Review | Mammoth – The End

BMG

Wolfgang Van Halen has never been content with inheritance. As a musician born into lineage, he’s had the weight of expectation from day one, hardly imaginable to shake off his father’s legacy. With `The End’ however, he signals that those expectations aren’t burdens, but fuel. From his formative years learning guitar, drums, piano, voice, through stepping out with Mammoth `WVH‘, he’s been sharpening his own voice. Both literally and figuratively he developed his vocal craft and songwriting prowess. On this new statement, he’s taken a more visceral, immediate route. He devoted himself to constructing songs instrument by instrument, heartbeat by heartbeat, making `The End’ go full circle as the new dawn of his career.

ONE-MAN-RECORDING-MACHINE

`The End’ is Mammoth’s third full-length album, marking a subtle but significant evolution. Wolfgang drops the ‘WVH’ suffix, stepping into Mammoth, like shedding armour and stepping forward. Recorded at the famed 5150 studio, produced by his frequent collaborator Michael “Elvis” Baskette, this is an album built on urgency, purpose, and craft. Wolfgang wrote every track, played all instruments, laid down all vocals himself. A one-man-recording-machine raising the bar for his career and raising the bar on himself.

From the opening track ,,One of a Kind”, there’s a difference you can hear in the air. A new sonic resonance vibrating throughout the collection of songs. A fierce energy in the guitar lines and the drums, and Wolfgang shifts from doing parts via MIDI demos to playing them live during the demo phase itself, running between guitars, drums, bass, voice, sculpting sections in real time. This recording value immediately injects a soul into his songs and defines the longevity of the melodies as they extend their reach. It is robust and subtle, powerful and timid, while it deploys a genuine contemporary feel. That change injects `The End’ with immediacy, making riffs sound alive, the grooves breathe, and the songs change from constructions into honest confessions. This sincerity makes Wolfie dig deeper into his personal inspiration with the resonance distilled into a collection of standout tracks. Musical construction on this album is tight but expansive.

CLASSIC INFLUENCES

The title song, ,,The End”, opens with a tapped guitar lick that’s been in Wolfgang’s sketchbooks for years; it erupts with melodic daring, but never loses control. The dazzling tapping sequence immediately displays his DNA, evoking parental tutoring before the song starts to breathe fire with intense brooding chemistry. It is powerful, modern, yet hauls the contemporary algorhythms into the front end of the mix. The muscular strum and intense drums add to the urge. The chorus is anthemic, the solo is pitching bold, and yet throughout there’s balance: melody paired with muscle.

On tracks like ,,The Spell”, Wolfgang leans into something woozier, seventies-rock shaded with vocal runs he’s not done before, grooves that swing and pulse. The soundscape is gripping and emulating fuzzy mellowness. On ,,Same Old Song”, with the ponderous drum opening and jagged guitar riff, there’s swagger. The stomping rhythm, fuzzy guitar, piano stabs, and a chorus that builds into something you want to chant back in a stadium, bring classic influences forward without sounding dated. Towering on its discharge, it proves Wolfgang’s evolution in songwriting and performance.

THE CENTREPIECE

Above all, Wolfgang’s voice is the centrepiece. He shades it with grit when needed, lets it soar clean when demanded, and doesn’t shy away from vulnerability. The emotional undercurrents of this album aren’t incidental, and there are scars on display here, adding to the album’s honest exposure. Wolfgang’s panic attack in 2024 shaped parts of the writing, with `The End’ thematically orbiting around trial, doubt and “what feels like the world ending”, as Wolfgang stated in recent interviews. Yet the album is also leaning into finding light, with a glorious confident feeling reverting. That emotional polarity gives the performances weight. When Wolfgang holds a note, you feel both the struggle and the resolve being balanced in his lyrics and delivery.

The hooks are everywhere and are dominating in the construction. The choruses are all powerful and memorable, and ever so often arrive after a keen build, so that their impact isn’t predictable. These powerful arrangements make the album go down like a freight train and run rampant on its throughput. You finished a listen without experiencing its first run, but on 2^nd spin the melodies and hooks already nested. Impressive!

DNA-TENSE SOLO

The feelgood and Beatless’ vibed ,,Happy” and more ominous opened ,,Selfish” pull no punches. The guitars feral, rhythms more aggressive, stripped-down in places so the voice can cut through. The multi-layered vocal segments augment classic resonance, while the heavier parts convey a modern and refreshing tone. It all blends well, like a hybrid of Foo Fighters and King’s X, grown on the soil of melodic arena rock’s finest. (VH, yes).

Check out how ,,I Really Wanna” balances influences. It is the track that leans into Van Halen melodically, but also packs a unique and bold discharge, with some foul-mouthing as well. Wolfie deploying another DNA-tense solo, above the static hooks, gives the song face. These flings of vibes are also driving ,,Better Off” forward. Much like key Van Halen signature from the Hagar days is mixed up with Beatless harmonies, sharpening Wolfgang’s vision.

MAMMOTH – THE CONCLUSION

,,All in Good Time” closes the album with a sense of reckoning. Its acknowledgement and growth, build into hope, reminiscent to Styx’ melodic approach. This channelled way of sequencing feels deliberate, with tension and release, energy and introspection alternating in a satisfying arc.

Uniqueness here comes not just from the fact Wolfgang plays everything himself, but from the way `The End’ bridges personal vulnerability and guitar-savvy hard rock. It’s rare to hear songs that are both tender and thunderous, that let the guitar solo blaze without overshadowing the melodrama of a vocal line. The production is polished but not slick; you still hear edges, grit, sweat. In some moments the record dares to be heavier than past work; in others, more melodic. But the through-line is always voice, hook, identity.

`The End’ is not just another Mammoth album. It is a maturation, a statement of intent. Wolfgang Van Halen shows here that he knows who he is, what he wants to say, and how to say it with force and finesse. For those who’ve followed him from Mammoth WVH through Mammoth II, this feels like both arrival and a new beginning. If you love big choruses, masterful guitar work, songs that feel lived in and sung from the guts, this one will grab you and hold you. Wolfgang unites influences, legacy and modernity, making `The End’ a wonderful experience!

Release date: 24 October 2025