Guitar Hero: Van Halen ditches Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar

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In the game, you'll get Wolfgang. But does he belong?
In the game, you'll get Wolfgang. But does he belong?

When we got our first glimpse of the trailer for Guitar Hero: Van Halen, unveiled last week at E3, we noticed that bassist Michael Anthony and singer Sammy Hagar weren't featured. And now it has been confirmed that neither will be in the upcoming game. At all.

According to a rep from Activision/RedOctane, only David Lee Roth and Wolfgang Van Halen will appear in Guitar Hero: Van Halen, alongside Eddie and Alex Van Halen.

Says IGN of the game, "You'll start out seeing the modern Van Halen, but eventually unlock the classic images of the band with huge hair and tight pants."

Yeah, but that begs the question: Wasn't Wolfgang Van Halen born in 1991? And didn't he join Van Halen for the band's reunion tour with David Lee Roth in 2007? So how is it, then, that he's appearing with the 'classic era' of the band, circa 1978-81? Hmmm...

Could band bitterness be behind the snubs?

The image of young Wolfgang playing with the vintage-era Van Halen does look a tad weird.

Perhaps this has something to do with the ongoing bitterness between Eddie Van Halen and members Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar.

Last week, Eddie Van Halen told Rolling Stone that Anthony "quit" Van Halen. But in an exclusive interview with MusicRadar, Anthony disputed Van Halen's assertions, saying, "I never quit Van Halen. It never happened."

We must say, the image of young Wolfgang, decked out in the dice T-shirt and hankerchief outfit worn by father Eddie during the 1984 tour, playing with the vintage-era Van Halen, does look a tad weird. What do you think? Have a look at the trailer below and let us know your thoughts. (By the way, the music is temp only. A full listing of the tracks for the game have yet to be supplied.)

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Joe Bosso
Joe Bosso

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.