In a thorough chat with Guitar Interactive Magazine, Wolfgang Van Halen recently answered speculations regarding the likely involvement of his uncle, Alex Van Halen, after announcing the release date of Mammoth WVH’s second album. After Wolfgang casually mentioned Alex’s possibly unseen contribution, rumors flew. When pressed about the truth behind this remark, the singer stated that his uncle had made no such gift. In response to an inquiry concerning the former Van Halen member’s involvement, he stated: “Not at all.
But one thing I did simply for fun was cover the song ‘I’m Alright.’ With the wah for that solo. “I got bored with the operation of it when I was writing it, I was writing it while we were playing it just kind of taking different takes.” He did, however, reveal an unexpected collaborator in the album’s creative process. He stated: “So I just had my uncle Patrick, who was in the studio and is an important part of the Mammoth team, do it.” So, on the back of the album, it says, ‘All tracks recorded and played by Wolfgang Van Halen, with the exception of wah operation on solo of ‘I’m Alright’ by Patrick Bertinelli.’ I thought it was a humorous joke at first, but it really delayed the record cover approval process by one day because we had to sign a Work for Hire agreement and pay him $1.”
Despite his absence from the album, the drummer has had a significant impact on Wolfgang’s musical path. In a 2022 interview with the Aquarian Weekly, the vocalist discussed the significance Al played in his career. He stated in one portion of his justification for his Grammy nomination: “My team, which I refer to as the trusted humans, consists of myself, my manager, my uncle, and my business partner.” When it comes to band decisions, we are sort of the brain trust.” If the behind-the-scenes facts of Mammoth WVH’s next album have piqued your interest, you’re in luck. You can watch the entire dialogue down below.