Not metal though he had metal riffage on songs and was massively influential on rock and metal guitar.

https://www.tmz.com/2020/10/06/eddie-van-halen-dead-dies-cancer-65/?__twitter_impression=true

Jesus fucking christ. Can 2020 fuck off already? Neil Peart too much already, Sean Reinert was overkill, and now Eddie Van Halen? God fucking damnit!!

That's crazy, I didn't know he had throat cancer. RIP.

Goddamn, this fucking year! Yeah, he wasn't a "metal" guy but his influence is undeniable. I keep 5 of those first 6 albums (sorry, Diver Down) in regular rotation. R.I.P.

I just told my buddy who is a huge fan, thinking he'd be devastated, and without missing a beat he asked if he was running with the devil now.

Van Halen is a band I never, ever listen to but basically every single song I've come across throughout the years has been a total banger. Either way the dude's influence on rock and metal guitar is both undeniable and unquantifiable. Absolute legend in music.

Man this news just ruined my fucking life. I wanted to hear EVH play live one day and that'll never happen now. Absolutely love his body of work. Fuck everything.

I have to echo Bastardhead here. I never, ever got into Van Halen in the sense that I ever willingly sought out their music, but every song I have ever heard by them was totally killer. His popularization of tapping had such a massive, incomprehensible influence on just about every genre of hyper-technical music, and metal in general. Really sad to hear.

Time to spin VH3.

Eddie Van Halen changed the way people played guitar in the late 70s onward almost singlehandedly. I've dabbed on the band a couple times, mostly due to the singers being how they are, but their influence on multiple fronts of the music world is absolutely staggering. It sadly isn't surprising due to his past health concerns but it is a huge bummer all the same.

Man, I won't call myself much of a fan, but the first album gets played regularly around these parts. Such a great and feelgood album. RIP, Eddie.

God damn it, this one hurts. Was just installing my first proper-ish sound system ever in my new flat when I saw the news on my phone, feels weirdly ironic and VH's debut is what I'll be playing on it first for sure. As influential on guitar playing and sound as anyone you can think of, what an absolute legend.

He is a guitar god no doubt. That's what smoking does, it causes throat cancer. I truly believe everyone who smokes till old age gets cancer. If they don't have cancer they live miserable lives with frequent doctor and hospital visits and multiple diagnoses. I believe it affects everyone the same now, which is why I'm on nicotine gum.

Anyway, I knew many of Eddie Van Halen's pieces on the guitar, including Eruption, I'm the One, Hot for Teacher, Jump, and Beat it solo. I'll never forget listening to Van Halen 1 on tape back in 1998 when I was just about to start middle school. It changed my life forever. It got me practicing all day and night to learn how to play metal and rock guitar.

Eddie Van Halen, George Lynch, and Yngwie Malmsteen are THE guitar gods of my life. He really affected my life in so many ways. RIP.


This is my tribute to Eddie Van Halen with an old cover I recorded of Eruption:

Same here. I've never really been drawned to their music, but it's quality stuff alright. Eddie Van Halen was a very influential guitarist for both metal and rock indeed. May he rest in peace.

Horrible news. He was one of the (if not the) best guitarists of all time. He redefined the guitar solo. The entire 80's hard rock and glam scene owes its existence to Van Halen. He was imitated and copied by so many, but no one had his flare, his style or his sound. Not to mention his riffs, which were also killer, and had a huge influence to metal. Just listen to Atomic Punk, Romeo Delight, and Unchained. You can't tell me that's not metal. I was really hoping he would get better and the guys could do one more album. A Different Kind of Truth is criminally underrated.

Maybe Eddie and Diamond Darrel can jam together in some alternate reality.

Arguably, the biggest influence on the electric guitar in the past 40 years. Incredible, incredible musician. His leads always get praised, but his rhythm playing was just as good. Van Halen were just such a fantastic hard rock band and Eddie was, of course, the heart of that. A sad day. Goodnight, sweet prince.

As a huge VH fan I agree, A Different Kind of Truth is a killer record.

