WOLFGANG VAN HALEN Can 'Definitely' See Himself Launching Heavy Side Project In The Future

In a new interview with Australia's Everblack podcast, former VAN HALEN bassist and current MAMMOTH frontman Wolfgang Van Halen was asked if he would consider launching a "heavy" side project in the future. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Maybe. If it was something like that, I would probably wanna just play drums or something, just be able to focus on one thing. But yeah, who knows? I think when it comes to where I am now, I feel like I haven't proven myself enough as my own sort of musician yet. So I think that's why I'm still sort of drilling with MAMMOTH and just enjoying that. But I could definitely see myself down the line being, like, 'Hey, let's take a break and do something crazy.' So who knows?"

He continued: "I know whenever my guitar player who plays with us live, Jon [Jonathan Jourdan], he'll usually have his laptop on tour, and we were making these random MESHUGGAH-y demos just for fun to fill the time. We were trying to make these djenty rhythms where we were counting numbers out — random stuff that was just fun."

Asked if there are any other musicians whom he would love to collaborate with in the future, Wolfgang said: "Recently, after doing the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame [tribute performance] for Ozzy [Osbourne in 2024], I hit it off with Maynard [James Keenan, TOOL singer], which is kind of crazy 'cause he's one of my favorite singers of all time. TOOL was was a very important band to me. So the opportunity to work with Maynard, I think that would be really fucking cool. I would be into that, if he was into it."

He added: "Also, there's another part of me, too, that — Ilan Rubin is the drummer for the FOO FIGHTERS now. And Dave Grohl [FOO FIGHTERS frontman] can play everything. Ilan has his own band where he plays everything. So I thought it'd be a fun idea if the three of us did something and played a different thing on every song, 'cause they can play everything. That'd be a fun idea."

In a January 2024 interview with Amoeba Music's "What's In My Bag?" segment, Wolfgang spoke about MESHUGGAH's latest album, "Immutable". He said at the time: "MESHUGGAH is my favorite. It's funny — there was a story that came out where it [quoted me as saying], like, 'MESHUGGAH puts me to sleep,' and that was taken out of context. I said I can fall asleep listening to MESHUGGAH, which is a compliment, because it relaxes me. It brings me peace. It brings me zen.

"As a drummer first, I tend to intake music in a more rhythmic manner," he explained. "I'm all about rhythm, and MESHUGGAH is rhythm. It's like dinosaurs fighting."

The former VAN HALEN bassist named 2002's "Nothing" as "probably my favorite MESHUGGAH album. It's where they really started getting sort of groovy and sludgy with their sound," he said. "A lot of people like the one before, [1998's] 'Chaosphere'. An amazing album too. It's more thrashy, but I really like their groovy sort of sludgy aspects, and this one ['Nothing'] is all sludge and groove."

Van Halen also picked MESHUGGAH's 2012 LP "Koloss" and called it "just another great album."

When Wolfgang, the 34-year-old son of VAN HALEN legend Eddie Van Halen, married his now-wife Andraia Allsop in October 2023 at their home in Los Angeles, the wedding playlist included MESHUGGAH. Wolfgang explained at the time: "They're very progressive metal, I think to anybody, to the non-informed crowd though, it would probably just sound like death metal. Anyone over 40 will be terrified. But you know what? It's my wedding and I'll do whatever I want."

In July 2023, Wolfgang told Primordial Radio about his love for MESHUGGAH: "I could fall asleep listening to MESHUGGAH; it relaxes me so much.

"If you're familiar with MESHUGGAH, you probably know the song 'Bleed'.

"MESHUGGAH is just one of my favorite bands," he continued. "They are unbelievably heavy — there's nothing heavier than them — but you get lulled into their rhythm. As a drummer first, I just am in love with rhythmic music, and there's nothing more rhythmic than MESHUGGAH.

"After hearing ['Bleed'], you probably couldn't fall asleep to that, but, man, I could, 'cause I love it," he added.

In November 2022, Wolfgang told TellUs Rock that he listens to MESHUGGAH when he is not writing, recording and performing. "I love MESHUGGAH," he said. "I tend to listen to, at least recently, more heavier music. Like all the new stuff that's come out. ANIMALS AS LEADERS had a new album come out this year, and so did MESHUGGAH. But MESHUGGAH is one of my favorite bands. [They're] nothing like MAMMOTH."

When the interviewer asked what kind of stuff he draws musical inspiration from for MAMMOTH, Wolfgang said: "On the next album, there actually is some MESHUGGAH-inspired songs — just through the lens of MAMMOTH, though. So it's not as super heavy."

Back in 2021, Wolfgang told RockSverige that he was fans of bands like GOJIRA and MASTODON. He said: "Oh, yeah. I love GOJIRA. And I'm crazy about MESHUGGAH. PERIPHERY, I'm friends with those guys and they're a phenomenal band."

Wolfgang, who played all instruments on the first three albums from his MAMMOTH project, was also asked if he can work out the MESHUGGAH song "Bleed" on drums. "Oh, yeah. I can play it," he said. "As a drummer, MESHUGGAH is just like my favorite because it's like a math problem, as a song. As a drummer, it's really fun to figure out the polyrhythmic stuff going on in each song. It's a treat, and I love it."

Wolfgang attended MESHUGGAH's October 2022 concert at the Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, California. The following day, he tweeted out a short video of the performance, and he captioned it simply: "MESHUGGAH is therapy".

MAMMOTH (formerly MAMMOTH WVH) will release its third album, "The End", on October 24 via BMG. The 10-track effort clocks in at 39 minutes and showcases the evolution of Wolfgang and his songwriting since he launched his solo career in 2020. Recorded at the legendary 5150 studio, the album was produced by friend and collaborator Michael "Elvis" Baskette.

MAMMOTH's touring lineup features Wolfgang on guitar and lead vocals, Frank Sidoris (SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS) on guitar, Jon Jourdan on guitar and vocals, Garrett Whitlock (TREMONTI) on drums, and Ronnie Ficarro on bass.

Photo credit: Travis Shinn