"Guitar Hero: Van Halen" Trailer Rolls Out at E3 Expo

The trailer for Guitar Hero: Van Halen that's screening at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles has hit the Net, and while there's no official word whether former members Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Gary Cherone make appearances in the game, the band's current lineup — Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Alex Van Halen and Wolfgang Van Halen — are the only ones to appear as avatars in the clip. It's already been a controversial week for VH, as our interview with Eddie Van Halen touched a nerve with Anthony, who spoke out again to reiterate that he never quit the band.

The trailer shows the band in spandex and long hair like it's 1979 and Van Halen II just came out, then in short hair and plain ol' pants — and Wolfgang stays a teenager in both scenarios. He's like Richard on Lost.

(Don't miss our list of the 50 Best Rock & Roll Video Games of All Time.)

While the game features 25 classic Van Halen songs and "3 Signature Eddie Van Halen Guitar Solos," it's unclear if anything but the David Lee Roth-era songs are mined, since it would be strange to see digital Roth singing "Why Can't This Be Love?" Other artists with songs in the game include Queen, Weezer, Queens of the Stone Age, the Offspring and Blink-182. As Rock Daily reported last month, Guitar Hero: Van Halen will be released in the latter half of 2009, along with Activision games Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero and DJ Hero. Earlier this year, the company released Guitar Hero: Metallica.

The game's track list hasn't yet been revealed, but more leaked footage reveals that both 1984's "Jump" and "Panama" will be in the game. Video of one E3er's butchering of "Jump" is right here:

Related Stories:

• "Guitar Hero 5": Hands On at E3
• Guitar Hero: Van Halen Confirmed, Game Due in 2009
• McCartney, Starr Unveil The Beatles: Rock Band in L.A.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

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