Whoa, early Van Halen is pretty heavy... METAL!

[Walk]

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=VanHalenVideoMan1

I'm seriously considering early Van Halen, up to and including the first studio album, to be the best stuff the band ever did. After a while, they started leaning too much towards pop music. But early on, they had some really heavy stuff. Hell, I'll go as far as to say that they were an early metal band that, unfortunately, turned pop/rock.

Listen to the opening of Light in The Sky, from 1977. Then listen to Judas Priest's song, Beyond The Realms of Death, from 1978. Let's Get Rockin' is also heavy as hell, especially for its time. Damn it, why did Van Halen have to become famous? They could have been cult metal icons. In some ways, they were, to the hardcore fans who knew them before they exploded.

By the way, I don't give a shit about the reunion. It gave me the curiosity to check out the early stuff, which had been recommended to me for a long time, but that's all it has been good for, at least for me. As far as I'm concerned now, Van Halen burned out before David Lee Roth even left the band.

Whoever has more of these rarities, send me a PM, please.

[mrlee]

van halen 1, 2, the album after it, and the album after that, all really great albums, then when they did the covers album they treaded into a more commercial sound, but still good.

[TAP]

Van Halen was pretty much always had a "pop" element to most of their stuff even on the early albums but I mean that in a positive way. They were unlike any hard rock/metal band that had come before (except possibly Queen) in terms of arrangement, harmonies, hooks etc. You won't find many totally blues or minor key/classical based songs even on the early albums outside of a handful of songs. It was Ed's tone and Dave's swagger which made it hard rock.

[DEAD HORSE]

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=VanHalenVideoMan1

I'm seriously considering early Van Halen, up to and including the first studio album, to be the best stuff the band ever did. After a while, they started leaning too much towards pop music. But early on, they had some really heavy stuff. Hell, I'll go as far as to say that they were an early metal band that, unfortunately, turned pop/rock.

Listen to the opening of Light in The Sky, from 1977. Then listen to Judas Priest's song, Beyond The Realms of Death, from 1978. Let's Get Rockin' is also heavy as hell, especially for its time. Damn it, why did Van Halen have to become famous? They could have been cult metal icons. In some ways, they were, to the hardcore fans who knew them before they exploded.

By the way, I don't give a shit about the reunion. It gave me the curiosity to check out the early stuff, which had been recommended to me for a long time, but that's all it has been good for, at least for me. As far as I'm concerned now, Van Halen burned out before David Lee Roth even left the band.

Whoever has more of these rarities, send me a PM, please.

Becoming "famous" has nothing to do with being pop or stop being metal, Pantera was/is famous and they are METAL Pantera last album, "Reinventing the steel " is still METAL to me , and yeah, Van Halen is metal (or at least metal oriented) and kick ass!

I mean, I could consider KISS a metal band, in the 80's 90's. there is a lot of metal guitar techniques on those songs. and its even funnier that the new GNR HAS metal oriented songs,( including guitar solos) which i love, for example, I.R.S buckethead's solo is pure shredding and metal in your face, i love it!.  anyway sorry to be out of topic, i just thought it would be helpful 

[Mama Kin]

van halen 1, 2, the album after it, and the album after that, all really great albums, then when they did the covers album they treaded into a more commercial sound, but still good.

Which album was covers?

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

Diver Down

[mrlee]

Diver Down

correct, it features the most random of covers, such as pretty woman.

[chriskon72]

Vh1 Vh2, Woman and Children First, Fair Warning, were fuckin kick ass albums, they were the shit.

1984 except for jump was a wicked album too Panama, Drop dead Legs, Hot for Teacher man those were the days I think I need a little VH right about now. Good Times man, I wasn't too crazy about the Hagar years they had the odd song that I liked but not much but... they have this song Amsterdam on the balance album that just fuckin smokes Sounds soo ol'school VH..