WOLFGANG VAN HALEN On His Connection To VAN HALEN: 'I Think It's Always Gonna Be A Thing That Gets Brought Up'

In a new interview with Stephanie R. Myers of Songfacts, Wolfgang Van Halen — son of legendary VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen and former VAN HALEN bassist — spoke about his decision to carve out his own path as the frontman of his MAMMOTH (formerly MAMMOTH WVH) project, which released its third studio album, "The End", last October. Addressing his connection to his father's iconic rock band, Wolfgang said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think it's always gonna be a thing that gets brought up. So it's always new for somebody, even though it's as old as can be for me. So it's a tough thing. For one thing, it's a wonderful positive to see the effect that my father has had on music in general and guitar playing in general, but it's also a double-edged sword because some people won't give me the time of day and will just assume this or assume that. So it's a tough thing, and some days it's tougher than others, but most of the time it's just stuff you can't really reason with. And [that's] why, I think, on this [third MAMMOTH] record, more than anything, I just began to let go of worrying about that stuff and just do what brings me purpose and what makes me happy and what feels the most fulfilling."

Last October, Wolfgang told Billboard that he "would rather fail on [his] own thing than succeed on [his] dad's legacy."

"I'm proud of the way that I've handled myself in this business," he said at the time. "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.'"

In June 2025, Wolfgang revealed he no longer listens to VAN HALEN due to the fact his connection to his father's music runs far deeper than that of the average listener.

"I just don't listen to VAN HALEN anymore," he told Drumeo at the time. "I understand, like, that's the connection that everybody has. But, obviously, my connection was a little different. When it comes to listening to it, I have the memories."

Late last year, Wolfgang told Song Cake that some fans still get hung up on his lineage.

"People tend to lose focus," he said. "They just sit there and go, 'Oh, he doesn't play as well as his dad,' or 'It's not as good as this VAN HALEN song.' It's all focused on the fact that I might not be tapping well enough, in their opinion, or not playing well enough, rather than, hey, isn't it cool that I created this whole thing by myself with all these different pieces, all these different parts?

"It's about the song construction at the end of the day, for me, as it was for Dad, even though people seem to focus on the playing," Wolfgang explained. "It's about creating the song. Because if you don't have that, you just have shredding through scales. And there's not really much soul on that."

Wolfgang joined VAN HALEN at just 15 years old and shared the stage with his father together from 2006 until 2015, five years before Eddie's death.

Wolfgang was a member of VAN HALEN for the band's 2007 reunion tour with singer David Lee Roth, replacing former VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony.

Although Wolfgang does not play VAN HALEN tracks during his MAMMOTH live sets, he did, however, make an exception during the September 2022 Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts where he performed the VAN HALEN classics "On Fire", "Hot For Teacher" and "Panama" over the course of two nights.

Photo by Travis Shinn