Michael Anthony recently shared his thoughts on his former Van Halen bandmate Alex Van Halen’s announced new album project. He offered his perspective on the direction it should take in a statement to Audacy.
The bassist expressed his views on whether a new singer should be brought in for Alex Van Halen’s upcoming record featuring Toto’s Steve Lukather.
“The way I personally feel about it is, if they wanted to do it justice, [the best idea would be] to just finish it up as a great instrumental nod to Eddie [Van Halen],” Anthony said. “You know, because getting a new singer in there, we’re not forming a new band, and then you’ve got to work on lyrics and all that stuff.”
Anthony continued his reasoning about the practical challenges of involving a vocalist.
“And who knows when anything would be put out at that point,” he added.
The comments reflect Anthony’s preference for honoring Eddie Van Halen’s legacy through instrumental music rather than pursuing a more complex collaborative approach with new vocalists.
Anthony’s perspective comes as Alex Van Halen moves forward with a project that has deep roots in the band’s history. The project represents unfinished business from their final creative period.
Blabbermouth reported that the project draws from previously unreleased, unfinished Van Halen recordings that were intended as a follow-up to 2012’s A Different Kind of Truth. The tracks already feature drums, guitar, and bass parts but lack vocals. This makes the search for a singer a crucial element in completing the material.
Alex Van Halen has confirmed that he and Steve Lukather are actively searching for a vocalist to bring these recordings to life. However, the search has already encountered some setbacks. Guitar World noted that Paul Rodgers recently declined an offer to front even one track. He cited his current acoustic phase as the reason for his decision.
The collaboration with Steve Lukather represents a carefully considered choice by Alex Van Halen. Ultimate Guitar revealed that Alex has explained that Lukather was chosen specifically because of his ability to understand and complement Eddie Van Halen’s musical vision. This choice also helps to protect the band’s legacy.
The project represents what could have been the next chapter in Van Halen’s discography. This makes Anthony’s suggestion for an instrumental approach particularly poignant. These recordings capture the final creative period of the Van Halen brothers working together. This adds significant emotional weight to the decision of how best to present them to the world.
