“Guitar Hero: Van Halen” Nixes Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar
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.
For more of Rock Daily’s coverage from the E3 Expo, from The Beatles: Rock Band to Guitar Hero 5, check out the full story below:
• Rock & Roll Rules at E3: Lowdown on Expo’s Big Music Games
Related Stories:
• Guitar Hero: Van Halen Trailer Rolls Out at E3 Expo
• Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr Unveil The Beatles: Rock Band
• Guitar Hero 5: Hands On at E3
• DJ Hero Mashes Up Foo Fighters and Beastie Boys: First Look