If you had any doubts about Van Halen 2012 or ADKOT

[Carmine]

...and don't say you didn't...We all "wondered".

Can they still do it?
Will it be good?
Will it have that Classic VH sound?
The Wolfgang factor...

Here's my "dont give a fuck what any other person on earth thinks" opinion...

The Cafe Wha? show...magical. No frills, no way to "make it sound better", just in your face Van Halen from start to finish and they fucking nailed it to the wall with a railroad spike!!! The Wolfgang detractors ate their words and smiled after the kids thumping that night. He's got serious licks, has and is handling the background vocals better than, I think, anyone could have hoped for or expected.

After hearing some full tracks and the 15 second clips of the rest, I am completely and unbelievably blown away at what I've heard. Honestly, the heaviness of some it has come as a welcomed surprise. Leading off with Tattoo...say what you want, may have been the mistake of pure genius. First listen, I didnt care for it. But, like most...it grew on me and now I love it. The haters created an instant buzz of fan tension...tension which, created MORE interest in what else was to follow. Tattoo is released and then there is some time to let it all sink in....we dissected it! The lyrics, how great Dave sounds, Wolfgang, Eddie, synth filler, all of it....hell, that's what we do here...

Yesterday, we get to hear Blood and Fire and The Trouble with Never...both of which, I think, are far better works than Tattoo. The lyrics in Blood and Fire made my hair stand up...seriously...when Dave sang "Told ya I was comin' back...say ya missed me...say it like ya mean it" you all, like me, probably got a lump in your throat. That line, in and of it self, captured every feeling that I've harbored for this band since April 1, 1985. It alone, erased 28 years of anxiety, tension, hatred and most of all...simply waiting for exactly that to happen. It is, the single greatest statement of band unity that their could be...It says "THIS is Van Halen!"

Ed's solo on Blood and Fire...need I say more?
There wasn't much "Edward" on Tattoo...and then you hear that shredtastic piece in Blood and Fire...first thought, "Holy shit, Eddie...welcome the fuck back!"

The Trouble with Never...Wolfgang pounds through this tune. Any question of background vocals? Not anymore...they're there and they're good. Eddie...again...shreadalicious...

Daves vocals are spot on spectacular in every track I've heard...his lyrics so far...are the stuff on instant classics!

90 second clip of Chinatown....hello, McFly...anybody home...think McFly, think...Welcome, Mr. Alex Van Halen joined by his brother, The Crunch Master, Mr. Edward Van Halen...just 90 seconds of that song made my zipper swell...

I'm convinced on all fronts...

Are they back? Fuck yeah, they are...screamin like the locomotive on the cover!!

Will it be good? 4 full tracks heard out of 13....and there is no question!

Will it have that Classic VH sound? Buddy, it's got all that and then some!

The Wolfgang Factor? Exactly...what Wolfgang factor...

Bring on February 7th...VAN HALEN is fucking back!!

[DavidLeeNatra]

amen, brother...amen...

[mosh51501984]

well said

[DavidLeeNatra]

we came! we came! we came through blood and fire!!!

[mdk1967]

Very, VERY well said, Ragu.
Personally, I could've given a rat's ass if ADKOT measures up to the 6-pack, Me Wise Magic or Can't Get This Stuff No More regardless of anything. Yes, Mikey is no longer a member of VH and we all miss him (nicest cat you'll ever want to meet) but what's most important to me is that DLR is where he belongs. Period. That's all that really matters.

"It's the difference between a single word: Sammy's a singer, David Lee's the singer." - David Lee Roth

[guwapo_rocker]

Great post Carmine. I have one point though.

I think there is a Wolfgang factor. A positive factor. I know what you mean though,

and you are right. I think he is proving to be an incredible bass player,

you can sure hear it on what we have heard so far. I mean how could he not be, look at his

pedigree I love how prominent the bass is in the mix now, my car practically bounced all

the way home tonight. And who knows what he may be bringing to the band behind the scenes.

[DavidLeeNatra]

no wolfgang no VH...period...

[Dan]

...and don't say you didn't...We all "wondered".

