Official "A Different Kind of Truth" Album Review Thread

[Nitro Express]

fuckin crankin it on the god stereo now. hello neighbours!!!

it makes so much more sense LOOOOOUUUUUUDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!

Got the mixer running through a few Crown power amps do ya?

When I get mine I'm going to set the whole fucking Yellowstone super volcano off because I'm going to split the ground from the sound from a cranked whole fucking PA system. I'm going to blast it until the power amps shut down or doomsday comes.

[quinny]

To me no, as you can distincatively hear Ed and Al on this......

Actually-I don't know what you are distinctively saying...DLR band is all over this. Yes Ed and Al make it VH, but you are kidding yourself if you don't think some of these songs are similar to songs on EEAS and Skyscraper.

You can distinctively here Ed and Al... excellent mate, they play 2 thirds of the MUSIC

Thats my full on cocktard opinion lol

[AccidentalAngel]

Glad to see people compare the album to more than just the 6-pack. The more I hear Tattoo the more I feel it just as easily could have been on EEAS or Skyscraper.

[fourthcoming]

I just got two copies!!! I have a radio station copy then my record store buddy called me and they got them in so I went and bought one under the table from him. HA! Its a damn good day!!!

Dude the new profile pic is epic.....hilarious........cd is a monster. I can't decide if Honeybaby or As Is is my favorite so far. You and your blues is such a perfectly constructed tune also....and the Downtown session version is phenomenal.

[Panamark]

Actually-I don't know what you are distinctively saying...DLR band is all over this. Yes Ed and Al make it VH, but you are kidding yourself if you don't think some of these songs are similar to songs on EEAS and Skyscraper.

You can distinctively here Ed and Al... excellent mate, they play 2 thirds of the MUSIC

Thats my full on cocktard opinion lol

I meant on the musical input.

Should have made that clear with first post.

The only person from DLR Band who wrote or performed
on this album is Dave ? Come on ? Lets look at one piece,
the guitar ??? This is Van Halen not fucking Steve Vai !

[Panamark]

Yes if we are nitpicking Steve Vai was not on DLRBand..... But
Van Halen wrote all this shit, not the DLRBand.

[Panamark]

Is anyone sober enough to explain to these "It sounds like DLRBand guys"
If not, wait till I sleep and have my 3 espressos in the morning !!

[chuckie lee]

R.I. Rock radio station 94.1 HJY

Blowin up the new single Stay Frosty, every hour........ Calling the album unbelieveable, mind blowing... These guys are usually hager guys.... So this is huge.... This album did it too. Who would of thought.... FUCK YES...............................

[Dave's PA Rental]

Actually-I don't know what you are distinctively saying...DLR band is all over this. Yes Ed and Al make it VH, but you are kidding yourself if you don't think some of these songs are similar to songs on EEAS and Skyscraper.

I agree with this. There are several songs that to the trained ear will sound like a hybrid between Roth solo stuff and CVH. Dare I say...it's like a best of both...nope...not gonna say it...

[Panamark]

I agree with this. There are several songs that to the trained ear will sound like a hybrid between Roth solo stuff and CVH. Dare I say...it's like a best of both...nope...not gonna say it...

Then to me, this is what Van Halen was all along.

[POJO_Risin]

Alright...I haven't listened to the entire album...just some shit here and there while I wait for the "legal" copy, but...

from what I've heard...a couple of thoughts...

1. The album is far superior than I thought it would be pre-Tattoo. After Tattoo...it's dead on with what I thought, if not a little better...Tattoo really shifted my line of thinking...

2. Dave is Dave on this album. He's exactly where he should be 28 years later, and his vocals walk that fine line of still being that immature son-of-a-bitch that created the old Van Halen attitude, and that humbled, maturing rock star that's always known where he should be, but had to take a long journey to fucking get there. Funny Rick, when I first heard the clips, I remember thinking, "Christ, he's talking again..." But after hearing parts of the songs for a ninth...tenth time...it strikes me that these albums are extremely similar to the six-pack in that his lyrics are like fucking journeys themselves...you hear something new every time, and a lot of times find your fucking mind spinning thinking, "how the fuck did he come up with that shit..." Rarely a cliche in his lyrics...which in ANY AGE...is fucking insane...

