WOLFGANG VAN HALEN Celebrates First Anniversary Of Debut MAMMOTH WVH Album

Wolfgang Van Halen, the ex-bassist of the band VAN HALEN and son of the late guitarist Eddie Van Halen, has celebrated the first anniversary of the release of the debut MAMMOTH WVH album.

Featuring Wolfgang on vocals and all instruments, "Mammoth WVH" was met with positive reviews and topped Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums and Top Rock Albums charts.

On Saturday (June 11),Wolfgang released the following statement via social media: "Today marks the 1 year anniversary for the first MAMMOTH album.

"Releasing this music was such a huge thing for me in so many different ways. It was exciting, emotional, bittersweet, a relief. It was the culmination of years of work, trial and error, loss, self-doubt, and anxiety. It was a long road that led me to figuring out who I was as my own person and artist. I discovered who I was through the process and arrived at something I could truly be proud of.

"It began a new chapter in my life that I'm not sure I was even ready for, but I jumped in anyway. I knew it was the right thing to do because it was what Pop wanted. I just wish I could've shared the whole experience with him. I know he'd be proud and SO fucking stoked with how everything has gone thus far.

"I'm blown away with what MAMMOTH has accomplished this past year and I'm incredibly grateful. None of this would've happened without the amazing support from all of you. So with all of my heart, I've just gotta say... Thank you.

"(P.S: I'll be heading into the studio in a few months to start working on the second album, and I couldn't be more excited. I promise to not take as long as I did with the first one.)"

MAMMOTH WVH's first single, "Distance", reached No. 1 on the MediaBase and BDS Active Rock Radio charts. A tribute to Wolfgang's father, the song 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 six million times on YouTube, it was 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.

Asked why he decided to play all the instruments on MAMMOTH WVH's first LP, Wolfgang said in a 2021 interview: "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]."

In November 2020, 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.

MAMMOTH WVH'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.

MAMMOTH WVH made its television debut in February 2021, performing "Distance" on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and running through an exclusive acoustic arrangement on "Today".