An incredibly versatile and legendary player.

R. I. P.

One of the most iconic guitar players of all time.

I'm so fucking glad I saw Van Halen live twice.

One of my fondest concert memories out of the literal hundreds of shows I've seen, was how deafeningly loud the crowd was during the "hey! hey! hey!' part of Ain't Talkin' Bout Love. It was absolutely bombastic. I get chills and the hair on my arms stands up just thinking about it.

RIP to this legend. Being a hard rock and metal fan as a teenager, this guy was untouchable, and god-like.

Lucky git. Never had the chance. One of my favourite bands ever, ever since I picked up 1984 for pennies in a charity shop.

With Eddie - the second time around with one of the unpleasant cancers, plus his other health problems, plus the 1970s - he had a good run for all that, considering.

Tomorrow's playlist will be easy to organize !

I've been a huge fan since my childhood but as I was never into the Hagar era, despised it actually, I only got a chance to see them on the Different Kind of Truth reunion tour. Show was just OK thougth Eddie could still shred.

Awww this one hurts

R.I.P

That really sucks. He was one of the most skilled guitarists ever, a true legend. R.I.P. Eddie.

This is one mother fucking take.

Jesus, no good. RIP.

This is crazy, I had no idea he was ill. Van Halen is one of those bands that I dont listen to all the time but i cycle them back into my rotation and i'd say about a week ago I started blasted them throughout the week, never had even the slightest idea that he would be passing away. That said the dude was an Icon and extremely influential.

I'm half ready to just go into cryo until 01/01/21. This year is insanity.

I saw Twister in the theater, this song played over the credits, and I had it stuck in my head for weeks. That doesn't happen often, but it turned into one of my primary inspirations to learn to play guitar, which I indeed did and began that journey a few months later. I don't listen to them a great deal anymore, but he's still one of my favorite players and has certainly had a fair amount of influence on me.

Watching various EVH vids and some of these all star jams you don't even see him but you can tell as soon as his monster fucking guitar tone hits who is playing as he walks on the stage from the side. Just unmistakable.

His music was a huge part of my formative years and I loved absolutely everything Van Halen did up until 1984 (the album.) Even after that, I never stopped appreciating his wicked skills on guitar or his influence on countless other guitarists- both rock and metal. I had no idea he was sick like that. Because I remember so vivedly those early albums, and adored them as a kid, this one hits hard, seeing my old rock idols slowly pass away one after another.

R.I.P. Eddie Van Halen.

Somewhere, Keith Richards is smiling.

One of my greatest regrets is not seeing Van Halen play live when I had the chance as a kid.

It's a mixed bag, but there are many cool things about it that are almost always overlooked.

In a world with hundreds and hundreds of influential guitarists, Hendrix and EVH were simply on another level by themselves. Rest in peace Eddie.

All six of those classic era records are phenomenal, but I'll always favor the 3 album run of Women & Children First, Fair Warning and Diver Down. Their true heydey & creative/musical peak, imo

RIP Eddie, you made my teen years ROCK

Not to derail, but I have a similar experience with Lemmy. I was going to see Motorhead at riotfest, but it was about a few months before he died. Anthrax was playing Indians, and right before the two step they said Motorhead was not going to play because Lemmy wasn't feeling it, dedicating the rest of set to them and then starting up the two step.

It was a great show, but man, the fact that he died right after was really painful. I guess I don't 'regret' it, because I tried to see em, but goddam it would've been awesome to see him play just once.

EVH really seemed to keep his sickness on the down low too, which makes this a bit more a surprise. I'm sure other people knew he had cancer, but I honestly didn't even know until today

Seconded. His rhythm playing was absolutely immense. I think I might like it more than his leads. VH was just a great fuckin band. First 6 on constant rotation and the Sammy era is cool with me too.

I don’t think it’s a great album but Fire in the Hole rips pretty hard.

Listening to Women And Children First right now in your honour. RIP Eddie.

RIP. He was such a great musician.

RIP. Another band I'm too late getting into. Only have the first album. That's playing right now.