“I’d never in my life been freezing but completely drenched in sweat”: Wolfgang Van Halen had a panic attack while en route to support Metallica
Wolfgang Van Halen is no stranger to the stage; he joined Van Halen alongside his father Eddie in 2006 at the ripe old age of just 15. But that’s not to say he doesn’t still experience nerves like the rest of us.
Wolfie has graced some of the world’s biggest stages; his band Mammoth routinely play arena shows, and he’s appeared at some real landmark events, including Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins tribute shows in London and LA in 2022. He was also invited to appear at Black Sabbath’s monumental farewell show, but was unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts with his own band.
But this breadth of experience doesn’t make him immune to jitters, as he notes in a new interview with Classic Rock.
READ MORE: “Not many people want to watch a band stand in front of their amp line”: Metallica guitar tech thinks ditching real amps helped the band improve spectacle of their live shows
As the story goes, Mammoth were invited to support metal titans Metallica on a string of 2023-2024 shows for their M72 World Tour. But while on the plane to Mexico for two shows in Mexico City in 2024, Wolfgang recalls suffering a panic attack.
“I’ve never in my life been freezing but completely drenched in sweat,” he remembers. “It fucked me up. It felt like it was forever, but it was probably about a 10-minute thing. In hindsight it’s hilarious, but during, very traumatic.”
He notes how he was able to take the negative experience and channel it into something positive, the writing for Mammoth’s newly released third album, The End. “I think that headspace – I’m already an anxious person – bled into the whole writing process,” he says.
As many who have suffered such panic attacks will note, the exact cause is often hard to pin down.
“When I get like that it doesn’t really matter,” Wolfgang notes. “At any time, I can just freak out because something’s gonna go wrong, or I’m gonna make an ass of myself, or I’m gonna ruin it, I’m gonna mess up, or, you know…”
He reflects that some of his anxiety may stem from a lifetime in the public eye as the son of Eddie Van Halen.
“I guess I am my toughest critic,” he says. “And growing up in the scrutiny of the public eye, since I was 14, I think might have a lot to do with that; issues that I’ve got to work on. I’ve been to therapy a couple of times, I’m medicated, all of that. So it’s just a matter of working your way through it, being more comfortable in yourself, not needing that approval from others.”
We were lucky enough lately to catch up with Wolfgang Van Halen himself, where he told us about his five all-time favourite guitar players. You can read the full interview at Guitar.com.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
