Fozzy singer Chris Jericho revealed on a new Talk is Jericho podcast that he spoke to Alex Van Halen a few months ago, who told him that after Eddie Van Halen’s death, “This whole forty year career, gone in one breath.” This comes after rumors that Alex wants a Van Halen tribute tour with David Lee Roth, Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, and Jason Newsted.
Michael Anthony recently drew a comparison between popular bands Van Halen and Guns N’ Roses. He proceeded to argue that both bands played a pivotal role in keeping rock music alive at times when the established version of the genre was about to go through a dip.
Michael Anthony opens up on the matter
The culture and mainstream tastes started shifting in the late ’70s. Thereby, it started becoming clear that the idea of rock as established by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and others were also entering its sunset years.
It was around that same time that Van Halen broke out as a nationwide rock sensation, and the iconic Pasadena band’s sound proved to be the perfect bridge between ’70s hard rock and ’80s’ heavy metal.
Similarly, Guns N’ Roses was also able make their debut with 1987’s “Appetite for Destruction.” The Axl Rose-fronted band felt at home enough within the then-dominant hair metal scene, while proving nuanced enough to effortlessly transition into the grunge explosion of the early ’90s.
The former Van Halen bassist made his point during a recent interview on the Appetite for Distortion podcast, where he said:
“Well, when I first heard ‘Appetite for Destruction,’ I actually went, ‘Whoa, these guys are good!’ And in a world where the music changes so fast, I kind of consider [Van Halen] one of the last bands that were actually signed, and was on the tails of bands like The Who, [Led] Zeppelin, Humble Pie – stuff like that – because you had punk and new wave and all that stuff kind of entering into the scene when Van Halen was coming out. And I think we did a pretty good job doing what we did, and keeping rock alive – and I think that Guns N’ Roses, they basically were doing the same thing.”
Anthony namedropped Wolfgang Van Halen as one of the artists who are striving to do the same thing today, where he says that rock bands have become a “minority”:
“And now, when I hear Ed’s son Wolfgang, the album came out with his band – you know, keepin’ it alive. Because let’s face it: a lot of the award shows – I really don’t watch that much anymore. And some of them, all these rock categories are off-air anyway. So, we’re kind of like a minority now, the rock and roll [bands]. It’s, great whenever you see a band like that.. And Guns N’ Roses, they were just a kick-ass rock band.”
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