After 27 years since their last album '1984', Van Halen return with a long awaited reunion and album with David Lee Roth, 'A Different Kind of Truth'! This time around however, they do it without Michael Anthony and his Jack Daniels bass and instead bring on Eddie's son Wolfgang to fill in the bass duties. Now many fans have had some serious Oh-My-God-It's-Not-Van-Halen-Without-Michael-Anthony issues with that. Being a huge and longtime fan of Van Halen (I literally play guitar because of Eddie Van Halen), I really like Wolfgang and embrace him into the band and I am extremely excited about this new album. When the world first talked about the reunion and new album I was hoping for an all out, balls-to-the-wall rock album that would breath new life into hard rock and really show the world that Rock N' Roll is very much alive and here to stay. So move on over rap/hip hop, and all this modern pop and country garbage, Van Halen is here and gonna show you how the big boys do it! David Lee Roth proves yet again that he can still sing and still be one of the best frontman in Rock N' Roll! While he may not be able to get those high notes he once was able to, he really brings that sultry voice to the top of his game and doesn't back down for one second! Alex and Eddie are both on top of their games and once they start, they don't stop. They let go and just have some good Rock N Roll fun! Wolfgang joins the band in bright colored fashion with a fierce and mighty punch and really shows the world that he can hold his own on bass and that it doesn't matter if Michael Anthony is absent from the band. Van Halen still rocks no matter what!
When the first single 'Tattoo' came out I was very pleased with it but still had my doubts that they could pull a rabbit out of their magic hat. Then came the 90 second previews the band released and the world got to hear all the music from the new album. I was in aww of the awesomeness that had been unleashed but didn't want to go all the way to believe it was really that awesome as in the past when bands release 30 or 90 second previews sometimes it doesn't turn out as awesome as you first thought it would be as in the case of Metallica's collab album with Lou Reed, 'Lou Lou'. This album however, proved to the world that the 90 second previews were absolutely correct and when the album was finally unleashed to the world, it rock harder than your Grandma's cookies! Goodbye Sammy and Michael and good luck with your sad-excuse-for-a-band chickenfoot, us true Van Halen fans won't miss you!
'Tattoo' being the first single of which, I would of rather seen 'You and Your Blues' or 'China Town' or 'She's The Woman' as the first single. But even being so, I am still very pleased with the song. 'Tattoo' is like one of those 80's arena anthems and mixes keyboards and straight Rock N' Roll. The more and more I listen to 'Tattoo' I uncover little hidden snippets of Van Halen's 35 plus year career such as the little snippet of 'When It's Love' on the keyboards. Previous listens I had very happily thought they left out 'OU812' on the album but it finally showed up. Throughout the entire album you'll find hidden snippets if you really dig deep into the music as you listen. Probably not done on purpose but it's great to see Van Halen really go back through the entire catalog and give something, even a tiny something from their career. And they deliver big somethings from their career such as reviving old demos, 'She's The Woman', 'Blood and Fire' and 'Bullethead'. All of which are rock in your face songs that make you wanna pull out that air guitar/bass/drums and jam along!
'China Town', my favorite track, gives you that 'Hot For Teacher' style intro leading into an all out assault on Rock N' Roll! Another favorite of mine, 'As Is' goes all the way back to 'Women and Children First' and pulls out an 'Everybody Wants Some' style song out of their magic hat. Can it get any better? Oh yes! Another favorite is that can't-quite-place-where-I-heard-it-before song 'Outta Space'. Eddie leads the way with this fast and furious song and Alex really brings in a kicking back beat. And whats a Van Halen album without a simple acoustic song? 'Stay Frosty', being my second favorite song on the album really pays homage to the acoustic classics 'Ice Cream Man', 'Take Your Whiskey Home', and 'Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)'.
'China Town', my favorite track, gives you that 'Hot For Teacher' style intro leading into an all out assault on Rock N' Roll! Another favorite of mine, 'As Is' goes all the way back to 'Women and Children First' and pulls out an 'Everybody Wants Some' style song out of their magic hat. Can it get any better? Oh yes! Another favorite is that can't-quite-place-where-I-heard-it-before song 'Outta Space'. Eddie leads the way with this fast and furious song and Alex really brings in a kicking back beat. And whats a Van Halen album without a simple acoustic song? 'Stay Frosty', being my second favorite song on the album really pays homage to the acoustic classics 'Ice Cream Man', 'Take Your Whiskey Home', and 'Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)'.
Of course, I've left out a few surprise gems on the album, 'Honeybabysweetiedoll', 'The Trouble With Never', 'Big River', and 'Beats Workin' as I wrap up my review so that you can get that first impression of the songs. You will just have to check out those tunes yourself as well as the entire album and I guarantee you will not be disappointed in the reunited Van Halen boys with David Lee Roth. So hold on for a Rock N' Roll ride of a lifetime as you listen to 'A Different Kind of Truth'. 'A Different Kind of Truth' is a must have album for all fans of Van Halen and fans of Rock N' Roll! A big thank you to Eddie and Dave for settling your differences and coming back to the rock world and giving us a really kick ass album that make all of us fans proud to say we are fans of Van Halen!
