Mammoth WVH: A Mammoth Legacy Continues

By all accounts a musical prodigy since childhood, Wolfgang Van Halen is a name that should instantly draw some recognition from just about any fan of rock music made in the last 40 years. Son of bona-fide guitar god Eddie Van Halen, the now-30 year old was a mere teenager when he took up the role of bass player in his family’s legendary band, and has since gone on to forge his own path with stints in both TREMONTI and a session player for the solo work of SEVENDUST’s Clint Lowery just a few of the things under his belt to date. Now though, he’s finally striking out on his own, with the one-man solo project MAMMOTH WVH, which we were fortunate enough to be granted time to chat with him about.

Perhaps most immediately notably and impressively for a first album, MAMMOTH WVH’s self-titled debut record sees Wolfgang playing every single instrument on each track, as well as singing – a feat he saw as a welcome challenge. “You know, I really wanted to try and and just see if I could do it,” he explains to us. “It was kind of a challenge to set for myself since I could play everything. I really wanted to see if I could create something cohesive. And, and that was really fun challenge for me to try and create the best songs I could all on my own. It’s exciting, you know, I’m kind of doing it to myself. I’m putting myself at the front of something, doing what I’m least confident in which which is singing and playing guitar. So I am kind of throwing myself into the deep end. But I feel like that’s the only way you get better. Let’s hope I learned to swim, I guess.”

In taking up a band name for his new project, Wolfgang took the rather unique step of looking back into his family past, picking up the name MAMMOTH which was previously used by his father and uncle in the early 70s for a band that would go on to become VAN HALEN. “I think, you know, a lot of VAN HALEN fans, it’s obviously a very common bit,” notes Wolf of picking up the moniker. “I think most people outside of that don’t really know. I think it’s a nice touch at the legacy while kind of taking it in my own direction.”

Of course, one of the key moments of MAMMOTH WVH’s short career to date is the ballad Wolf wrote in loving tribute to his father shortly before his passing, Distance. Emotionally-charged to the nth degree and filled with now-even-more heartbreaking lyrics, it’s remarkable to learn that the song, presented on the album as a sort of coda bonus track, was very nearly left off of the MAMMOTH WVH debut. “Distance was supposed to just kind of be its own thing,” he explains. “But then after the response was so huge, everybody felt it was a good idea to throw up on the album, just as a bonus track. The reason I thought it was a good idea is because it was only available digitally, right? Whenever anybody buys the physical album, they’ll be like, ‘hey, where’s the song?’ So it’s there no physically. So somebody can can always have it rather than just be digital.”

Naturally, with such a broad musical canvas running across the record, there had to be at least one moment that didn’t quite make the grade though, as Wolf reveals. “There was a song I did that was fully on piano. I’m not very good piano player. So it kind of didn’t really pan out. But I’ve gotten better since then. So I’d like to actually take another stab at it. It just kind of didn’t fit well”.

Whilst said failed piano experiment is the only in-depth specific we can draw from Wolf during our chat, the musician is keen to stress the potential of a lot more MAMMOTH WVH to come yet. “In the case of this first album, a lot hit the cutting room. As we were going, it was like, ‘I don’t think we have time to do this so let’s just kind of focus, like, save it for later’ kind of thing,” he notes of his studio sessions for his debut. “So there’s pretty much almost a whole album ready to go. And on top of that, I’ve written so many ideas in the past year that it’s like, I’ve got probably two albums worth of material ready to go. You’re always just kind of writing and, I mean, that’s kind of what happened. Initially, when we started recording I had about seven ideas I was really happy with but then I went on tour. And by the time I came back, I had like 15 more ideas. So it was time to record even more.”

For Wolf, perhaps one of the most devastating thoughts remaining though, as he looks to the future with his record now finished is something incredibly close to home. “No, I’m very angry at COVID-19 for many reasons, obviously, but for personal reasons. It really stole a lot from me,” he reasons, “I’m really bummed out. Because if COVID didn’t happen, I certainly would have been able to start touring and my dad would have been able to see a show. And obviously that was stolen from me. And that really hurts. I’m really excited to finally get out there. It’s about time.”

Mammoth WVH is out now via EX1 Records. 

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