MAMMOTH WVH’s Wolfgang Van Halen discusses his absolute love for Swedish metal band MESHUGGAH
Wolfgang Van Halen takes center stage in Amoeba Music’s “What’s In My Bag?” series, where the MAMMOTH WVH frontman delves into his musical preferences. Among the records that caught his attention, Wolfgang‘s first pick is “Immutable,” the most recent release from the Swedish trailblazers of extreme tech-metal, MESHUGGAH. In this insightful segment, Wolfgang Van Halen shares his appreciation for the groundbreaking sounds and influences that shape his musical taste.
He said about it (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “MESHUGGAH is my favorite. It’s funny — there was a story that came out where it [quoted me as saying], like, ‘MESHUGGAH puts me to sleep,’ and that was taken out of context. I said I can fall asleep listening to MESHUGGAH, which is a compliment, because it relaxes me. It brings me peace. It brings me zen.
“As a drummer first, I tend to intake music in a more rhythmic manner,” he explained. “I’m all about rhythm, and MESHUGGAH is rhythm. It’s like dinosaurs fighting.”
Wolfgang went on to name the 2002 release, “Nothing”, as “probably my favorite MESHUGGAH album. It’s where they really started getting sort of groovy and sludgy with their sound,” he said. “A lot of people like the one before, [1998’s] ‘Chaosphere’. An amazing album too. It’s more thrashy, but I really like their groovy sort of sludgy aspects, and this one [‘Nothing’] is all sludge and groove.”
Van Halen also mentions MESHUGGAH‘s 2012 LP “Koloss”, calling it “just another great album.”
Wolfgang Van Halen is such a massive fan of the Swedish metal act that he even had his wedding playlist include MESHUGGAH tracks when he married his fiancée Andraia Allsop last October.
Van Halen explained: They’re very progressive metal, I think to anybody, to the non-informed crowd though, it would probably just sound like death metal. Anyone over 40 will be terrified. But you know what? It’s my wedding and I’ll do whatever I want.”
Back in November 2022, Wolfgang Van Halen told TellUs Rock that he frequently listens to MESHUGGAH in his spare time, citing them as one of his favorite bands. “I love MESHUGGAH,” he said. “I tend to listen to, at least recently, more heavier music. Like all the new stuff that’s come out. ANIMALS AS LEADERS had a new album come out this year, and so did MESHUGGAH. But MESHUGGAH is one of my favorite bands. [They’re] nothing like MAMMOTH.”
When asked what kind of stuff he draws musical inspiration from for MAMMOTH WVH, Wolfgang said: “On the next album, there actually is some MESHUGGAH-inspired songs — just through the lens of MAMMOTH, though. So it’s not as super heavy.”
Wolfgang Van Halen has not only demonstrated his vast musical prowess but also his eclectic taste in music. In a revealing interview this past July with Primordial Radio, he expressed his deep appreciation for the extreme Swedish metal band, citing their music as a source of relaxation, even to the point of being able to fall asleep while listening to it.
“If you’re familiar with MESHUGGAH, you probably know the song ‘Bleed’.
“MESHUGGAH is just one of my favorite bands,” he continued. “They are unbelievably heavy — there’s nothing heavier than them — but you get lulled into their rhythm. As a drummer first, I just am in love with rhythmic music, and there’s nothing more rhythmic than MESHUGGAH.
“After hearing [‘Bleed’], you probably couldn’t fall asleep to that, but, man, I could, ’cause I love it,” he added.
MAMMOTH WVH dropped its second studio album, “II“, last August via BMG.