo album release nearing, Wolfgang was asked if he feels pressure from those who expect him to be the next Eddie Van Halen.
“I was able to put it out of my mind because I know people are going to think that either way, no matter how many times I say ‘I’m not going to be doing this,'” Wolfgang said. “You just kind of put it out of your mind, and I’m just making music that I want to hear. I guess we’ll see if that’s what other people want to hear.
It’s funny the bar that some people hold me to,” he added. “It’s like, if it’s not ‘Eddie Van Halen caliber,’ which is the top-of-the-line-kind of thing, then it’s not good enough. And it’s like, ‘Hey, could I just be like, down here [where] I’m great or good?'” “There’s a huge bar between ‘terrible’ and ‘Eddie Van Halen,’ [laughs] “I’d like to kind of live somewhere over here [near good.]”
Wolfgang talked about his approach to songwriting and what fans may be surprised not to hear in his music.
“I do everything I can within the context of the song to really try and make everything shine, never to a point where it’s overdoing it,” he said. “I think that’s where people will be surprised that there are not too many guitar solos on the album because I always make it for the song. It’s never an opportunity to kind of shred or show off. It’s just kind of what fits the song at this moment the best. There are definitely guitar solos on the song, ‘You’re To Blame’ that’s out. There’s definitely a guitar solo on that. But overall, I find what I do being based around a songwriter mentality rather than somebody who’s trying to show off.”
As for the album being a self-discovery, Wolfgang was asked by Hollywood Life‘s Jason Brow: “Who are you then? What have you found under this project?”
Wolfgang responded, “I guess that question can only be answered if you listen to the album.”
Mammoth WVH’s debut album arrives June 11th.
You can watch Wolfgang’s entire interview with Brow below: