Metal shredders from the '80s don't tend to get much respect these days, with the notable exception of Eddie Van Halen, who died in 2020 and has since been celebrated anew. Now, Eddie's son Wolfgang has reflected on his dad's legacy, acknowledging that his dad "ruined" '80s rock by inspiring a generation of copycats.
"In a way, dad kind of ruined the musical landscape, because instead of everybody wanting to find out who they are, they wanted to be that," he said on the WTF with Marc Maron Podcast.
People who try to imitate Van Halen with fancy two-hand tapping are missing the point, added Wolfgang. "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. It's not about flashy stuff."
Wolfgang, who played bass as a member of Van Halen in the band's later years and now has a solo project called Mammoth WVH, shouted out guitarist Paul Gilbert (of the bands Mr. Big and Racer X) as one of his favourite post-Eddie guitarists. "He's one of the shredder guys from the '80s," Wolfgang explained. "He was one of those guys that came a little bit after dad that I think took it in an interesting direction."
Listen to the interview below.