A Different Kind Of Truth

Another comeback from another monster of rock

It’s no joke, no deception, no fraud. Van Halen actually have released a new album, finally. This happened in 2012, that is to say precisely forty years after the formation of the legendary outfit. You will feel how much water has run under the bridge since the Van Halen brothers set new quality standards and established new playing style when you know that the bass duties are not assigned to one more Van Halen – Wolfgang, guitarist Eddie’s son. Although the appearance of this young musician might be a reason for some doubts and even worries, this circumstance loses all its importance in face of the fact that behind the microphone there is that very David Lee Roth, the unsurpassed. The previous album with this singer was made almost thirty years ago, and that work, 1984, is seen my many as the last big deed by the American group. Reasonable minds understand that there is no chance to speak about the real comeback of the real Van Halen for the music has changes and so have the members of the band, unfortunately. Yet the fresh record, named A Different Kind Of Truth, has a lot to prove.

Van Halen strike with nostalgia

Eddie Van Halen was very straightforward when it came to questions if A Different Kind Of Truth features completely new material which was penned not long ago. On the contrary, the musician has repeatedly stated that over the course of working with Van Halen he had accumulated so much unexpressed ideas that they could be enough to make far more than one or two full-lengths. Many of the tracks on A Different Kind Of Story are adjusted and slightly remade tunes that never made it to studio albums. So the new release offers the audience songs that bear a lot of spiritual and stylistic similarity to the best samples of the hard rock band’s music. However, the musicians decided that the lead-off single be Tattoo, a track with pretty sticky pop feel that may alarm loads of their supporters. Well, the given piece does not reflect the basic tendencies of A Different Kind Of Truth. Apparently, it was aimed to hook as many listeners as possible to get them interested in the album itself. After this song, walking further into the record, one risks getting smothered by the crushing wave of nostalgia. First plays She’s The Woman, a renewed theme off a demo mix produced by KISS Gene Simmons. Later on, we watch Van Halen switching from rock and roll to hard rock as Eddie delivers his signature solo tricks on You And Your Blues and boosts up the speed with a solid riff on Bullethead.

Old material is more valuable than new ideas

It is not only guitars that make Van Halen’s new record sound much like their old works. Singer David Lee Roth remains loyal to his emotional manner and still favors humorous lines in lyrics (The Trouble With Never). The rhythm-section presented by a new ‘uncle-and-nephew’ duo does a good work alternating rhythmic patterns and keeping up high tempo for the most dynamic tracks with such highlights as Outta Space, and As Is. Finally, there must be a praiseful word for Fire And Ice, a top piece with a typical rise from quiet intro to really heavy chorus. Van Halen enviers would criticize them mercilessly for being afraid to present entirely new ideas, but statements like that would make no difference to anybody else. When you have already got excellent songs that you only have to blow the dust off and include them in an official record, it is a sin to leave them behind. As one might expect, Van Halen did not claim to re-write their history and try to make the best album in their discography. Yet compared to most other veterans trying to come back to the stage, the effort made by Van Halen looks the most convincing. A Different Kind Of Truth is really an interesting album to listen, whether for an old fan, or young follower of this amazing ensemble.