Sammy Hagar got into the music business when heavy metal was still in its infancy. Even though Black Sabbath was arguably the only recognizable heavy metal band at the time, not many people wanted to follow in the footsteps of artists like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, and even they were reluctant to use the title too frequently. Even though Hagar was working in Montrose, he was still influenced by pure hard rock. However, even before he joined Van Halen, he sensed that there was something special about the band.
To start with, let’s be clear: Sammy Hagar is not accountable for “watering down” Van Halen. It would never have worked if they’d tried to force him to sing like Roth; by the time he joined, the band was already trying to explore new musical territory.
After all, Roth’s pipes were never nearly as good as Hagar’s. To be honest, Roth was never a better showman than a singer. Eddie’s inventive licks always constrained Roth, even with his captivating stage persona during live performances.
Despite the excellent music Hagar produced with them, he believed that Roth’s lineup for the group was virtually unrivaled. Hagar declared having seen the kind of band that would blow rock and roll wide open. He had still been cutting his teeth in Montrose when Van Halen blew up.
Hagar told Metal Evolution that he thought Van Halen would spearhead the next wave of heavy metal after seeing them for the first time and that “they went out crazy, drinking straight out of the bottle and doing drugs.” They’ve just made it available to Mötley Crüe and Poison. I believe that Van Halen represented the next wave of metal reinventions.
Van Halen tended to blur the boundaries of what defines heavy metal, so this is odd. Yes, their songs are heavy, but if you tried to tell someone that a song like “Jump” belongs in the same genre as bands like Metallica, they’d probably think you’re crazy.
About half of Van Halen’s best songs are about turning everything up to eleven and seeing where it goes. They could still make those heavy songs on tracks like “Get Up” and “Poundcake.” Hagar gave them a commercial rock sheen on their subsequent albums.
And without Van Halen, the Sunset Strip would have been deserted if we’re talking about the origins of hair metal. Everyone with teased hair aspired to look like David Lee Roth. Eddie pioneered some of those tapping licks that were necessary to gain the respect of any member of the guitar community. Although Van Halen didn’t plan to inspire an entire generation, when you do something well, people will eventually follow.
