Van Halen has a ton of recordings in their “vault” at Eddie Van Halen’s 5150 Studios. According to former bassist Michael Anthony, some of that material may eventually see the light of day.
Anthony said in a new interview he’s involved with a potential reissue campaign beginning with the albums from the “Van Hagar” era. He said, “There is movement, and we’re digging back in the stuff … A lot of that stuff Wolfie and Alex [Van Halen] will start going through there, seeing what this is. There’s a ton of stuff.”
Anthony didn’t share a lot of concrete details about these reissues that could potentially feature archival material. However, he did say once the “Van Hagar” reissues are complete, he’s hopeful the David Lee Roth era of reissues would follow.
The bassist also noted that the archives might be filled with a number of live recordings. Anthony said Van Halen “used to record every single show” for the purpose of listening back in order to improve their live performances. He added that the band recorded “almost every show” during their first few tours.
While Anthony said Wolfgang and Alex Van Halen are the ones heading up this project, Wolfgang admits his uncle is the one really in charge. He said in an interview last month when asked about VH reissues that Alex is the “head honcho.” He added, “But when it comes to decision-making or at least just kind of helping out, yeah, I am that sort of what would have been my dad’s vote for stuff there with Al. So Al and I are kind of that team.”