Hear Snippet of Final Eddie and Alex Van Halen Song
Alex Van Halen has shared a snippet of an unreleased track written with his late brother Eddie called "Unfinished," which is scheduled to arrive next month alongside the release of his memoir Brothers.
You can listen to the preview of "Unfinished" via Instagram below.
The brothers' handiwork should be immediately evident to Van Halen fans. The snippet of "Unfinished" features Eddie's harmonic overtones, soaring bends and light vibrato atop delicately strummed acoustic guitar, along with a steady beat (and signature snare drum sound) from Alex.
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When Can Fans Hear All of Eddie and Alex Van Halen's 'Unfinished'?
"Unfinished" will arrive on Oct. 22 to coincide with the release of Brothers. The track will be featured in the audio edition of the memoir, which Alex voiced himself. Publisher HarperCollins confirmed that "Unfinished" is "the last piece of music they wrote together" before Eddie's death at age 65 in 2020.
Aside from the release of Brothers and "Unfinished," fans shouldn't expect to see or hear additional musical output from Alex Van Halen. The drummer announced the auction of his musical equipment earlier this year, much to the dismay of former bandmate Sammy Hagar, who is currently paying homage to the Van Halen catalog on his Best of All Worlds tour with Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani and Jason Bonham.
"Mike and I reached out to Alex before we did this," Hagar told UCR over the summer. "We reached out to him a dozen times before this tour, in every way. Email, text message, phone call, message on the machine, OK? No response. No response. ... I was saying, 'He'll come to a show, he's got to in L.A. or something. I'm sure he'll come.' But no, no, he sold all of his equipment. That was his statement. That was like, 'Nah, I ain't coming nowhere.'"
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Gallery Credit: Ultimate Classic Rock Staff