When Rolling Stone checked out a trailer and some video footage of the new Guitar Hero: Van Halen from last week’s E3 Expo, we noted the band seemed short a few members — namely founding bassist Michael Anthony and onetime frontman Sammy Hagar. Our suspicions that the former members would not be included in the game were confirmed today by a spokesperson for the game.

An Activision/RedOctane rep says only David Lee Roth and Wolfgang Van Halen will appear in GH:VH alongside Eddie and Alex Van Halen. Inquiries about the track list — to determine whether the game will feature any Hagar-era tracks — went unanswered at press time, but according to reports out of E3, only DLR-fronted songs like “Jump,” “Panama,” “Hot For Teacher” and “Little Guitars” have been revealed, among other tracks from the band’s original lineup.

(Van Halen Reborn: Photos From the Tour Opener.)

According to IGN, in the game “You’ll start out seeing the modern Van Halen, but eventually unlock the classic images of the band with huge hair and tight pants.” However, as Rock Daily joked last week, even as the band’s image changes from the spandex era to modern day, young Wolfgang’s appearance stays comically consistent throughout. For the non-Van Halen songs in the game — tracks by Weezer, Queens of the Stone Age, Queen, Blink-182 and many more — players will take on the guise of previous Guitar Hero characters and not Halen themselves.





This is such an insult! If you choose not to feature Hagar's likeness, then fine. Not include Michael Anthony, a founding member who spent years with you? Are you high? Eddie & Alex, be careful. You reap what you sew. Instead, we get the fat kid from, "Super Bad" as the bassist character in this game. What a bunch of crap!

Under the same thought....Newstead is not in GH-Metallica...

Well, to be fair to Metallica, they mostly mixed Newstead out of the records anyways (see also: ...and justice for all)

Michael Anthony has been screwed by that band as far as I'm concerned. Once they booted him, I vowed to not buy any new CD by them or go to one of their shows. Regardless of whether you like him or his playing, he's gotten a raw deal. I'm tired of Eddie and his antics. Very dissapointing. VH is one of my all time favorite rock bands, and I always liked Anthony. The way they excluded him from the reunion really sucked. I thnk Wolfgang looks ridiculous on stage with those guys, it's just not right.

Really, it's Guitar Hero. I really don't think Michael or Jason mind being left out that much. They have both moved on and honestly, with Jason's apparent health issues I think he has much bigger fish to fry.

Now, those two guys may have some legal claims to make against their former bands if they are being left out of royalites on those games -- and if so I hope they sue their former bands' a**es and take them for every penny, plus interest -- but from a pure ego perspective I really don't see this bothering either of them that much. Michael in particular is playing with a real drummer for the first time in his career... he has to be happy as a clam about that.

Welcome to the music biz.

If michael shares song writing credits on any of those tunes (which I think he does for some) he should still be realizing some monetary benefit from this, but it does suck to be erased by some selective revisionist history by the guy you played with for almost two decades. Thats like when Ozzy remixed that record to replace all the bass tracks on it.

But the band ain't called "Anthony" it's called "Van Halen" so.....but still, thats cold.

Long live Chicken Foot!!

They had some great tunes. It's just sad when personal gripes and ego's get in the way of things. My respect for Eddie as a person{not as a musician}..has long since gone.

Thats like when Ozzy remixed that record to replace all the bass tracks on it.

And the drums. Because Sharon Yoko Ozzno said the rhythm tracks weren't tight enough.

Funny thing is, you iso those tracks and Kerslake and Bob Daisley are rock solid while Ozzy and Randy Rhodes are all over the road as far as the time feel.

Long live Chicken Foot!!

Checked them out last night, cool stuff :cool:

My respect for Eddie as a person{not as a musician}..has long since gone.

I don't even think that much of him as a musician anymore. Those godawful keyboards... and even on guitar he's been doing the same schtick for 30 years now or whatever.

I call bs on Van Halen for that stunt.

VH have become a parody unto themselves as far as I'm concerned. They have been for some time now. I wish nothing but the best for MA and Chickenfoot.

...players will take on the guise of previous Guitar Hero characters and not Halen themselves.

And there's the cherry on that s**t sundae.

...players will take on the guise of previous Guitar Hero characters and not Halen themselves.

And there's the cherry on that s**t sundae.

According to IGN, in the game “You’ll start out seeing the modern Van Halen, but eventually unlock the classic images of the band with huge hair and tight pants.”

i like RockBand better, but then i enjoy playing the drums in the game more than the basslines anyways. VH went down the tubes after Hagar so between their moronic revisionist antics and the fact it's GH i'm not buying this one even if it's avail for $5 (for $1 or 2 i might consider it).

Really, it's Guitar Hero. I really don't think Michael or Jason mind being left out that much. They have both moved on and honestly, with Jason's apparent health issues I think he has much bigger fish to fry.

Now, those two guys may have some legal claims to make against their former bands if they are being left out of royalites on those games -- and if so I hope they sue their former bands' a**es and take them for every penny, plus interest -- but from a pure ego perspective I really don't see this bothering either of them that much. Michael in particular is playing with a real drummer for the first time in his career... he has to be happy as a clam about that.

+1 Chad Smith!

According to IGN, in the game “You’ll start out seeing the modern Van Halen, but eventually unlock the classic images of the band with huge hair and tight pants.”

Seeing, not playing as.

Long live Chicken Foot!!

and a big +1 to that!!!!!!!

