Van Halen’s Eruption is widely regarded as the crème de la crème of shred guitar, and when it was released in 1976, it changed the face of guitar forever. Now, São Paulo guitar prodigy Filipe Rosset has put his own spin on the legendary cut by playing its two-handed tapping parts... with just one hand.
Boasting a handspan that looks like it could stretch across different zip codes, the Gibson-endorsed artist shows formidable finger reach by anchoring down with his first finger. He then lets his other digits dance across the fretboard of his Les Paul Standard. He's made life twice as hard for himself, but it's also twice as impressive.
Rosset has a serious concentration face as he pulls off what is a staggering feat, and who can blame him? Perhaps even more impressive is the cleanliness with which he nails the spot. And it even has a similar tapping-like tonality to it, thanks to his seamless legato techniques.
The number of fire emojis in the comments section of Rosset’s Instagram post, captioned, “Eruption with one hand!” is well warranted. But Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian perhaps ‘said’ it best with his comment – a trio of emojis with their minds being blown.
Looking through the rest of Rosset’s feed, it’s clear to see why Gibson welcomed him into its clan, putting him in good company alongside everyone from Jimmy Page and Slash to new blood guitar heroes Lzzy Hale and Marcus King.
He’s also showing just what’s possible with one hand, if you stretch those digits. There’s a particularly funny moment in one of his Instagram videos when Dream Theater keyboard wizard and Strandberg signature artist Jordan Rudess looks gobsmacked at his hands. Filipe Rosset is most certainly a name to keep your eye on.
Back in May, a painstakingly put-together free-to-watch documentary, charting the release and legacy of Eruption, was released. It features countless interview clips from Eddie Van Halen, along with a pertinent line from the band's producer, Ted Templeman, justifying signing the band, saying, “I just wanted that genius to be recognized by the world.”
Meanwhile, Dweezil Zappa has used Eruption in a thoughtful experiment to see if guitar players at a recent clinic could tell the difference between tube amps and digital modelers.
