Wolfgang Van Halen has revealed that his father Eddie Van Halen was a massive fan of an extreme metal band.
During a chat with Louder Sound’s Prog, the rocker shared that his father was a fan of Meshuggah. He said:
“My dad approved of them.”
Wolfgang also added that his father was impressed by their drummer Tomas Haake’s performances, especially in their hit track ‘Bleed’:
“I remember his joke when I showed him the video to ‘Bleed.’ He said, ‘The drummer better be paid the most! He’s working way harder than anybody else in the band!’”
Eddie and Wolfgang Are On The Same Page
Like father like son.
Just like his father, Wolfgang is a Meshuggah fan too. During another interview with Amoeba Music, Wolfgang said of the band:
“As a drummer first, I tend to intake music in a more rhythmic manner. I’m all about rhythm, and Meshuggah is rhythm. It’s like dinosaurs fighting.”
Wolfgang named the 2002 album ‘Nothing’ as his favorite, but noted that it might not be everyone’s favorite album:
“It’s where they really started getting sort of groovy and sludgy with their sound. A lot of people like the one before, [1998’s] ‘Chaosphere.’ An amazing album too. It’s more thrashy, but I really like their groovy sort of sludgy aspects, and this one [‘Nothing’] is all sludge and groove.”
Meshuggah released ‘Bleed’ in 2008 and it has been the band’s most popular song ever since. You can hear the track below.