Can they still do it?
Will it be good?
Will it have that Classic VH sound?
The Wolfgang factor...

Here's my "dont give a fuck what any other person on earth thinks" opinion...

The Cafe Wha? show...magical. No frills, no way to "make it sound better", just in your face Van Halen from start to finish and they fucking nailed it to the wall with a railroad spike!!! The Wolfgang detractors ate their words and smiled after the kids thumping that night. He's got serious licks, has and is handling the background vocals better than, I think, anyone could have hoped for or expected.

After hearing some full tracks and the 15 second clips of the rest, I am completely and unbelievably blown away at what I've heard. Honestly, the heaviness of some it has come as a welcomed surprise. Leading off with Tattoo...say what you want, may have been the mistake of pure genius. First listen, I didnt care for it. But, like most...it grew on me and now I love it. The haters created an instant buzz of fan tension...tension which, created MORE interest in what else was to follow. Tattoo is released and then there is some time to let it all sink in....we dissected it! The lyrics, how great Dave sounds, Wolfgang, Eddie, synth filler, all of it....hell, that's what we do here...

Yesterday, we get to hear Blood and Fire and The Trouble with Never...both of which, I think, are far better works than Tattoo. The lyrics in Blood and Fire made my hair stand up...seriously...when Dave sang "Told ya I was comin' back...say ya missed me...say it like ya mean it" you all, like me, probably got a lump in your throat. That line, in and of it self, captured every feeling that I've harbored for this band since April 1, 1985. It alone, erased 28 years of anxiety, tension, hatred and most of all...simply waiting for exactly that to happen. It is, the single greatest statement of band unity that their could be...It says "THIS is Van Halen!"

Ed's solo on Blood and Fire...need I say more?
There wasn't much "Edward" on Tattoo...and then you hear that shredtastic piece in Blood and Fire...first thought, "Holy shit, Eddie...welcome the fuck back!"

The Trouble with Never...Wolfgang pounds through this tune. Any question of background vocals? Not anymore...they're there and they're good. Eddie...again...shreadalicious...

Daves vocals are spot on spectacular in every track I've heard...his lyrics so far...are the stuff on instant classics!

90 second clip of Chinatown....hello, McFly...anybody home...think McFly, think...Welcome, Mr. Alex Van Halen joined by his brother, The Crunch Master, Mr. Edward Van Halen...just 90 seconds of that song made my zipper swell...

I'm convinced on all fronts...

Are they back? Fuck yeah, they are...screamin like the locomotive on the cover!!

Will it be good? 4 full tracks heard out of 13....and there is no question!

Will it have that Classic VH sound? Buddy, it's got all that and then some!

The Wolfgang Factor? Exactly...what Wolfgang factor...

Bring on February 7th...VAN HALEN is fucking back!!

Can We Clean-Up For The Big Man.

[mdk1967]

no wolfgang no VH...period...

So true - people seem to be forgetting that or don't even know the story behind it.

[So this is love]

So true - people seem to be forgetting that or don't even know the story behind it.

Pardon my ignorance, but did I miss something, whats the story?

[JJtheVagPounder]

Pardon my ignorance, but did I miss something, whats the story?

That Wolfgang is probably THE reason that we have Van Halen back.

[neuralfraud]

EVERYTHING about this VH album hits like a tank flying down a mountain ON FIRE. I absolutely agree on all points. What 6 pack? this album is THE SEVENTH WONDER OF VAN HALEN!

But seven is an odd number.. like a pack of hotdogs... so there's got to be at least one more coming!

[BITEYOASS]

=VH= had me at new album.

[JJtheVagPounder]

We could just add onto the liquor analogy. Like Six pack, forty, and a shot (Me Wise Magic and Can't Get this Stuff No More as the shot).

