Multi-instrumentalist Wolfgang Van Halen unleashes some of his most virtuosic guitar parts yet on “The End,” the new single from his one-man band, Wolfgang WVH — which arrives along with an elaborate, Robert Rodriguez-directed video where he plays for an audience packed with vampires, zombies, and, for some reason, Slash.
The song kicks off with a two-handed tapping riff that inevitably evokes Wolfgang’s dad, the late Eddie Van Halen. In a statement, he explained he came up with that part years before he even conceived of his band. “I was able to fit it into this world,” Wolfgang said. “It’s still over-the-top and shreddy, but it’s also melodic and controlled. Overall, I was doing some different things on the record, and I knew this was going to be a big step. Once we finished ‘The End,’ it felt really special to me.” His bass part is nearly as flashy as the guitars, complete with Flea-style slapping.
The video is loosely inspired by Rodriguez’s 1996 classic From Dusk Till Dawn, with Danny Trejo reprising his role as a bouncer — Wolfgang’s mom, Valerie Bertinelli, also has a cameo. The video nods twice to Michael Jackson’s video for “Thriller,” which happens to be the title track of an album Eddie played on.
Mammoth WVH, who last released a new album. Mammoth II, in 2023, also announced new tour dates beginning in November, with Myles Kennedy opening.
Mammoth WVH fall tour dates:
Nov. 1 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
Nov. 4 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
Nov. 5 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
Nov. 7 – Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues
Nov. 8 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
Nov. 9 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore
Nov. 11 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
Nov. 14 – Montclair, NJ @ The Wellmont Theater
Nov. 15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre
Nov. 18 – Cleveland, OH @ The Agora
Nov. 19 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
Nov. 20 – Columbus, OH @ KEMBA Live!
Nov. 22 – Onamia, MN @ Grand Casino Mille Lacs Event Center
Nov. 23 – Green Bay, WI @ EPIC Event Center
Nov. 25 – Chesterfield, MO @ The Factory at The District
Nov. 26 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Nov. 28 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
Nov. 29 – Show information to come soon
Dec. 2 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
Dec. 3 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
Dec. 6 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
From Rolling Stone US
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