What was underrated about Eddie Van Halen

Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick has explained in what way he thinks Eddie Van Halen is underrated.

Talking exclusively to Metal Hammer, the thrash metal player says that Eddie is so famous for his ground-breaking style of shredding that other abilities, like his riffs and timing, are overlooked.

He makes the argument while naming the guitar part in Van Halen’s 1981 track Mean Street as one of his favourite riffs of all time.

“To me, it just captures everything that’s great about a riff,” Skolnick says. “It’s angry, more than was expected from a band like Van Halen, who had a lot of very pop melodies, especially in the vocal tune. That whole tune captures some aggression and intensity, and I can’t think of any metal players that weren’t influenced by that riff in one way or the other.”

Moving on to Eddie himself, he continues: “I think Van Halen sometimes gets overshadowed by his own brilliant lead playing and shredding, or whatever you want to call it. There’s so much more to him: timing, swing, tone and especially riffs. Mean Street really captures the best of the riffs.”

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