Rating: 7/10

Track Amount: 10

Running Time: 39 minutes and 9 seconds

Genre: Heavy Rock/Heavy Metal

Personnel: Wolfgang Van Halen (vocals and all instruments)

Producer: Michael Baskette

Recording Location: 5150 Studios (Los Angeles, California, USA)

Record Label: I Am The Sheriff Records

Art Direction: Moon Patrol

Best Tracks: The End, The Spell

Quick Verdict: A very good Metal based 21st century release from an underrated talent

As the son of Eddie Van Halen, Wolfgang Van Halen has faced a huge amount of unnecessary comparisons to his father’s music and legacy. This need not be. He is a great musician and an intelligent young man who has forged his own music legacy under his own band name, Mammoth. Although he has formerly dropped the Mammoth WVH name to shorten it, he is still seen as a music legend in his own way. This is his third solo album, and yes, Wolfgang Van Halen plays all the instruments, wrote all the lyrics, and sings on it himself. Quite a unique feat for a young artist on his own music journey. He also has his own guitars sold through EVH Gear, if you are interested in what he uses. This album received mostly positive critical reviews on its release. Let’s take a listen to the third Mammoth album, and hopefully, it will be as consistent as his previous works of music have been.

1. One Of A Kind begins the album with pounding drum beats and sweet and neat guitar progressions. This quickly launches into an awesome and very good song at hand with heavy, distorted guitars and banging drums. It is very catchy, and this sounds much more like Nirvana (Kurt Cobain hated Van Halen) than anything EVH ever did. Wolfgang Van Halen sings wonderfully on this song, and he sounds articulate and soaring with his vocals. He is the Prince of Metal: a definite genius at his craft who does all the singing and instrumentation by himself. A seriously good song that Metalheads will enjoy, as will Rock Music fans. Wolfgang sounds on top here, and he is a fantastic musician on this album. An absolutely top opener musically that has a genuine promise musically, which delivers. There is a palm-muted guitar-based breakdown at hand, before this launches into a fantastic guitar solo section. Wolfgang Van Halen is one of a kind musically, and this music is seriously good for what it is. He sounds like a genuine young talent in the world of music that matters. This has a lengthy outro with some feedback-laden guitars, loose drumming and vocals that sound great. An absolutely wonderful song to listen to. Seriously great music at hand is here. Top notch. A really great song to listen to. Just wonderful. The screamed vocals at the end are followed by some feedback-heavy guitar parts.

2. The End begins with some brief noise before launching into a fantastically shredded guitar part, and having some rhythm section that sounds like Metallica at hand. Eventually, this cool song gets going nicely. It sounds awesome, intelligent and very heavy musically indeed. Wolfgang Van Halen launches nicely into action at hand, and there is a breakdown with a chorus that follows. Perhaps this postmodern era of time, is indeed the end of times. Who really knows? In any case, Wolfie does a powerful and chugging listen at hand that sounds absolutely great. He sounds fantastic for a guy in the early stages of his life, making some superb Heavy Music. A tapped guitar solo is present here, but it sounds nothing like what his father had done. A really cool three-minute-long song that sounds good. Absolutely wonderful music overall. It ends with chugging guitars and pounding drum sections. Neat.

3. Same Old Song begins with some awesome drumming and launches into a fantastically heavy guitar-based tune at hand. Wolfgang Van Halen articulates the scene of music at the present in this song, and he sings gloriously in the chorus in particular. No doubt Eddie Van Halen would be very proud of his son with this album release. This is powerful and Heavy Music to play at this stage of time in history, as the end of humanity seems certain, potentially both heading to World War III and an AI takeover. Wolfgang Van Halen does a fantastic job of crafting great songs that matter. This is very, very good, and Metalheads in particular will approve of this album. There is a breakdown in the second half that sounds absolutely sweet, followed by a finger-tapped guitar solo that sounds glorious. A very good listen indeed, that sounds like musical genius. Obviously, Wolfgang is just as good as his Dad musically, just in his own way. The singing and playing at the end are also fantastic. Cool.

4. The Spell begins with some stereo panned cool guitar playing, before launching into a catchy and awesome tune at hand. This again sounds really fantastic and musically inspired. Wolfgang Van Halen plays and sings wonderfully. The guitar riffs on this song sound miraculously fantastic, and he sings with a fury, originality and passion that few could ever match. This music is super sweet and musically tasty, with some fantastic guitar riffing and playing that sounds super dope. Wolfgang Van Halen represents a new wave of underground Rock and Metal talent that needs to be heard more often. The bass guitar leads into a crazy riff-heavy section, and pounding drums that sound absolutely cool. A seriously neat and enjoyable song from start to finish. Rock Music is not dead; in fact, Wolfgang proves the contrary. Great tune overall, and very exciting to listen to.

