Wolfgang Van Halen recently spoke with Deborah Evans Price at Billboard about forging his own identity in music with Mammoth WVH. Following is an excerpt from the story.

"While everything that's come before from my name [are] things that I respect and love, I'm excited to create my own legacy."

Van Halen admits he's had to fight misperceptions. "With the name or just having the parents that I have," he says of Van Halen and his mother, actress Valerie Bertinelli, "people assume that I'm an unmotivated person who is just comfortable in doing nothing and coasting on what has come before with what my name entails. And I'm anything but that."

Even as he sets the stage for his musical future, Van Halen pays homage to his father with his band's name. "Since I was a kid, my dad would tell me the story of the band and that it was called Mammoth," he says of the name brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen originally gave their band. "It was a three-piece with dad singing, so that's another connection I have with it. Just growing up, I was like, 'That's the coolest name! When I grow up, I want to call my own band that,' and here we are."

Van Halen is looking forward to touring this summer with Guns N' Roses. "You kind of have to say it out loud and it still doesn't seem real," he grins. "I'm super thankful. I've known Slash and Duff for some time, and I know Axl signed off on it, so it's an honor for them to want me to be there." 

Read the complete interview here.

The self-titled debut album from Mammoth WVH will be available worldwide on June 11 via EX1 Records/Explorer1 Music Group. A pre-order for Mammoth WVH in various configurations - including exclusive colour vinyl as well as limited autographed copies via the band’s online store - can be found here.

Writing all of the songs and performing all of the instrumentation and vocals for the debut album, Wolfgang Van Halen set out to establish his own musical identity. From the rocking opening guitar riff on album opener “Mr. Ed” to the driving bass and drums on album closer “Stone”, Mammoth WVH showcases the various musical influences that have inspired Wolfgang. Songs like “Resolve”, “The Big Picture”, and “Think It Over” are all sonically different from each other but unique to what Mammoth WVH is.  

"Mr. Ed"
"Horribly Right"
"Epiphany"
"Don’t Back Down"
"Resolve"
"You’ll Be The One"
"Mammoth"
"Circles"
"The Big Picture"
"Think It Over"
"You’re To Blame"
"Feel"
"Stone"
"Distance" (Bonus Track)

"Mammoth" lyric video:

"Feel" lyric video:

"Think It Over" lyric video:

"Don't Back Down" video:

"You're To Blame" lyric video:

"Distance":