This is it everybody! The one time of the year where mortals & the spirits walk alongside each other. The one time of year that Pumpkin Spice is just a little more potent, and the candy flows even more than Christmas. For people like myself, we bring out the albums that are perhaps a bit spooky. The albums that send chills up our spine, and the albums that may sometimes attract the restless spirits of dead music lovers. As you’ve obviously noticed, I’ve been covering a much less scary band this October in tribute to Eddie Van Halen, who’s now been dead for just over a year now. I took a look at the original run at the beginning of the month, Sammy Hagar’s reign in the middle, and now we’re at the end, and I saved what may be the best for last. So, grab a big bucket of sugary sweets, spray your hair with so much Aquanet that you make a fog cloud in the room, and somehow read my review for A Different Kind Of Truth. Boo!
Background
Taken from Wikipedia:
“The genesis for this album goes back as far as 2000, when the band briefly reunited with David Lee Roth after scrapping Love Again, the second album that would have featured Gary Cherone. The band, with Michael Anthony returned to the studio to write and record some of the tracks that would eventually find their way onto A Different Kind of Truth. Most of the tracks written/recorded were originals and not the reworked tracks spearheaded by Anthony's replacement on bass, Wolfgang Van Halen. A source cited in the article claims to have heard 2000 recordings of future ADKOT tracks "Honeybabysweetiedoll", "As Is", "Blood and Fire" and "The Trouble With Never".
In 2007, Van Halen reunited with original lead singer David Lee Roth – who had left the band in April 1985, at the peak of their global popularity – for a North American Tour. This tour added bassist Wolfgang Van Halen, the then-16-year-old son of guitarist Eddie Van Halen and actress Valerie Bertinelli, forcing out original bassist Michael Anthony, who would go on to form both Chickenfoot and Sammy Hagar and the Circle with Van Halen's second lead singer, Sammy Hagar. The reunion tour consisted of 74 shows from September 2007 to June 2008, and became the band's highest-grossing tour of its thirty-year history, earning over $93 million. Eddie Van Halen was reluctant about the possibility of recording new material with Roth in 2009, citing the poor reaction to the three new songs recorded with Hagar for the 2004 compilation Best of Both Worlds. After Wolfgang became enthusiastic about recording a new Van Halen album, Eddie's opinion changed: "We're doing this [album] for us."
Eddie, Wolfgang and Alex Van Halen began jam sessions at the former's 5150 Studios three months after the tour's completion. During this time, Wolfgang discovered rough, unreleased demos from the band's archives. After listening to these and believing they had potential, he brought them to Alex and Eddie to rework and refine. The first of these tracks, "She's the Woman," was completed by August 2009. It had originally been demoed by the band in the mid-1970s. Roth decided to join the project after hearing this song, as well as two other reworked tracks: "Let's Get Rockin'" – later renamed "Outta Space" – and "Bullethead."
Wolfgang's original intention with the album was to create a collection of previously released "b-sides" (According to Eddie, this would mean deep album tracks such as "Drop Dead Legs" and "Girl Gone Bad") along with three reworked demos, with Eddie saying: "It would [have been] a record of our more hardcore songs and none of the pop stuff. That was the initial plan, but the deeper we dug, the more we found. At the same time I was writing new songs. Dave got very excited about that. We all did. We ended up recording demos for 35 songs." After deliberating over whether to self-produce the album or choose a producer from a list that included Rick Rubin and Pat Leonard (who had involvement on their scrapped album Love Again), Roth suggested John Shanks. Shanks liked the first three songs, and agreed to produce the album, working alongside Wolfgang to pick the demos that would be developed into the album's tracks. While all of Van Halen's albums since 1984 had been produced inside 5150, Roth persuaded the band to work at Henson Recording Studios—where he had been recording for more than a decade.”
The reception of the album was met with positive reviews, and was also a commercial success. A Different Kind Of Truth entered the US Billboard 200 at No. 2, selling 188,000 copies in the first six days of it’s release, becoming the group's 14th consecutive top ten album in the country. By the end of 2012, it would have sold 411,000 copies, making it the 71st best-selling record of the year & the third highest-selling hard rock album. It also debuted at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 14,040 copies, making it the highest-charting release in the country. In Japan, it wound up being at No. 3 on the Oricon chart, and was one of the few western albums to appear on their year-end tally, finishing at number 89 with 79,517 copies sold.
Basic Description
Van Halen resurrected......and a reluctant way to go.
This right here is the return of a legend. Whatever cobwebs or rust they may have accumulated since 1998 in terms of album output were completely cleaned off by this record. Though the original incarnation of Van Halen came back a few times beforehand, this album truly feels like they’re back together. All of the pomp, all of the awesomeness, all of the 1980s vibes, you name it. David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, and Alex Van Halen feel like they’re more connected on this album then perhaps any other during their original lineup. Wolfgang Van Halen, meanwhile, is a great replacement for longtime bassist Michael Anthony, and despite this being the only record he played on, has some damn good skills. Sadly however, A Different King Of Truth would ultimately be the final album on which to end their storied career on. You obviously know why.
Best Track
Tattoo is a hell of a way to show that the band was back. The band had one foot in the door of the past: the whole song is steeped in the band’s original David Lee Roth run. There’s a massive amount of 1980s Hair Metal/Hard Rock nostalgia all over, complete with guitar, bass, and drums that feel like they could only have come from that decade (In terms of playing). On the other hand, the band also have their other foot in the door of the present. The recording & production make the whole song sounds fresh & crisp, as there’s no slipup or stutter though the whole track. On top of that, the band feels incredibly energized, and not at all like the “Dinosaurs” that some of their detractors called them. Definitely the right song to open things up!
Tattoo
Worst Track
Honestly, the only bad thing about A Different Kind Of Truth.....is that this was it. No more Van Halen albums came right after this. The band certainly did a few extra tours, but there were no signs of anymore records. It’s a shame, because this album is so damn good!
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below:
A Different Kind Of Truth
Overall Impression & Rating
A Different Kind Of Truth was a welcome return to the old days. After the dumpster fire that was Van Halen III, going back to the past seemed like a great change of pace. Sure, this was the last thing they put out, and that it’s the only time father & son were together on a record, but it effectively became a hell of a way to go out on. Definitely an album to have in your collection!
A Different Kind Of Truth gets a 9.5 out of 10. A hell of a record to end a career on.
And that was what would ultimately become their final release, A Different Kind Of Truth. For one last time, we saw one of the greats come back, and deliver perhaps the finest work they’ve ever done. For one last time, some 80s nostalgia came back in force. Eddie Van Halen.....I salute you! With the spookiest time of the year now in the rear view mirror, it’s time to revisit a tradition I started last year. So see me in about a week (Maybe less), when I’ll take a look at one of my honorable mentions from the plague ridden year that was 2020. Take care, and be well!
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