WOLFGANG VAN HALEN: 'I Think I'm Just Beginning To Finally Get Actually Comfortable With What I'm Doing'

In a new interview with Brazil's 89 A Rádio Rock, Wolfgang Van Halen spoke about the recently released third album from his MAMMOTH (formerly MAMMOTH WVH) project, "The End". The musician, who plays all the instruments and sings all the vocals on the MAMMOTH recordings, said about the LP, which, like its two predecessors, was recorded by Van Halen and Michael "Elvis" Baskette at the 5150 studio built by Van Halen's father, legendary VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think it's about reaching this sort of new place where I think I'm more comfortable and confident in who I am as my own artist. And I think I'm just beginning to finally get actually comfortable with what I'm doing. And, yeah, it really, really, I think, is just being confident in myself and not really caring about what other people's plans are for me and just following what gives me purpose. And I think we're finally really there. I'm very proud of what we did with this one."

Asked which part of the writing and recording process is "most challenging" for him, Wolfgang said: "I'd say the vocals are usually the most challenging, 'cause with the instruments, you can just restring and try again whereas with vocals, you really need to make sure you're capable and able to do it. Also, the writing process is a bit different. I think when you're writing lyrics, you kind of have to mentally go to a place that you might not like to be in all the time in order to sort of pull something that that is artistically meaningful. But, yeah, I do enjoy the whole process though. Every record is its own mountain to climb, to a certain extent."

Regarding the musical influences that he drew from for "The End" album, Wolfgang said: "I'd say a lot of my influence that you hear on this record could be from the FOO FIGHTERS or QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, ALICE IN CHAINS, grunge-era stuff, as well as something like NINE INCH NAILS and stuff like that, but definitely through a hard rock lens. It's kind of just a blend of everything that inspires me."

The music video for "The End" title track was directed by Robert Rodriguez and Greg Nicotero and was based on Rodriguez's 1996 Quentin Tarantino-written horror classic "From Dusk Till Dawn". In addition to Wolfgang and his MAMMOTH touring bandmates, it features cameos from GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash, ALTER BRIDGE frontman Myles Kennedy, actor Danny Trejo and Van Halen's mother Valerie Bertinelli.

In a separate interview with Billboard, Wolfgang said that he expects to return to the studio in the spring of 2027 to begin work on MAMMOTH's fourth album.

"I still have so many ideas that need work — they're missing a vocal hook here or a guitar part here or a drum part here — so in moments of inspiration I'll maybe just sit there and listen to those old ideas and see what I can do," Van Halen said. “" think the biggest thing with ['The End'] compared to the last two is… I was a lot more comfortable and confident in the process, and in who I am as my own artist and what I have to offer. At the end of the day it doesn't matter what people think I should be doing as long as I'm true to myself, and what I think the purest distillation of MAMMOTH is.

"I'm proud of the way that I've handled myself in this business," he added. "I'm not sitting there playing VAN HALEN songs and trying to shack up in the legacy of my father. I'm trying to set out and do it on my own. Whether I'm successful at that is a subjective opinion, but I'm at least proud that I'm not sitting here going, like, 'Hey, the only place you can hear a Van Halen play 'Panama' is over here.' I would rather fail on my own thing than succeed on my dad's legacy."

To celebrate "The End" being in stores, MAMMOTH kicked off a fall headline run late last month. "The End" tour launched on October 31 and runs for five weeks before it wraps up on December 7. Longtime friend Myles Kennedy is the special guest on the run.

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.

Back in 2021, MAMMOTH's first offering, "Mammoth WVH", took flight, bowing at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and capturing No. 1 on three Billboard charts — Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Independent Albums, and Top Rock Albums. "Distance" soared as the first of two No. 1 rock radio hits and earned a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Rock Song". Two years later, "Mammoth II" only saw Wolfgang pick up the pace. It debuted in the Top 5 of the Billboard Top Album Sales chart in addition to bringing him back to No. 1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart. Inciting widespread applause from Rolling Stone, Guitar World, Grammy.com, Kerrang! and more, Classic Rock hailed it as "a solo second that betters his debut in every department," and American Songwriter applauded, "'II' reveals a closer representation of what MAMMOTH is now and Van Halen's dynamism as a musician and as a writer." The band canvased the globe with METALLICA, supported FOO FIGHTERS in North America, supported CREED on their record-breaking tour as well as filling houses on their own. They performed on NBC's "Today", ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and at the 2024 MusiCares "Person Of The Year" benefit gala in honor of Jon Bon Jovi. Not to mention, Wolfgang shared the stage with Ryan Gosling, Mark Ronson and Slash at the 2024 Academy Awards performing "I'm Just Ken" from the blockbuster "Barbie" movie. He also joined Maynard James Keenan (TOOL, A PERFECT CIRCLE),Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS),Robert Trujillo (METALLICA) and producer Andrew Watt for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction of Ozzy Osbourne that same year.