Sammy Hagar recently addressed speculation about his involvement in Alex Van Halen’s upcoming album project. He confirmed that neither he nor Michael Anthony were invited to participate, as discussed on Rock Of Nations.
The former Van Halen frontman clarified the situation regarding Alex Van Halen’s new album. The album reportedly features Toto’s Steve Lukather.
“No. We haven’t been asked, number one,” Hagar said. “I can tell you, the day I walked in the studio, in 5150, to basically, if you wanna call it an audition, but to meet the guys and to play music, we played for about eight hours at least. And we recorded everything.”
Hagar explained the extensive recording sessions from the Van Halen era and the wealth of material that exists.
“Everything that I ever did, and every time we made a record, we recorded hundreds of hours of jam and music, and then we cut ’em up, made songs. That’s the way we did it,” he continued. “So there’s so much stuff from Mike and I and Ed and Al in the studio. Like I said, just the initial day that I went in there, we got ‘Summer Nights’, we got ‘Good Enough’ and the beginnings of ‘Get Up’ from [the] ‘5150’ [album] — three songs that came from that eight-hour jam.”
The singer expressed his disappointment about not being included in the project.
“But, obviously, Al’s got a reason, and he’s Alex Van Halen; he can do whatever he wants. And, to me, it’s an Alex Van Halen project, and it’s not necessarily a Van Halen project, but I guess we’ll see if it ever sees the light today,” Hagar said. “But I’m disappointed that Mike and I wouldn’t be invited. It’s, like, what? Are you kidding me? We’re still alive. We’re out here doing it. We’re playing those songs. We can still do it, you know?”
Michael Anthony also weighed in on the situation. He expressed his willingness to participate if asked.
“Yeah. If this is material that we jammed on or whatever, I’d have no problem coming in and singing or [playing bass] or whatever. It’s all good there,” Anthony said.
The comments shed light on the current relationship between the former Van Halen bandmates and Alex Van Halen’s solo endeavors.
This revelation comes amid recent confirmations about Alex Van Halen’s ambitious project to complete unfinished material featuring his late brother Eddie Van Halen’s recordings.
Ultimate Classic Rock reported that Alex Van Halen confirmed work on an album of unfinished Van Halen songs in February 2026. The project builds on unreleased Eddie Van Halen recordings that include drums, guitar, and bass parts already recorded by Eddie, Alex, and Wolfgang Van Halen.
Alex has emphasized his commitment to maintaining the band’s high standards for any potential release. VHND revealed that Alex stated, “We’re not gonna release it in its embryonic form because it wouldn’t make any sense. It has to be of the quality and the level of where we left it.”
Rather than reaching out to former Van Halen vocalists, Alex is reportedly considering legendary singers from outside the band’s history. Metal Wani noted that Alex is eyeing singers like Robert Plant or Paul Rodgers instead of past Van Halen vocalists. However, no vocalist has been finalized for the project.
The project remains in development with no official release date announced. Fans should not expect a traditional Van Halen comeback or tour. This appears to be specifically positioned as an Alex Van Halen solo endeavor rather than a full band reunion.
