WOLFGANG VAN HALEN reveals the battle plan behind the huge sound of Mammoth II
WORDS BY PHOTO BY RYAN PIORKOWSKI
For Wolfgang van Halen, 2023 was a huge year. He spent an enormous chunk of it on the road with his band, Mammoth WVH — opening for Metallica’s M72 stadium tour shows in the United States, Europe and Canada as well as the Alter Bridge Pawns & Kings tour and finishing the year with his band’s first tour as the sole headlining act. Thanks to his guidance and vision, the EVH brand has continued to grow, with new releases like the Frankenstein series and MIJ Wolfgang Signature model, and he brought the revolutionary semi-acoustic electric SA-126 model to its final stages of completion. Somehow, he even found time to make the biggest commitment of his life by marrying his longtime girlfriend, Andraia Allsop, in October.
Another landmark event in a year filled with many of them was the release of Mammoth WVH’s sophomore effort, Mammoth II.Whereas the first Mammoth WVH album was recorded over a three-year period, Mammoth IIwas completed in less than half a year, with tracking starting in September 2022 and mixing completed in February 2023.
“Because of my touring commitments,” Wolfgang Van Halen says, “we only had a limited amount of time. I would prefer not to do that again. Arguably, we came out with a better record in a fraction of the time, so maybe that isthe way to do it. I wanted to avoid the sophomore slump, so this album needed to be as good or better than the first one. I’m very OCD and a perfectionist, so I wouldn’t have released it if I wasn’t proud of it anyway.”
In truth, Mammoth IIshowcases a massive progression from Mammoth WVH’s debut album. The melodies are strong, dramatic and catchy; the production is expertly crafted with lush, sophisticated layers, epic cinematic soundscapes and hard-hitting punch; and the performances are skillfully and passionately executed, with Van Halen’s powerful drumming, numerous dazzling solos and notably improved and matured lead and harmony vocals standing out. Like before, Wolfgang performed everything himself, recording all of the instrumental and vocal parts.
Also like before, he relied on the phenomenal talents of producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette, who played a critical role as Wolfgang’s creative partner. A musical renaissance man with more than 25 years’ experience as a producer, engineer and mixer who, like Wolfgang, is also an extremely talented multi-instrumentalist, Baskette helped Van Halen craft a compelling sonic universe filled wi
