With three Mammoth full-lengths now under his belt, the latest of which being The End, there can be no doubt that Wolfgang Van Halen has proven his merits as a formidable lead guitarist.
One of the new tracks, Same Old Song, features what could very well be the best solo he's ever written, with melodic contours that not only serve the song, but also elevate it to new sonic limits.
“I tend to compose my solos,” Wolfgang tells MusicRadar. “I like writing them almost as if they’re these little songs or movements in themselves.”
Anyone familiar with the last Mammoth album, 2023’s Mammoth II, will be aware of how the track Take A Bow was notable for similar reasons.
“Yeah, Take A Bow is another good example of that, where the solo section just ebbs and flows and crescendos,” he nods. “I’ll write solos like that by looping the chord progression, spending hours trying to figure out what works best.”
Some musical situations, however, call for something different, with the guitarist pointing to new tracks like I Really Wanna and Better Off as examples of his more impromptu work.
But a lot of the solos you hear on Mammoth albums will have been more meticulously planned – musical statements where every aspect of every note played has been delicately considered for maximum impact.
“I keep going over ideas to find the right notes,” Wolfgang continues. “Again, it all comes down to that melody thing.”
This is something Wolfgang picked up at a young age, thanks to having one of the world’s most game-changing guitarists living under the same roof.
“It’s fun to have shreddiness but at the end of the day the melody has to come first,” he admits. “Even my dad would say the best solos are the ones you can hum and sing.”
He adds: “Of course, there are moments for fun and tapping and all that stuff, but if you can play something that people can sing and it sticks in their heads, that’s what it’s all about.”
Another one of the new tracks, titled Happy, is certainly indicative of this – given how its Alice In Chains-influenced barre chords are followed by a heavily modulated solo that recalls the vocal melody.
As fate would have it, another famous Seattle band ended up playing a small part in the process.
“You hit the nail on the head with the Alice In Chains vibe,” Wolfgang laughs. “I wear a lot of my influences on my sleeve. There’s a magical dissonance to the stuff Jerry Cantrell tends to write.”
He continues: “For the solo, we basically said, ‘Shall we do the Smells Like Teen Spirit thing?’ I loved my vocal line, so I decided to follow it on guitar with some crazy-ass effect just like the Nirvana song.”
Given all the advantages that come with having Edward Van Halen as a father, there are also some trappings that Wolfgang has been wise enough to avoid.
Extreme use of the whammy bar within the context of a rock band, for example, is something his father both typified and pioneered. As a result, in order to carve out his own identity in music, it's something you'll very rarely hear Wolfgang doing. And with good reason...
“Yeah, I guess it’s another subconscious effort to separate myself,” he shrugs. “I’m already doing the semi-hollow thing and other stuff that’s quite different to how my dad operated.”
There is, however, one exception.
“I think there was one moment on this album where I used the whammy bar,” he grins. “It’s at the very beginning of the solo in Selfish. You can hear the scoop before that first note. That might be the only example of me doing that, to be honest. I’m pretty sure that’s it!”
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