What a way to make your solo debut. Overshadowed by the recent death of his legendary father, Wolfgang Van Halen has to balance shifting focus on to his own long planned career, while still in deep mourning for his dad – his biggest fan. Helping the two worlds connect is a very personal single, clearly written with Eddie in mind.
What pressure it must be to have literally millions of Van Halen fans standing by to critique every second of your first solo offering to the world.
I think some of that angst is wrapped up in this song, which I honestly think is remarkable for all of the above reasons, and for the most important reason – it’s a fucking great song.
‘Distance’ features a warm vocal with Wolf’s own unique tone immediately evident. There’s some space for it to soar towards the close, a very melodic yet powerful sound on offer, mixing acoustic and electric guitars with a modern beat, yet a very classic rock feel. Its modern rock with a huge commercial edge. Great production too.
There’s a lot to absorb here – all of it good. Can’t wait for the full album, I love songs like this.
A nice nod to the past with the name also.
What a simple but fabulous song. Blown away by WVH’s voice!
Great song and tribute to his father. Wasn’t sure what to expect but he delivered.
I could not agree more with Andrew. It would be so easy to say “good job kid” just based on the emotions that Wolfie is dealing with and to help encourage him in this difficult time BUT this is a really good song! I knew almost nothing about WVH other than he replaced Michael Anthony, which through no fault of his own, made him unpopular with VH fans. The little that I’ve seen and heard from him in the last few days leads me to believe that EVH was as good a father as he was a guitarist. Good for Wolfie, his dad would be so proud!
P.S. If you watch the video and don’t shed a tear, you’re probably not human.
I like the song and looking forward to the full album. Tremonti’s influence is obvious, which is cool with me. I hope WVH does well.