During a recent appearance on Elliot In The Morning, Wolfgang Van Halen confirmed that he asked his late father, legendary Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen, if he could use the Mammoth WVH band name for his solo project. Mammoth WVH is a tip of the hat to Van Halen family history — Eddie and his brother, drummer Alex Van Halen's band was named Mammoth when vocalist David Lee Roth first joined it in 1974.

"Yeah, I was a little nervous to ask him, but I wanted his permission. Not that I needed it, but I wanted it. And I kind of asked him. I was, like, 'Hey, pop, is that cool if I use Mammoth?' He was, like, 'Absolutely. That's awesome.' He was super stoked about it. 'Why would you be worried about asking me?' I'm a naturally anxious person, so I don't know why. That's just kind of how I felt."

Wolfgang played all instruments and sang every word on the Mammoth WVH debut album, which is scheduled for release in spring 2021 via Explorer1 Music Group / EX1 Records. The first single, "Distance", which can be heard below, was released earlier this month. The song is available via all digital service providers here. An official music video can be found below.

Asked if the Mammoth WVH album will sound similar to "Distance", Wolfgang replied: "Well, 'Distance', within itself, is kind of a standalone single; it's not actually gonna be on the album. I wanted this to kind of be a separate release just for dad. But next year, when the album comes out, I think a lot of people will see that while 'Distance' might be an outlier in terms of the core sound, that flavor can definitely be heard. But I think what's fun about about the album is there's kind of something for everybody on it; there's all different kinds of sounds. But it's not haphazard in its diverseness of different songs; it's kind of all collective and it feels right. I guess everyone will just have to see when the album is out."

When Wolfgang heads out on tour in support of Mammoth WVH's debut album, he will be accompanied by guitarist Frank Sidoris (Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators), drummer Garrett Whitlock (Tremonti) and bassist Ronnie Ficarro. Wolfgang will sing lead vocals and play guitar.

(Photo - Travis Shinn)