'Light Up The Sky' - Drum Playthrough

Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater fame is a big Van Halen fan. Modern Drummer recently did a video interview with Portnoy where he worked through Van Halen's "Light Up The Sky." The entire playthrough starts just after the 2-minute mark. I love how there are cuts to Portnoy's feet as well.

I do think Alex Van Halen is probably underrated as a drummer. He was always in his brother's shadow but that was inevitable. Eddie Van Halen was a musical genius but Alex has those chops and rare talent, too. "Light Up The Sky" is one of those gems that really shows off the talents of both brothers equally.

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David Lee Roth, Full Show - M3 Rock Festival

David Lee Roth headlined M3 Rock Festival May 3. A video with the entire performance is below. Roth didn't do any of his solo work and that seems odd to me - it was all Van Halen, all the time. Still, Dave and his backing band sound great here! So many of those classic Van Halen harmonies.

The comments on the YouTube clip are pretty great. Just about everyone was expecting a disaster and instead they got an epic performance. It's pretty clear Dave has been putting in the work and training for his live gigs this summer. Is a tour happening? Inquiring minds want to know.

But How Long Until A Trillion?

You do have to wonder how long it will take to get to a trillion streams?

Taylor Swift has the most on Spotify with over 100 billion streams, and that is the most on that platform. Queen has the record for the most Spotify streams among rock artists. Metallica holds it for metal acts. Looks like Van Halen ranks #65 among top streamers that are also top selling artists of all time. In straight streams, as of today, it looks like Van Halen sits at the 554th position of most streamed of all time on Spotify. Interesting stuff.

Van Halen's "Jump" Exceeds One Billion Streams on Spotifyhttps://t.co/W7VjMeB6gU

— MetalSucks (@metalsucks) April 12, 2025

Scrap That Recent Van Halen Album News

Ok so now the news is that Toto guitarist Steve Lukather won't be playing on a new Van Halen album.

Apparently Steve's quote to a Dutch newspaper was taken out of context. Lukather says he will never play guitar on a Van Halen song, ever. He did help Alex Van Halen go through unfinished recordings between the two brothers. Seems like that is all there is to Lukather working on music with Alex Van Halen.

Remember, the Van Halen brothers and Lukather are all great friends and go way back, so the idea of an album collaboration wasn't that far fetched.

So now who knows if we will ever get new Van Halen music. Just don't hold your breath.

A New Van Halen Album Is Coming (Maybe?)

At first I took it as rumor that Alex Van Halen was done with retirement and working on new music. Turns out, he is working with Steve Lukather to finish up some incomplete Van Halen material. Well, material between Eddie and himself at least. Will there be vocals? Will Wolfgang Van Halen participate? So many questions.

Eddie Van Halen & Alex Van Halen - 'Unfinished/Between Us Two' - Full Song

Well this is incredible. We now have the full version of "Unfinished / Between Us Two," the last track that brothers Alex and Eddie Van Halen worked on before Eddie's death.

The song doesn't need vocals at all and maybe it was written in that vein. I've seen old online articles (well, message board posts) about the track that note Sammy Hagar had written some words for the music but they were scrapped. This just doesn't seem like a song that needs words to me.

The part starting at 4:15 is just so good when it comes to guitar work - all those classic Eddie Van Halen signatures are there. One note and you know who is playing.

Knowing that this track is the end really hits home and makes it all the more haunting.

30 Seconds Of 'Unfinished'

Drummer Alex Van Halen will release his book Brothers on October 22. Along with that book is a full, previously unheard Van Halen brothers track. In fact, the track is the last one that Alex and Eddie ever worked on together. It is called "Unfinished" and the 30 second teaser is honestly very emotional.

There is no denying "Unfinished" is Van Halen - the song sounds like it would fit on Balance, 5150 or even 1984. We will have to see how the entire song pans out, but I am thinking it will be a slower track throughout with less flash than most Eddie Van Halen tracks.

I can't wait to read Brothers and now I'm really excited to hear this new Van Halen music, too.

Also, happy first NFL Sunday of the season to all who celebrate!