Van Halen

Van Halen III

Complete Garbage

Review Score:

(2/10)
Aye aye aye, no me gusto...I was a huge Van Halen fan, and when their new album with Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone was repeatedly pushed back and back and back, I grew increasingly anxious for its release. March 17, 1998, there was a massive snowstorm in Calgary. Must have been about two feet deep: school was cancelled and I trudged through that snow to the mall to buy the album (the mall was deserted and the HMV employees looked at me like I was nuts). After rushing home, I eagerly put it on...and was thoroughly confused. What was this? This sounds like Sammy Hagar. Like a mediocre Van Halen.
I had heard "Without You" on the radio and I thought it was a very promising song: no wonder it would be the first single, as its the perfect red herring! The rest of the album bears no resemblance to the mighty Van Halen of the past. Cherone's political lyrics are so incredibly trite, you're afraid Eddie fell off the bandwagon and couldn't identify them properly. Some of Eddie's musical ideas are admirable, but the execution is poor: you can tell the band's heart wasn't in it. Van Halen fans will ask "was it necessary to make this album?" The stats speak for themselves: VH's first album in 12 NOT to reach multi-platinum status (hell, it didn't even make platinum!), universally panned, and a very inappropriate epitaph for a once-killer band, especially now that they seem to be on permanent vacation. They have left Warner Bros., there doesn't seem to be a future for them. What a damn shame.

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