Following in his father’s footsteps, Wolfgang Van Halen and his band Mammoth released their second album, “Mammoth II”. Van Halen II, Mammoth took inspiration from the name of Van Halen’s second album. Fans feel excited for the band’s release as the album will feature similar songs to their first album Mammoth WVH. Former Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar claims Wolfgang’s new band acts as the new Van Halen, filling the hole after the end of Van Halen.

The new album officially releases August 4, 2023. The new album, Mammoth II, takes a modern rock perspective to music rather than a classic hard rock. On the tracks released from the new album, they focus on vocals and electric guitar, the songs seem powerful and full of energy, especially in the single “Another Celebration At The End of The World”. To promote their music and new album, Mammoth decided to join Metallica on tour in Europe, playing several openers for the metal band. 

“I loved their new album. Since their first album had so many top songs I’m really excited for the full release of their second album. I loved the ‘Don’t Back Down’ track on their first album,” sophomore Henry Witschy said.

Considering Mammoth WVH fans listen to the band’s music because of the relation to the classic rock band Van Halen, fans of Van Halen hoped for a spotlight on guitar in the album and for Wolfgang to play similarly to his father. Part of what made Van Halen special to the fans and the unique guitar playing and focus on the instrument from Wolfgang’s father Eddie Van Halen. Despite this, Mammoth and Wolfgang did not follow in those footsteps in the new album. “Mammoth II” does not contain any unique aspects and sounds like an average modern rock album.

The songs and style of the songs seem to sound similar to Mammoth’s first album released in 2021. Using music theory and tricks Wolfgang learned from his father and his band, the songs portray intricate mixings to make the song stand out.

“The new album is bland and is basically the same as their first album. I was hoping for Wolfie and the rest of the band to create a more unique sound like Van Halen used to have. Right now I’d say Polyphia is the most unique upcoming rock band, but I really wish Mammoth did something to make them unique,” sophomore Jackson Rains said.

With the fall of rock music and the rock subgenres, fans felt that Mammoth and up-and-coming bands such as Polyphia and Paris Jackson’s band will bring rock back to the spotlight in music. New Mammoth fans and old Van Halen fans rejoice over the release of Mammoth’s new album and cannot wait for the album’s reveal.