[INeedYou]

I almost feel clairvoyant... Somewhere deep inside, I always felt like this would be how it all came around, ya know? All I had to really do was wait 'em out! Granted, that took a loooooong fuckin' time. But I knew that with this much talent, there's no way it wouldn't just kill! And annihilate may be more appropriate to describe this onslaught! I think EVH's insistence on bringing Wolfgang into the fold is pretty obvious... Not only family, but killer chops to boot. Wolfgang sounds damn essential to me already... Can't hear MA shredding some of these clips, so I'm all in! I've been tellin' my peeps for ages that this effort will knock the music industry off it's axis, and I haven't seen or heard anything to change my mind. Van Halen!

[moose]

Great post Carmine
Great fuckin post!!!!!

[ThatArtGuy]

EVERYTHING about this VH album hits like a tank flying down a mountain ON FIRE. I absolutely agree on all points. What 6 pack? this album is THE SEVENTH WONDER OF VAN HALEN!

But seven is an odd number.. like a pack of hotdogs... so there's got to be at least one more coming!

The reason for the extra hot dogs is if anyone wants one without a bun and/or for making zombie burgers.

[Sensible Shoes]

The lyrics in Blood and Fire made my hair stand up...seriously...when Dave sang "Told ya I was comin' back...say ya missed me...say it like ya mean it" you all, like me, probably got a lump in your throat.!

No lump in my throat, tingles between my legs. That line is SEXXXXXXXY!

[VanCanHalen]

Great fucking post, agree on all fronts, just sit back and let Van Halen kick your ass through a wall in 2012!

[Angel]

we came! we came! we came through blood and fire!!!

Is that a great fucking anthem for us or what, eh?! Imagine the entire Army singing that all at once!!! I agree that we can NEVER forget the influence of Wolf in all of this, and I also think he's about to blow the world away the same way his dad did in 78. I can guarantee you I won't be going pee during the bass solo this time (if I make a show). Well, maybe I will pee, just a little... you know, those "happy, excited puppy" pees.

[Sensible Shoes]

Well, maybe I will pee, just a little... you know, those "happy, excited puppy" pees.

You better be wearing a pad!

[fryingdutchman]

Pardon my ignorance, but did I miss something, whats the story?

In a nutshell...

Following the 2004 debacle cash-grab shit-show with Spammy, Edward spiraled into a drug and alcohol-fueled funk that had him dressing like a homeless guy and drawing comparisons to the crypt-keeper.

Word is that Wolfgang confronted his dad, jammed his iPod in his ears, cranked up the Classic Van Halen and told him that this was what he needed to be doing...to save himself and the Van Halen legacy.

Wolfie apparently helped Edward re-learn all his old stuff by playing it over and over on his iPod.

There's more to the story I'm sure, but who knows how much is urban legend and how much is true.

But that is why it can confidently be stated that Wolfgang saved Classic Van Halen, and probably his father's life.

[Panamark]

Yeah !

Great post Carmine !

What if we were all asked "what do you want"

-Mikey waiting in the wings, Eddie shitfaced, Nothing ever happening, No Dave.

or

-Wolfgang convincing his dad to clean up, listen to his best work, get the band back
together, allow Mike to go and be with his soulmate, and even himself come along for the ride
promising to deliver his own goods for his old man....

I know what option I would have taken.

[DONNIEP]

Mikey who? I was one of the ones bitching the most about him not being in the band...and I'm not missing him one bit! Fuck it. Double-track Dave's vocals and that's all I need - if a little bit of Dave is good then a whole hell of a lot is even better!!

[Carmine]

Agreed, Gang!!

Thank YOU, Wolfgang Van Halen for helping to bring us A Different Kind of Truth...from the Van Halen that we all remember!

[Dan]

You better be wearing a pad!

How Very Rude.

[vandeleur]

Great post carmine .. You nailed it

[smorgdonkey]

What if we were all asked "what do you want"

-Mikey waiting in the wings, Eddie shitfaced, Nothing ever happening, No Dave.

or

-Wolfgang convincing his dad to clean up, listen to his best work, get the band back
together, allow Mike to go and be with his soulmate, and even himself come along for the ride
promising to deliver his own goods for his old man....

I know what option I would have taken.

That's a big 'what if'.

IF Ed didn't screw Mike in the first place to get him out of the picture.

