Wolfgang Van Halen Marks ‘Distance’ One Year Anniversary With Message for Fans
It's been officially a year since Mammoth WVH arrived on everyone's radar. Though talk of a Wolfgang Van Halen solo album had circulated for some time prior, the first piece of music to arrive was the heartfelt song "Distance" that arrived on Nov. 16, 2020, a little over a month after the death of Wolf's father, Eddie Van Halen. To mark the occasion, Wolfgang Van Halen delivered a thank you note to the fans for their support over the past year.
"'Distance' released a year ago today," stated the Mammoth WVH leader. "It's a special song for two very important reasons. A song commemorating my Pop and our bond, as well as being the very first Mammoth release. It marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life in more ways that one."
"I never could've imagined the overwhelming outpour of responses from something so close to my heart. It blew me away," he continued, adding, "I just wanted to take this moment to thank you all for listening and for the amazing support you've given me and Mammoth this past year. You have no idea how much it means to me. Thank you."
Finishing the note, he addressed his father stating, "I hope you're watching and I hope you're still proud, Pop. I love and miss you more than you could ever know."
"Distance" arrived on the scene with a heartwarming video as well, featuring home video footage of Wolfgang with his father and mother at various stages of his life.
The track kicked off support of Mammoth WVH's self-titled album in a big way, topping the Mainstream Rock chart. The group would later score a second Mainstream Rock chart-topper with "Don't Back Down," while the album also yielded the promotional singles "You're to Blame," "Think It's Over," "Feel," "Mammoth" and "Epiphany."
The album itself peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, but topped Billboard's Hard Rock Albums and Rock Albums charts.
After debuting his live band on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Wolfgang Van Halen and his Mammoth WVH bandmates then enjoyed a high profile opening slot on Guns N' Roses tour over the summer. Things will pick up again for the group in January when they set out on a co-headline run with fellow rising rock band Dirty Honey. Learn more about that tour here.