Why Wolfgang Van Halen thinks his dad 'ruined the landscape' of '80s rock

When Van Halen rose to superstardom in the '80s, guitarist Eddie Van Halen became a rock god.

During a recent visit to the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, his son Wolfgang Van Halen explained why he thinks it negatively impacted the "musical landscape" during that time.

“In a way, Dad kind of ruined the musical landscape [of ‘80s rock],” he admitted. “Because instead of everybody wanting to find out who they are, they just wanted to be [Eddie].”

He also pointed out how he believes his dad's exceptional guitar skills overshadowed his overall contributions to the band. “I think people focus on the guitar playing, but overall it was the fact that Dad is a great songwriter,” he said. “And that's what I shoot for too.”

Wolfgang currently fronts his own band Mammoth WVH, who are opening for Metallica this summer. Elsewhere in the conversation, he opened up about how sad he is that his dad, who passed away in 2020, isn't around to see him perform.

“It f***ing kills me that Dad can never come to a Mammoth show,” Wolfgang lamented. “I was having dinner after a Metallica show. They do like these dinners. And I was hanging out with James [Hetfield] and he was wearing his son's band shirt. I saw that and I was like, f***. Dad would be stoked to wear a Mammoth shirt.”

Listen to the full interview below.

- iHeartRadio and republished with permission