Van Halen – A Different Kind of Truth: Album Reviews

Van Halen are back their twelfth album, and their first since 1998. The band’s ever-changing line- up currently comprises Eddie Van Halen on lead guitar, his brother Alex on drums and Eddie’s 21- year-old son Wolfgang on bass, as well as on-again-off-again lead singer David Lee Roth, who returns for his first album with the band since 1984′s 1984 album.

And while it all does sound a bit 1984, everything you’d want from Van Halen is here – big choruses, acrobatic solos and soaring vocals. It’s a disc of solid rock – no ballads or cheesy synths to be heard.

The album opens ominously with lead single Tattoo – an unremarkable cock-rocker – but it gets much better. Let’s face it – the real drawcard with Van Halen is Eddie’s guitar shredding, and he’s still got the lightning fingers. A Different Kind of Truth is a feast of chunky riffs and high velocity guitar lines. Fans won’t be disappointed.