A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH
| Van Halen
A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH
A Different Kind of Truth is the twelfth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen. Released on February 7, 2012, by Interscope Records, the record is Van Halen's first full-length album of studio material with former lead singer David Lee Roth since 1984. Likewise, it is Van Halen's first studio album since 1998's Van Halen III. It is the first to feature Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang on bass guitar, replacing Michael Anthony, who had played bass on all of Van Halen's previous albums.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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John McFerrin Music Reviews
David Lee Roth back on vocals was long, hilarious, and, in parts, pretty stupid. Buckle up.
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Ultimate Classic Rock
Van Halen has reunited and made a really damn good comeback album
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Rolling Stone
2012 - It’s ridiculous. It’s obnoxious. It’s awesome. This moment alone sums up why the album needed to happen. We’ve earned it. And so have they.
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Consequence of Sound
2012 - Really, what more do you want from a reunion record, especially one by Van Halen?
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Premier Guitar
2012 - Truth’s most memorable moments are dizzying technical displays during solos and breakdowns. These parts have a lot of verve—you can really tell Ed, bass-playing son Wolfgang, and Alex are stoked to finally be kicking out new jams
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Washington Post
2012 - It finds its groove as it goes along and ends up better than it started
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AV Music
A Different Kind Of Truth matters because it’s a reminder of why this band mattered.
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Billboard
2012 - there's no denying the chemistry they share on "A Different Kind of Truth
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Gold Mine Magazine
2012 - The band’s new album by the almost-classic lineup … well, it’s a corker: hot-clocked with steaming riffs, fluid leads both composed and level-headed.
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The Guardian
Against the odds, the party metal kings are back and blazing. Fun times.
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50 Third and 3rd
2015 - ‘How does it hold up?’ the answer? Very well! Maybe even a tad better being that it has a few years behind it.
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Blabber Mouth
Regardless, it is a release that captures some of the old magic, as well as being a spirited, authentic sounding affair with some pretty darn good tunes and a high level of voltage. In other words, it is a welcome return, warts and all.
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Three Minute Record
Eddie put in a MVP performance on A Different Kind of Truth
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Time
Roth hardly sounds geriatric, Eddie’s solos repel, quake, and tremble, Alex’s thundering percussion remains intact, and Eddie’s son (and the band’s current bassist), Wolfgang, fits right in. Even without Michael Anthony, the harmonies warm up each track in trademark fashion, cementing this as a genuine Van Halen effort.
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Music Radar
2012 - what they've done here is unprecedented, actually, using demos of old, unused songs for the basis of a good portion of the new material, reinventing and re-imagining themselves in the process
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All Music
but the unexpected signature of A Different Kind of Truth is its heaviness, its 13 songs of loud, unrelenting rock
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UPROXX
2012 - Given all band”s past dramatics, “Truth” could have been a train wreck of epic proportion and it”s far from it, but it just has enough flashes of past brilliance to wish that the same care that seemed to go into the performances had gone into the songs.
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Timeout
2012 - Always more sophisticated than frat-partying fans realized, the musical unit (now with Ed's son, Wolfgang, on bass) continues to bob and weave around Alex's thunderous beats—and that's the real accomplishment of the new album: The band is covering itself
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Bloody Disgusting
2012 - a decent album that contains moments of greatness
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Our Vinyl
This band deserves one last triumph and against all odds, A Different Kind of Truth is that triumph.
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My Global Mind
A fine return to shape for Eddie Van Halen and company and if this is their last hurrah, then at least they gave the fans what they wanted.
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Vintage Rock
2012 - The one thing to be sure of is that Van Halen has returned with an admirable effort, drawing heavily on their earliest and most fertile period.
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Pop Dose
2012 - wonderfully cathartic, full of the pyrotechnics of a younger band, but not in denial of where they stand in the present
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LA Times
2012 - like an awesome old-school Trans Am that can do a wicked burnout from time to time but stalls from misuse
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Antiquiet
2012 - That old familiar feeling has returned, the unique flare of excitement that comes from a muscle car rhythm section led by a six-string wizard and a singing sexual megalodon with an ego that made Kanye look like a kid flaunting his new Spider-Man underoos – and the pipes to back up the strut.
