Van Halen: The Eruption and the Aftershock

by Michael Christopher

Come the late '70s, the rock music landscape was littered with the bloated carcasses of bands who partied too hard, burned out, or became complacent in success. The door was open for something fresh, wild, and enrapturing. Enter Van Halen. Made up of two Dutch-born brothers, one on drums and the other whose guitar was an extension of his very being, a bass player with a golden throat, and a frontman who made up for his lack of traditional singing ability with attitude and gravity-defying acrobatics onstage, they were unlike anything ever seen before.
Alex and Edward Van Halen, Michael Anthony, and David Lee Roth put a cap on one decade and exploded into the next with a brand of music not quite punk, not quite metal, and not at all subtle. They went from headlining backyard keggers to top billing at the US Festival in front of three hundred thousand people within five years. Then, right when it looked like there wasn't an obstacle created to slow the Mighty Van Halen ascent, the group imploded from the inside out, only to rebound stronger than ever with ex-Montrose howler Sammy Hagar leading them to four consecutive number one albums.
Van The Eruption and the Aftershock tells the story of how one of America's greatest bands weathered arguably the most dramatic soap opera in rock and roll history with songs that would weave themselves into the fabric of every musician who heard them, alongside an incendiary and unrivaled live show. Featuring exclusive interviews with insiders, fans, and artists who were there to witness the rise, the tumult, and the making of legends, it's a story that has to be read to be believed.

264 pages, Paperback

Published October 6, 2021

Reviews

[Emily Correia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was super informative, but I was yearning for there to be a more personal touch to the book. In the epilogue, the author shares more of his passion about the band, but I wish I could have seen more of that energy radiate throughout.

The book touches on a lot of the fun trivia about the band while giving an inside look at how Van Halen solidified its place in the top rock bands of all time. Particularly interesting was the red thread of the fights the band had over the lead vocalist.

If you’re a fan of Van Halen, this book is a fun read, but be aware the book doesn’t feature the most gripping storytelling. All in all, I would have given this a 3.5, but rounding down to the nearest whole star.

[Christopher Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Subtitled: The Eruption and the Aftershock

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

While I have enjoyed a lot of Van Halen’s music (regardless of whether it was David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar singing), I have never been an extremely passionate fan of the band. After reading a book earlier this year about the emergence of hair bands in the 1980s that dated the beginning of that movement to the signing of Van Halen’s first record deal, I immediately put in a request to read this book when I first saw the listing for it on Net Galley.


The book begins with a brief biographical section about Eddie and Alex Van Halen’s childhood, then moves on to the evolution of their band up until the addition of lead singer David Lee Roth. Once that happens, the book shifts into a year-by-year account of the band’s career. Through this book’s album-by-album detailing of all the Van Halen albums and the hit songs on them, I gained a deeper appreciation of the sheer number of recognizable songs the band created. I now realize that Van Halen is greatly underrepresented in my music library.

A major portion of the book covers the drama surrounding who would be Van Halen’s lead singer, a controversial topic that began with David Lee Roth’s departure from the group after their 1984 album, and his subsequent replacement by Sammy Hagar. The controversy didn’t end there, as it dragged on for years and still remains a hot topic of discussion among the group’s fans today.

I gave Van Halen five stars on Goodreads. I’ve really come to enjoy these kind of music ‘biographies’ because they help fill in gaps in my knowledge during the times in my life when I didn’t follow music as closely as I did when I was younger.

[Marc Daley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might be interesting to the casual fan but for more ardent supporters there won't be anything shocking about the level of drama.

[MB KARAPCIK · Rating 3 out of 5]

One year ago today, a guitar god passed away from a long on and off bout with cancer. This book covers more than the exalted Edward Van Halen, one of the most brilliant musicians of our time--it chronicles the entire history of the band. You'll learn about the Van Halen brothers, their cohorts in their band, and the ebbs and flows in their careers and lives.