When Rolling Stone checked out a trailer and some video footage of the new Guitar Hero: Van Halen from last week’s E3 Expo, we noted the band seemed short a few members — namely founding bassist Michael Anthony and onetime frontman Sammy Hagar. Our suspicions that the former members would not be included in the game were confirmed today by a spokesperson for the game.

An Activision/RedOctane rep says only David Lee Roth and Wolfgang Van Halen will appear in GH:VH alongside Eddie and Alex Van Halen. Inquiries about the track list — to determine whether the game will feature any Hagar-era tracks — went unanswered at press time, but according to reports out of E3, only DLR-fronted songs like “Jump,” “Panama,” “Hot For Teacher” and “Little Guitars” have been revealed, among other tracks from the band’s original lineup.

(Van Halen Reborn: Photos From the Tour Opener.)

According to IGN, in the game “You’ll start out seeing the modern Van Halen, but eventually unlock the classic images of the band with huge hair and tight pants.” However, as Rock Daily joked last week, even as the band’s image changes from the spandex era to modern day, young Wolfgang’s appearance stays comically consistent throughout. For the non-Van Halen songs in the game — tracks by Weezer, Queens of the Stone Age, Queen, Blink-182 and many more — players will take on the guise of previous Guitar Hero characters and not Halen themselves.





This is such an insult! If you choose not to feature Hagar's likeness, then fine. Not include Michael Anthony, a founding member who spent years with you? Are you high? Eddie & Alex, be careful. You reap what you sew. Instead, we get the fat kid from, "Super Bad" as the bassist character in this game. What a bunch of crap!


EVH continues to be one of the biggest douchebags to walk the earth. What happened to that guy ? I used to think he was a genius :rollno::scowl::spit:

It is something to be expected from the angry little lady that leads the VH crew (yes, the annoying little shredder that many, many people consider a guitar god, i don´t care, call me opinionated, flame me, whatever) don´t get me wrong, i kinda liked the band as a whole, before they become the joke that they are. Poor "Wolfie", i feel a little simpathy for the boy, it must be hard to have an EGOcentric maniac like "Daddy EVH" pushing you to try to fill the shoes of a truly HEAVYWEIGHT musician such as MA, who sang high harmonies wonderfully and precisely pounded his way through years of classic material and also carried on his back the oddly sounding AVH with his very well known timing issues /rant

I couldn´t care less about video games, but the fact that SH and MA were left out as if they didn´t exist, stings...a lot.

I wonder if you can unlock that special live version of "Jump" where EVH and the pre-recorded synth line are in completely different keys.

Alex Van Halen --> Chad Smith = Huge kit and ego --> huge heart and groove.

Michael Wins.

Michael Anthony getting the shaft from Van Halen and ending up with Chickenfoot, is like a battered and abused spouse ending up with a much better looking and sexual partner who finally treats them right.;)

I'm going to have to pick up their album.

Just picked up Chickenfoot at Target before my dental appt...Really good album, it's nice to be able to hear Mike play and have him mixed so you can hear him!

Chickenfoot is badass. I like soap on a rope.

These band specific guitar heroes have two different ways of doing things. in Aerosmith you follow the band's timeline, in that you start at the begining and work your way through like the band. while in metallica you simply play as modern metallica playing old metallica songs with rob;( this was done becuase they rest of the band thought it would be a slight to have newsead in the game). this seems to follow the metallica pattern but it doesn't make any sense, becuase MA was such an integral part of the band's sound. not saying cliff or jason weren't but rob was a legetimate replacement whereas wolfie just got the job becuase of daddy

And the drums. Because Sharon Yoko Ozzno said the rhythm tracks weren't tight enough.

Funny thing is, you iso those tracks and Kerslake and Bob Daisley are rock solid while Ozzy and Randy Rhodes are all over the road as far as the time feel.

No, that's not why they did it, it is because Lee Kerslake and Bob Daisley were suing them for unpaid royalties. Did you know that Bob Daisley wrote almost every lyric Ozzy sang, for most of his solo career? Geezer wrote the lyrics in Sabbath. You should check out Bob Daisley's site, bobdaisley.com, it is interesting. I haven't looked in a while, but it was good reading.

I wonder if you can unlock that special live version of "Jump" where EVH and the pre-recorded synth line are in completely different keys.


epic VH fail heheheheh (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjx_GjyXCs4)

VH have become a parody unto themselves as far as I'm concerned. They have been for some time now. I wish nothing but the best for MA and Chickenfoot.

this

Michael Anthony has been screwed by that band as far as I'm concerned. Once they booted him, I vowed to not buy any new CD by them or go to one of their shows. Regardless of whether you like him or his playing, he's gotten a raw deal. I'm tired of Eddie and his antics. Very dissapointing. VH is one of my all time favorite rock bands, and I always liked Anthony. The way they excluded him from the reunion really sucked. I thnk Wolfgang looks ridiculous on stage with those guys, it's just not right.
I Agree. I love his bass lines on "Mean Street".:bassist:

epic VH fail heheheheh (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjx_GjyXCs4)

Thank you so much. That made my day. I have always just despised that song and this clip does it perfect justice.

My favorite part was the first "can't you see what I MEEEAAAAHHNNN" where the synth is on one note, DLR is on another and Eddie is on a third. (1:55) That is classic. The lead is pretty sweet as well.

And to think people probably paid $100 a ticket to see that cr*p. I've heard cover bands do that song better. By a lot.