While working on his latest album, Wolfgang Van Halen found himself facing more than just studio deadlines. As wildfires swept through Los Angeles and threatened 5150 Studios, his focus shifted from music to preserving his father’s most iconic instrument.
The blazes left a devastating mark on the city, destroying thousands of buildings, including the homes of musicians like Primus guitarist Larry LaLonde and Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith. Though Wolfgang’s home and 5150 were ultimately spared, he had a plan ready: protect his family and Eddie Van Halen’s legendary “Frankenstein” guitar at all costs.
“I thought, ‘I’ll have Frankenstein and my wife, and we’re good,’” he told Premier Guitar (via Guitar.com), explaining that he kept the guitar in his car for three weeks in case a sudden evacuation became necessary. “We even had a U-Haul packed with the things we couldn’t bear to lose. It was really tough deciding what to take. Thankfully, it never came to that — but it was a traumatic time we’re still processing.”
When Mammoth WVH launched the campaign for their third album, The End, months later, those unsettling weeks had seeped into the music. Its lead single, Wolfgang admitted, carries “that anxious, doomsday energy” drawn directly from the experience.
In the upcoming issue of Guitar World, he reflected further: “The vocals were recorded in January, while everything at 5150 was packed and ready to move at a moment’s notice. Before I even thought about my own things, I was worried about my dad’s guitars and his belongings. At one point, there were four separate fires within two miles of us. The winds were terrifying — they could carry flames for miles. For about two weeks, we couldn’t work more than an hour without getting some kind of alert. My only thought was, ‘I need to make sure Frankenstein is safe.’”
In a fitting twist, portions of The End — including its harmonic-heavy slapping and tapping passages — were recorded on Frankenstein itself, the guitar at the center of it all.
Wolfgang Van Halen’s full interview appears in the October 7 issue of Guitar World, available via Magazines Direct, which also features Guns N’ Roses on the cover.
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