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Pop Matters
2012 - The music here is enjoyable to listen to, even if it's a "check-your-brain-at-the-stereo" type of experience.
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Puluche
2012 - A Different Kind of Truth does have that distinct VH sound that core fans have craved since Roth’s departure.
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Inside STL
2012 - A Different Kind of Truth has a few lumps of coal and a few gems, but it also has some legit diamonds. It makes me happy to say with sincerity that I love this album.
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QRO Magazine
To sum up A Different Kind of Truth in one sentence: settling for good enough does not make something great.
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Grantland
2012 - My actual sentiment is closer to, “This is a good album, but I just don’t like it, no matter how much I try.”
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NME
2012 - So it’s goofball guitars and innuendo all the way.
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Entertainment Weekly
2012 - The result is a gloriously satisfying cop-out — the speed-demon grooves on ”Bullethead” and ”She’s the Woman” let Eddie Van Halen tap into late-’70s pyrotechnics and Roth indulge in his contagious sense of huckster tomfoolery.
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Scan
2012 - Put aside any desires for a new sound, just think yourself into the mind of a 1980s Rock kid, and blast it out loud and proud. For me, it’s what this band’s meant to be: unashamed, unabashed, pure good time Rock & Roll!
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The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
2012 - I’m calling this as my album of the year right now. It’s just about everything I could’ve hoped for, even if it took 16 damn years to finally make it happen.
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What Culture
The Van Halen saga still has mileage left in the tank!
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Project EVH
although on paper the songs were old, leftover rewrites, the record itself is an enjoyable listen, although not exactly a perfect record itself
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Daily Herald
2013 - After a couple dozen listens, my fur-rising factor rates “A Different Kind of Truth” on a nearly equal hallowed plane as “Van Halen I” and “Fair Warning” -- my two personal favorites based on 35 years of utmost fascination with this little old band from Pasadena.
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Chunky Glasses
2012 - But know that there is enough nostalgia and over-the-top guitar heroics here to at the very least garner at a passing consideration.
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Guitar Planet Magazine
2012 - They haven’t tried to reinvent the wheel, but they haven’t attempted recreate 1984 or Van Halen either. Instead they’ve created a collection of 13 frantic tracks that feel utterly effortless and entirely natural.
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Icon Fetch
2012 - If you’re a Roth-era VH fan, there’s certainly enough good stuff here to warrant grabbing the entire album. Pleasantly surprised.
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Scene Point Blank
2012 - There's no ballads to speak of (one of the main points of contention with the Hagar-led era) – just balls out rock.
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Infrared Magazine
2018 - To say that I’m ecstatic that I have another David Lee Roth VAN HALEN CD to put on my shelf next to the other six, is an understatement. The mystique of this band continues.
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U Wire
2012 - As a whole album, “A Different Kind of Truth” really exceeded my expectations and may even find Van Halen reaching a younger audience desperately in need of some radio rock heroes.
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The Patriot Online
2012 - The average listener may find it a refreshing new blend of metal, rock, and a bit of blues. But I don’t think any true Van Halen fans will be able to “Dance the Night Away” to any of these new tracks.
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Modern Rock Review
2012 - I have to say I was very impressed by the album.
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Rukus
A Different Kind of Truth is a terrific album, with plenty to offer. Similar to Van Halen albums of years past, it functions as a great dance partner who pulls you out on the floor and shows you how to have fun.
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The National
2012 - It's just a shame that their reunion album falls so far short of their own greatness.
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Show Biz Monkeys
Eddie's playing is phenomenal, making the album fast paced, hard hitting, and crammed with lots of impressive solos. It should also be noted that there are no keyboards or scraping of piano strings, making this album filled with good old fashioned early eighties hard rock. 4/5
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Military.com
2018 - guitar demon Eddie Van Halen remains at the top of his game, betraying no hint of age or wear in his guitar work. All the staples are there: scorching riffs, waves of overlapping notes that dive bomb into deep growls and signature sonic horse wails.
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Melodic Net
2012 - This album contains reworked songs from 1976-1977 with a few exceptions just bring to out that old classic VH sound, and it truly sounds like an old VH record with loud guitars and upbeat rockers all over the place. This is big rock my friends
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New Zealand Herald
2012 - Fans will jump for joy
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Las Vegas Sun
2012 - That Truth isn’t an embarrassment is a relief; that it’s pretty good at times is a pleasant surprise.