Ed has lied so much in the past that he is likely 'crediting' Wolfie with 'getting him back at it' just to deflect from the fact that people don't appreciate when someone stabs a friend in the back...and they don't find it acceptable for one of their heroes to stab a friend and protoge in the back either.

[DLR Bridge]

Ed has lied so much in the past that he is likely 'crediting' Wolfie with 'getting him back at it' just to deflect from the fact that people don't appreciate when someone stabs a friend in the back...

I'll have whatever you're smoking. Come on man. Two sides to every story. All you know of is poor Mikey saying, "I found out I was out of the band same time everyone else did" or "I was just out there waving the Van Halen flag" with the Other Half (nothing separatist about that title). Ed has been no saint, but we have no way of knowing that an actual "back stabbing" took place. Ed wasn't crazy about Mike showing up at the Sam and Dave tour. The Other Half stint followed that.

[Vinnie Velvet]

I'll have whatever you're smoking. Come on man. Two sides to every story. All you know of is poor Mikey saying, "I found out I was out of the band same time everyone else did" or "I was just out there waving the Van Halen flag" with the Other Half (nothing separatist about that title). Ed has been no saint, but we have no way of knowing that an actual "back stabbing" took place. Ed wasn't crazy about Mike showing up at the Sam and Dave tour. The Other Half stint followed that.

Oh yes how could I forget the Other Half tour. So this is after the Spammy 2004 tour where at the end BOTH Mike and Sam were trashing Ed on what a mess he was and then those two name a tour calling themselves 'The Other Half' of VH.

And Mike is supposed to be surprised and hurt when Ed officially dumped him in 2006 for Wolf?
Whatever, bass player.

[smorgdonkey]

I'll have whatever you're smoking.

Ed has been no saint, but we have no way of knowing that an actual "back stabbing" took place.

- When Dave departed in 1985, Ed had 3 stories released. Ed and all of the VH crew stab Dave constantly...including Ed's new singer.
- Ed has a huge scrap with Sammy and sammy is out. Ed slags him from here to hell and back.
- Ed blows up at the 1996 awards show and trashes the VH reunion at that time. He goes on to slag Dave all over again.
- Ed gets with Charone and swears to take up tuba if VH III doesn't sell. Well...
- Ed had the royalty structure altered to exclude Dave from getting his fair share of royalties from old recordings. Dave had to take that one to court to have it 'righted'.
- Ed gets Sammy back in the fold and is so steamed that Mike isn't hating Hagar like he does that he makes Mike sign a document that surrenders Mike's rights as a member of Van Halen in order for him to be on the tour.
- Ed claims that his doctor has cured cancer.
- Ed claims that his tongue cancer was from standing close to electrical equipment while having a metal pick in his mouth.

So...there's no smoking anything going on here. It all has to do with CREDIBILITY. If you read Dave's book, there is one thing that stands out - credibility. If you have followed Ed then there is one thing that has always been lacking - CREDIBILITY. That's no coincidence. Remember Ed said in a radio interview that Randy Rhoads stated in an interview that 'he learned all of his stuff from me(Ed)'. Randy never stated any such thing in any interview. Ed made stuff up all of the time whenever it suited him - moreso as he became rich and untouchable.

Credibility man. Ed's a liar...and every chance he gets to say "it isn't about the money - I just want to make music" he says it. So, why F with the royalties Ed? Why take legal action against a guitar with a striped paint job back in the early '80s? Why tour when you can hardly walk? Why jump from brand to brand whenever the price is right? Why put your brand name on everything from guitars to amps to pedals to SHOES? Why always have a legal team scouring the planet to try to scrape another dime up?

If you are blind to all of that - maybe you SHOULD have something to smoke...it's supposed to be good for the glaucoma.

[DLR Bridge]

Ultra mega smart ass, I was refering to the Michael Anthony situation. As I said, Ed's no saint. Never has been. I know all about the shit Ed's slung through the years. And you know what? I don't give a shit about it. None of it. Bitching about other people's time wasting and money obsessions and moral wrong doings and substance abuse problems is an exercise in futility. Especially now. I love the music they've made before and I'm sure I'll love the music they've made right now. My advice to you is don't buy the CD and take up doing something better with your time. Writing a thesis on the many ways that Ed has disappointed you is just plain unproductive and fucking pointless.

