Metallica gave Wolfgang Van Halen a ‘Perfect Attendance Award’ for supporting them on every leg of their M72 tour from 2023 to 2024.
Wolfgang makes the revelation in an exclusive interview with Metal Hammer, as he reflects on what it was like playing stadiums with the biggest heavy metal band in the world.
“Opening for Metallica was unlike anything I’ve ever been a part of,” the Mammoth singer/multi-instrumentalist says. “It was really, really crazy.”
He adds that the shows were nerve-wracking because the stages were ‘in the round’, situated in the middle of the venue as opposed to at the back.
“There’s nowhere to hide,” he explains. “As a singer, when you’re kind of planted, it’s tough to give the show to the whole crowd.”
However, the tour was still “fun”, especially due to how accommodating Metallica were.
“We were the one band to play every single building with them,” Wolfgang remembers, “and they gave us this plaque that said, ‘Perfect Attendance Award.’ It was very sweet.”
Wolfgang started Mammoth as a solo project in the early 2010s, naming it after one of the bands his father Eddie and uncle Alex were in before starting Van Halen. The project, where Wolfgang sings and records every instrument in the studio, released its debut album Mammoth WVH in 2021. Its third album, The End, came out on October 24.
Wolfgang played alongside Eddie and Alex in Van Halen from 2006 to 2015, but with Mammoth he intentionally shies away from playing Van Halen material. He explained why in an interview with Hammer in September.
“I don’t think I would have ever been able to live it down – with how many people who hate me and say, ‘You’ll never be good enough and you have to play Van Halen to be relevant’ – if the one time I played Van Halen on my own, I ruined it and messed up,” he said.
Wolfgang has only played Van Halen music on two occasions following his father’s passing in 2020, aged 65. In 2022, he performed On Fire and Hot For Teacher in tribute to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. Then, last year, he did Eruption during Foo Fighters’ headline set at US festival Welcome To Rockville.
Mammoth are currently touring North America and will play at the House Of Blues in Lake Buena Vista, Florida on Friday (November 7). Earlier this week, they were announced as part of the lineup for Download festival 2026.
Meanwhile, Metallica are playing across Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. Their next show will take place at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on Saturday (November 8). The band will also tour Europe from May to July.