3. Ed...well...is back. Sorry, but there's no way you can listen to this album, and not believe that Edward is where the fuck he should be. His sound still isn't the same as it was in the original six-back, but...he is absolutely shredding on the full songs that I've heard. In all honesty, Edward hasn't sounded this good since 5150, and the blending with Roth...since the early days. While I agree with most that the relationship with Dave is a part of it (and I do not believe they are pals, like most, but getting along, yes), I really think it's all related to the fact that he's playing onstage with his son. Like any guitarist with a bass player, it takes time to figure out the relationship...and while Wolfie was a good bass player in 2007, he was still learning the instrument in many...many...ways.

4. The kid now clearly owns the bass. Holy hell...there are clearly moments where these two are just fucking rippin' off each other. I agree with Rikk, Wolfie circa 2012 is the best pure bass player that Van Halen has ever had. I think he's past the "I'm not a bassist playing bass" stage of his career. Listening to him just kill in songs like China Town and Bullethead is so damn exceptional, I've actually listened to the tunes just to hear his part. But there's real fucking magic in "As Is" between the three Van Halen boys...Alex is always killer, and when the rhythm section is produced right as it is here, it's mind blowing. More on As Is later...but damn...Wolfgang is the real fucking deal...and I'll bet you that fucking Ed feels fucking pushed like a motherfucker with his son standing next to him...

5. Father time...there's no way these guys that are pushing 60 don't feel time restraints. While Dave still looks like he could kick a mudhole through most, Ed and Alex don't. Ed is much softer than the old days, and Alex still looks like he's five seconds away from a neck brace. There just aren't many albums LEFT in this band. If their next album is pre-2016, I'd be shocked. I'm fine with that, but I've told Va for over a month, this push has the feel of a once in a lifetime sorta deal at their stage. While this push COULD come again, seriously...do we see the 61-year olds backing it with the same new fervor as right now? Combine that with a fucking humbling ass, life-threatening time-period over the past years for Ed and Dave...and you get this...

6. I've got to be honest here...the trio of As Is, Honeybabysweetiedoll and Trouble with Never back-to-back-to-back is going to be right the fuck up there with some of their best three-song (or 3-plus albums) outputs...and add Outta Space, Stay Frosty, Big River and Beats' Workin' to the end, and I gotta be honest...the clips I've heard make this a fucking killer back end to this album...

i refuse to rank this album with the six-pack until March or April after several listens, but I do think it's going to be interesting...and sorry folks...NOT HEARING NEW MUSIC FOR NEARLY 30 YEARS PLAYS INTO IT!!!

Saving that for a piece in March...and will include it in something new we're going to be doing here at the army...

Can't wait to hear this album...in its entirety...

[POJO_Risin]

And I do agree with the sentiment that there is definitely a sound of Dave-Solo in these songs...

Not sure why some are taking this as a rip...it's definitively not...

Not sure if it's the way VH should have always sounded or not...but it's what they sound like now...

I firmly believe Trouble with Never could get plopped in on any of Dave's first three solo albums, and fit perfectly (and I thought all three albums were brilliant...other than a few parts of skyscraper)...until Eddie's solo...that's where it stands apart. I love Steve Vai, and think that Jason Becker would have been the next great one...but when Eddie's shredding...there isn't a better guitarist on the planet, above or below ground...

[SilvioDante]

Being one of those unfortunate ones to live in the States and not have a copy of the record yet, I have had to resort to sneaking around the internet to get any snippet of this album. Since that is the case, I am unable to listen to it on a loop like some of you. I feel like this has given me a good perspective on the album. I have to walk away from it. It gives me time to see if it really sinks in.