[POJO_Risin]

Ed's a dickhead...anyone that's posted on this site in the past 12 years knows my feelings on that subject...

Mike absolutely got screwed over as well...anyone that says any fucking different is fooling themselves...but he picked his poison, and is out of the band....

...but last I knew, I didn't listen to any of the classic VH albums because of Edward's credibility...

[sadaist]

Ed's a dickhead...

I still believe that. He could hand deliver the full Oakland '81 to every fan personally and I'd still think that. I'm happier than a pig in shit for whatever reason he is allowing what is happening now to happen. But as a person who isn't holding a guitar....fuck him. He has served up way more than his lifetime allotment of bullshit & grief. That shit isn't easily forgotten.

[ELVIS]

- When Dave departed in 1985, Ed had 3 stories released. Ed and all of the VH crew stab Dave constantly...including Ed's new singer.
- Ed has a huge scrap with Sammy and sammy is out. Ed slags him from here to hell and back.
- Ed blows up at the 1996 awards show and trashes the VH reunion at that time. He goes on to slag Dave all over again.
- Ed gets with Charone and swears to take up tuba if VH III doesn't sell. Well...
- Ed had the royalty structure altered to exclude Dave from getting his fair share of royalties from old recordings. Dave had to take that one to court to have it 'righted'.
- Ed gets Sammy back in the fold and is so steamed that Mike isn't hating Hagar like he does that he makes Mike sign a document that surrenders Mike's rights as a member of Van Halen in order for him to be on the tour.
- Ed claims that his doctor has cured cancer.
- Ed claims that his tongue cancer was from standing close to electrical equipment while having a metal pick in his mouth.

So...there's no smoking anything going on here. It all has to do with CREDIBILITY. If you read Dave's book, there is one thing that stands out - credibility. If you have followed Ed then there is one thing that has always been lacking - CREDIBILITY. That's no coincidence. Remember Ed said in a radio interview that Randy Rhoads stated in an interview that 'he learned all of his stuff from me(Ed)'. Randy never stated any such thing in any interview. Ed made stuff up all of the time whenever it suited him - moreso as he became rich and untouchable.

Credibility man. Ed's a liar...and every chance he gets to say "it isn't about the money - I just want to make music" he says it. So, why F with the royalties Ed? Why take legal action against a guitar with a striped paint job back in the early '80s? Why tour when you can hardly walk? Why jump from brand to brand whenever the price is right? Why put your brand name on everything from guitars to amps to pedals to SHOES? Why always have a legal team scouring the planet to try to scrape another dime up?

If you are blind to all of that - maybe you SHOULD have something to smoke...it's supposed to be good for the glaucoma.

I think I like this guy...

[Warham]

Dave's put a lot of the bullshit past him to get the guys back together, that much is true.

[chi-town324]

playing with his kid is the only reason Ed is doing this in the first place...IMO

[DLR Bridge]

Mike absolutely got screwed over as well...anyone that says any fucking different is fooling themselves.

...but last I knew, I didn't listen to any of the classic VH albums because of Edward's credibility...

You and I weren't there. Mike "loyal dog" Anthony couldn't possibly have sealed his own fate with anything he may have said or done? It's all Dickhead Ed's fault? I agree with your last sentence.

[Warham]

Ed was just looking for any reason to get rid of Mike.

Once he hung out with Fagar down at Cabo, his fate was sealed.

[Matt White]

EVH wanted to shitcan 'Ol Hot-sauce as far back as FAIR WARNING and replace him with Billy Sheehan......

We've all seen that unpublished interview where he rags Mike for "doing nothing" and basically leaching off the band....harsh stuff and that was flippin' 30+ years ago..................

And as I've told the Sheep who keep crying for him on the GUITAR WORLD FB page.....

I AIN'T NEVER BOUGHT A CD BECAUSE IT HAD GREAT "back-ground" VOCALS!!!!

FUCKING RETARDED BASTURDS!!!