Many Van Halen fans’ worst nightmare came true recently. The hope for one more Van Halen go round with DLR was slashed when the front man stated that the band is ‘finished.’ In a recent interview in Detroit, on the ‘Talkin’ Rock With Meltdown’ podcast, DLR was asked about another tour. And the stadium tour that was proposed but never happened.
Roth has been vocal about the failed tour. ‘That’s been cancelled a number of times. And I think Van Halen’s finished. This residency (referring to his solo Las Vegas residency) is the next phase. Van Halen isn’t gonna be coming in the fashion that you know. And that being said, Eddie’s got his own story to tell. It’s not mine to tell.’
Well, that pretty much nails the coffin the shut. Rumors of a true Van Halen reunion with original bassist Michael Anthony started circling around about ten months ago. Anthony came clean about the fact that he was approached about rejoining the band. But of course, the talks fell apart. Should we have really expected anything else? Now, I wouldn’t say that it’s all over for Van Halen. There are other line-ups of the band after all. Although I don’t see a Gary Cerone reunion happening. Nor should it.
But that doesn’t mean that a Sammy Hagar reunion is completely out of the question. Like Roth said, ‘Eddie’s got his own story to tell.’ Maybe he was thinking of going out with Hagar and Anthony instead of Roth. Eddie and DLR’s relationship struggles have been highly profiled as of late. Not that Hagar and EVH are close or anything. In fact, recently Sammy Hagar stated that even if he was approached to do a reunion he wouldn’t be interested. But that tone changed a few weeks ago when he stated that he’d love to play one last show with the guys. So it’s possible he was hinting at something. My only hope is that EVH was listening to Eddie Trunk talk about The Circle’s Troubador show. Basically stating that EVH was insane for not getting back with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony. I mean, Hagar can still sing. And he’s not an overgrown man child. So, hopefully EVH is taking that into account and trying to organize one last victory lap with Sammy and Mikey. But I wouldn’t count on it. From what it seems like in this moment, Van Halen is over.