If you've read other publications, books, and interviews, followed the band closely throughout the years, and consider yourself a dedicated fan, this book may be a little too much like an overview. It's an excellent way to learn about Van Halen if you didn't live through these years when Van Halen dominated the charts, but a lot of the material you may be familiar with already.

Even though I grew up listening to VH, a few items did come as news to me. I was actually surprised I didn't know these facts, so I gained that from the book. On the other hand, the book jumps from 2012 to Eddie's untimely death in 2020, so I felt that was somewhat shortchanging the fans.

For the most part, though, I felt it was a rehash for me and nothing new. I cannot say that I didn't enjoy it, though. I loved going through the journey once again and revisiting the Sammy years even though I am Team Diamond Dave forever. But I feel like this combined a bunch of materials already out into one book, and there are other books I prefer.

I found the writing engaging and the research thorough, but this is a book to start your education on VH, not to continue it. One thing I really thought was excellent was the series of interviews with fans to settle the debate between Dave and Sammy. Most did lean toward Dave, and you even do learn who allegedly made more money for the band. So that was a strong point for the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Rowman & Littlefield, Backbeat for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! It was a pleasure!

[C.G. Twiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun, informative book about one of the most popular rock bands of the 1980s. I myself wasn't an Uber-fan, but some of my young friends were. The first time Van Halen came into my consciousness was with its huge MTV hits "Jump" and "Hot for Teacher" (which must make the top ten list of Videos You Could Never Make Now). It was a nice trip down memory lane to get the stories behind how the albums and songs of my youth came to be, and how the band's formative years - before my time - came to be. I was glad that the book didn't concentrate too much on the partying and womanizing aspects of the band, which I'm sure went on - this was the 80s, after all - but isn't that interesting to me. I stopped quite a bit while reading to look up videos and then even reaction videos to the videos. That epic solo Eddie Van Halen did of "Eruption" live is quite something! No doubt he is one of the best guitarists of the past 100 years. There also were some fascinating little tidbits I never would have guessed, such as that David Lee Roth's voice was considered so poor that there was a big push to replace him right after the band was signed. I always thought his intelligent and semi-comical delivery was one of the band's great strengths. Not to mention his on stage acrobatics.

All in all a very entertaining read.

Thank you NetGalley, Michael Christopher, and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Warbotter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crib notes down and dirty telling of the bands full history, Why crib? well it tells the tale well enough but it never seems to really give you the more detailed facts of the whole matter. Also relies on lot of fan input that isn't as informative as it thinks. The other books felt shorter yet seemed to give more info. Oddly enough this book also felt the most negative. where as you truly felt the brotherhood in other titles. This reveled in the mud shots back and forth yet still didnt give a lot of context to why mud was being thrown.

Is it a bad book? No. I'd even say this is a good starter book if you just want the highlights , Does it get the major stuff? Yeah but it misses making these people human. Everything is curt feeling and flighty into paths that dont really add much to the whole narrative. I know this book is taking a beating but like I said . this is more a beginners guide book and I get why that would be best for most readers. I still liked it but it truly needed to skim on the fans and boost up the personalities

[Cherokee - Books With A Chance · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading informational books about favorite artists, musicians, public figures, etc. There is usually so much passion behind them, why else would you write about them, right?
Well, I found that this book was lacking a bit in the passion, which is disappointing. The foreword started off great, talking about the love for Van Halen... then it kind of tapered off. I wasn't really moved by this read until the author talked of the passing of Dimbag Darrel (another favorite of mine) and the eventual end of Eddie Van Halen.
That being said, it was very informative and I'm glad I had the chance to read it. I did learn some new bits of information I hadn't known before.
It's a good addition to anyone's shelf, granted you're into rock music.


https://bookswithachanceoftraveling.h...

[John Cramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, though fairly broad, overview of the VH saga. For those already familiar with the VH story, you probably won't learn that much here, but I think it's still worth your time.