I was at my wife’s birthday dinner last night, and all I had going thru my head was “Big River”. I’d noodling around the house and just belt out “That’s the touble with nevaaah….”. Telling people around work to “Stay Frosty” is getting fun. These songs stick with me. I can say without a doubt, that I really like this album. It’s not gorging on new material for lack of it over the last 28 years. These songs are GOOD!

One thing that confuses me, are the “professional” reviews. Now I understand “journalists”. What did Mike Ditka say about newspaper people? The only difference between them and me is they type better? Something like that. Anyway, I have only seen 1 or 2 mediocre to poor reviews and a few snide remarks here and there. They break down to 2 categories that I think contradict themselves.

1. They ripped off their old material. Not original.
2. They don’t sound like classic Van Halen.

What? Are you kidding me? I am not gonna sit here and go thru our collective argument of the use of old material and almost half of the album isn’t from the “Gene Simmons demos” anyway. What I have learned is that Ed was right. A lot of us, including myself, bashed Ed for years for no new music. He said one time that he felt like he couldn’t win by releasing new material. I get what he was saying now. This stuff KICKS and dinks like Eddie Trunk rag it after hearing a 30 second snippet. Unreal.

Thing that I keep in mind is that, like I have said here before, I could care less if this thing sells 100 copies and we all buy 2. As pointed out by people here much smarter than I, when I heard Dave say “look at all the people here tonight”, I realized this was our record. Screw Eddie Trunk, Spammy Hairball and everyone else. Like the poet said, “Haters be hatin’”. Tuesday, I’m gonna turn this muther to 11 and be 15 all over again.

Thank you Al, Eddie, Dave and mostly Wolfie.

[Halen High]

Is it me or do these new songs sound like they could have been on the DLR Band album?!

The lead singer sounds familiar.

[slimdon]

I gave the album the stripclub test on Thursday morning. I sat in the bar by myself at 9am and cranked it from start to finish. After picking my face up off the floor after a brutal beating from 'China Town', I messaged my buddy about how I appreciated VH releasing 'Tattoo' as the first single rather than 'Blood And Fire'. I totally dig 'Tattoo', but my brain would've exploded if 'Blood And Fire' was what I'd heard first. That song brought a tear to my eye on first listen. But holy sh*t, I was not ready for 'As Is'. That one floored me. I wasn't able to regain focus until the chorus of 'Beats Workin' had me asking out loud, "What f**king year is it? Holy-what-the-f**k?" Then I looked at my palms, shook my head in disbelief, got up and played it again. I yelled across the bar to my non-english speaking janitor and said, "Holy f**k eh?" He nodded and laughed.

By the time I hooked up with my brother to give it the old school test, I'd already listened to the album 5 or 6 times. What's the old school test? His car stereo. Can't remember the last time I asked him, "Hey man, you wanna drive around and listen to some tunes?" Shit, come to think of it, I don't think I ever have. Anyways, the bottom end on the album totally thumps. On a whole, it's everything I wanted it to be.

Hats off to Wolfgang too, cuz his bass is HUGE... it f**king growls like a monster in the mix. Al's drums sound massive. The album is majorly heavy. Ed rips major sh*t up. God bless his sobriety. I know from my own sobriety that there's a lot of anger and fire that's not easily extinguished without the booze. So it's awesome to hear him exorcise the demons via his fretboard again. And Dave... oh Diamond David Lee... he's painted a materpiece.

I've been a classic VH supporter since the ripe age of 6 yrs old. Big thanks to my older brothers, and especially my next door neighbour for cranking 'Feel Your Love Tonight' repeatedly from his second story berdroom window during the summer of '78. I vividly remember squinting from the sunshine, looking up to his window from my backyard and thinkin', "That's the coolest sounding thing ever!" Now, 33.5 years later I'm having a major flashback thinkin, "This is the coolest thing ever!"

I'm glad they've released the album in February. It's done amazing things for the weather here. Global warming? My ass. It's the second coming of Van Halen baby!