Guns N’ Roses guitarist claims not to belong to the same school as the musician who died in 2020, but recognizes talent and importance
With the debut album by Van Halenreleased in 1978, Eddie Van Halen promoted a true revolution in rock guitar — to the point of changing the course of the instrument in the 1980s. Slash emerged during this period and clearly did not follow the same style of playing. Even so, he recognizes the importance of the artist who died in 2020.
In an interview with the producer’s podcast Dave Cobb (via Ultimate Guitar), the member of the Guns N’ Roses recalled his first impressions regarding the arrival of the Van Halen caused, as well as the revolution in techniques — such as the famous “tapping”, created by other musicians, but improved by Eddie Van Halen.
He highlighted that he was a beginner on the guitar in 1978, but that he was not shaped by the way Eddie touch.
I don’t come from that ’80s school of ‘fried’, but when I first heard, along with everyone else, in 1978, Van Halen’s debut album, it really f*cked me up. That was a heavy record. It was the moment when the 70s changed, with this album in particular. And as a guitarist, I was just a kid, I was just starting to pick up the guitar at that time. It hadn’t even started at that point. I started the following year. But when I started playing guitar, everyone was trying to imitate Eddie and they were all focusing on the techniques, the fucking tapping, the harmonics, the lever and all these great techniques that Eddie had.”
Eddie Van Halen was the “father” of a whole generation of “shredders” and extremely fast guitarists that were so common in the 1980s, from Randy Rhoads (Ozzy Osbourne) a Vito Bratta (White Lion). Slashin turn, brings a more blues rock orientation, supported by the influence of names like Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) and Joe Perry (Aerosmith).
Eddie Van Halen, unique talent
In another interview with Consequence, Slash had already given his opinion about the unique talent of Eddie Van Halen. The musician from Guns N’ Roses explained why he thought the Dutch guitarist was different from most other rockers.
At the time, Slash he said:
Eddie was such a talented musician. Any instrument he would have chosen to play would have been phenomenal because he had this pure musical talent. And he chose the guitar because it excited him. For someone with such talent, getting excited about rock guitar was unique in itself, because most of us guitarists are a bunch of dirty rockers without much technical skill or study. We kind of go for the rawness. He had that, but he also had a classical musical gift.”
In fact, the man in the hat’s observation makes sense. Before delving into the guitar, Eddie studied classical piano alongside his brother, the drummer Alex Van Halen.
Eddie Van Halen died in October 2020, aged 65. In the late 1990s, he had already been diagnosed with tongue cancer, from which he was declared cured in 2002, after surgery in which a third of the organ was removed. The problem returned in the last decade, when he started undergoing treatment again, but did not survive.
In total, the musician left 12 studio albums with the band that bears his surname. His legacy today is taken care of by his son, Wolfgang Van Halenwho was the group’s bassist in the last years of activity and today heads the Mammoth WVH.
Collaborated: André Luiz Fernandes.
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