5. I Really Wanna begins with some hi-hats leading into a groovy and down-tuned guitar-based tune that seriously deserves much more attention than it currently gets. Wolfgang Van Halen sings a song of dirty deeds done dirt cheap, and he plays some wonderful and timeless music in his very own way. A really cool and inspired song at hand that delivers a consistent and sonically wonderful delivery at hand. This is a passive-aggressive-sounding piece lyrically, matched with some audibly sonic treats. The guitar solo is also very fantastic to listen to as well. Wolfgang plays his own sound and style throughout, sounding amazing in his very own way. Music is in the blood of the Van Halens, and this song proves that is the case. The outro is super heavy and cool as well.

6. Happy begins with some acoustic guitar strumming and launches into a different-sounding tune at hand for this album. Drums and vocals enter, and Wolfgang sings sweetly and melodically on this song. This launches into a sort of psychedelic tune that is still heavy and distorted at hand. Again, this is a song that rocks hard. It has some singing about paying no attention to a person who doesn’t matter. The music is just as important throughout, and Wolfgang Van Halen says that he told you so to a person in the lyrics. Another good, but sludgy-sounding tune. This is still impressively great music at hand, although it is likely a bit too Heavy Metal for the mainstream. Regardless, this is a genuinely good effort at hand. The solo section is very Metal sounding in the second half, with some neat and melodic playing throughout. A genuinely good tune at hand, and although this isn’t particularly innovative musically, it does sound good. The outro is rather awful, however.

7. Better Off begins with some interesting guitar riffs and launches into a loud and dynamic tune at hand that sounds refreshingly fun and seriously good for what it is. Wolfgang uses dynamic sounds, performances and playing that sound really cool. This is more Metal than Rock, but it still has a very good Alternative Music appeal, regardless. Wolfgang Van Halen sings powerfully and energetically on this song, and he proves that his performance as an artist is very difficult to beat. In the second half are some treated vocals, pounding guitar riffing and drums, before leading into a very good guitar solo at hand, which utilises two-handed tapping. Nonetheless, this music is sweet and fantastic to hear. A seriously cool and interesting song that simply delivers for the heavier music fans out there. Very cool and awesome for the 21st century Rock Music fan.

8. Something New begins with some interestingly processed drums and dual-tracked guitars, launching into a sweet and energetic song at hand. This music enters into a great and awesomely heavy tune that sounds fiery and energetic throughout. This leads into a song that doesn’t seem to have a clear purpose lyrically and is much more music-based than lyrical. Still, this sounds really determined and sweet throughout. A fantastic and powerful song that definitely has musicianship and energy to match it. Wolfie has a great future musically ahead of him, and he proves himself to be really fantastic in his own way. His vocals on this song, in particular, are really impressive, soaring well above what many Pop Musicians could achieve today with autotune. This leads back into the same section briefly from the intro, and it follows into a heavy conclusion. Very, very good and musically accomplished by Wolfgang Van Halen. Fine music for the 21st century. The guitar riffs at the end sound very Metallica-ish.

9. Selfish begins with some palm-muted guitar riffing, rolling snare drums and launches into a fast and thrashy tune that is very different. Wolfgang Van Halen sings nicely here on this song, and he delivers a tune that is aggressive and different-sounding. Of course, this is good, but the passive-aggressive lyrics are a bit of a flaw to listen to. Regardless, Wolfie does do a good job musically and for EVH’s son, he makes his own music and journey throughout life without following his father’s path as such. All in all, this music is absolutely awesome and sweet to listen to. Some interesting guitar parts and soloing are in the second half, with elements of Thrash Metal to it all. A winner that sounds really cool. Good tune at hand, with some discordant guitar parts at the end, before finishing up with an intense Thrash Metal styled conclusion.

10. All In Good Time is the final song on the album. It begins with strummed acoustic guitars and some neat guitar arpeggio playing. Wolfgang Van Halen sings sweetly on this song, and he delivers a passionate and emotional song at hand. A powerful and different song that delivers a sweet and emotional song that sounds very much like a love song. Another fairly consistent and good effort by our main man. This tune is incredibly cool for what it is, and Rock and Metal fans will definitely appreciate this song. A nice way to wrap up this album, and it shows the human side of Wolfie at hand. The second half has some powerful guitar playing and great drumming throughout. This has a request for Wolfgang to be saved by his lover, before finalising with the acoustic guitar playing, leading back into the chorus. A fine and nicely driven song that has some impressive sounds to it all. A great way to conclude a very good album release.

This is a very good effort by Wolfgang Van Halen, which should be heard more by listeners across the world. Granted, it is not perfect, and some of the more discordant Metal-sounding sections could have been rethought. However, having said this, this is a genuinely good album release that is lovable for its heavy sound, aggressive lyrics and musicianship galore. The fact that Wolfgang plays all the instruments on this album is also a point for listening to it. He is a great talent in his own way, and he should be recognised as that. Should you listen to this album? Yes, if you love heavier music from the 21st century, but no if you are into lighter, poppier styles of music.

If you like this article, please like, share, comment and follow me on The Ultimate Music Library. Thank you, Chris Airey.