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Rock Review Phil
2014 - a fine piece of work that has shown the band age very well through their long recording hiatus
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Metal Sucks
2012 - it’s pretty good
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News OK
2012 - but when a band collectively decides to create a classicist album, attempting to replicate the spirit of Van Halen's first two albums with entirely new songs would probably not be nearly as successful as the rebuilt parts that power “A Different Kind of Truth.”
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Ibenimages
2012 - I can say that this is among the best Van Halen album I’ve ever heard
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Icon vs Icon
2012 - an outstanding album on the merits of its sound alone
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Chris Gossett
2012 WAS GOOD TO VAN HALEN NATION ... The band is back. Eddie isn't playing outside Van Halen at all, which is good news for the band.
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Metal Underground
2012 - Inconsistent but overall triumphant return for this classic band.
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Metal Insider
2012 - they’re playing with damn near the same intensity that they did 33 years ago. And while a few of its 13 songs could have been trimmed, this is a rock solid album that outperforms its expectations.
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Philly 2 Philly
2012 - I have to say the band's first full-length effort with Roth in almost 30 years rocks out just as hard as some of their finest work.
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Glorious Noise
2012 - It’s unadulterated hard rock music, and every one seems nimble, chomping at the bit to knock the chip off our collective shoulders.
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The Saratogian
2012 - an album for the now middle-aged original fans who still love to rock and those of us who feel we may have been born in the wrong decade for the music we love
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The Arts Desk
2012 - these guys no longer really convince with their inimitable, high-octane slacker-rock
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Daily Collegian
2018 - For those hoping that Van Halen would return to their old selves in their new album, they won’t be disappointed. The music will remind listeners of the beginning of Van Halen’s career, when they were known for the loud, rambunctious music that caused stadiums to overcrowd, and jail cells to be filled with wild fans.
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Mike Ladano
Eddie is riffing, flying into a quick lick that sounds impossible, then back to the riff. Just like the old days. The album is largely (but not completely) based on unused Van Halen songs from the early 70’s and 80’s such as “Down In Flames” and “Ripley”.
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Brave Worlds
2012 - Van Halen have made the rules, but don't necessarily live by them! And that's why A Different Kind Of Truth is a safari of massive proportion, all beasts revealing their teeth.
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Tampa Bay Times
2012 - but the dumb, delicious truth is that it's the same kind of randy metallic thrust the boys unloaded while rebelling against the starched-collar Reagan administration. All these years later, nothing's different at all, and bless them for their failure to grow into responsible adults.
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The Void
2012 - As a Van Halen album, it’s pretty damn good. As a David Lee Roth album, it would also work pretty well.
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Audiokarma
2012 - A great in your face, Van Halen album. I understand the train lp cover now. It feels like a train is passing through the room with this thing cranked.
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Enoch Magazine
A Different Kind of Truth is nuts. VH fans will receive a long awaited “fix” for the sound they became addicted to in the 80’s and early 90’s. You can tell the brothers (and son) really worked on this album.
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Lyric Lounge Review
2012 - ‘A Different Kind of Truth’ sounds loose and has almost a live feeling to it. They’ve not tried too hard to make it sound modern and glossy; it sounds just like the rest of the David Lee Roth era albums; just like it should and just like you hoped it would. It was never broke so it certainly didn’t need fixing.
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Music Perk
2012 - the perfect comeback album mainly because of Van Halen’s ingenious idea of basing their songs on material conceptualized when they were young and at their peak
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Seth Saith
2012 - it's plenty good enough to remind you why they were--and even still are--so great
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Kings River Life
2012 - For me, I had to come to the realization that this is Van Halen today. Once I did that, and then judged the work on its merits, I find that I’m enjoying the album for the most part, and will continue to listen to it.
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Rock Industry Magazine
2012 - All in all a commanding and sound Van Halen album which people should go out and buy!
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WBEZ 91.5 Chicago
but it sure doesn’t do justice to mine, and neither does this cynical comeback attempt
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Van Halen news Desk
an incredible album by any measure
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Chicago Tribune
2012 - There’s one more ingredient that makes “A Different Kind of Truth” an improvement over just about any Van Halen album of the last 25 years: Quirkiness.
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