In a new interview, Zakk Wylde discussed what he really thinks about Van Halen’s guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
Here’s the complete statement:
“I mean, how could you say anything? I mean, he changed – he completely changed the world man, without a doubt. You got to figure, aside of the guitar playing, it’s the tone – he changed how people viewed amplifiers, you know, modifying amps.
And then guitars. You got to remember, I mean, the only show in town when King Edward came out was Gibson and Fender, and this whole movement was going on out here in California, you had all these amazing guitar luthiers and young guys, it’s like this booming guitar thing going on.
All those guys were doing it at the same time, which was a crazy, really magical time in guitar at that time. When you look at – from Chuck Berry and Duane Eddy, because those guys were the ones that inspired Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Jeff Beck and all the guys that we love, and then they influenced King Edward, Saint Rhoads, George Lynch.
So you had the Big Three – Clapton, Page, and Beck – back in England, and here [in the US] you are 10 years removed, you had King Edward, Saint Rhoads, you had Pontiff Lynch over there. Those were the next big three.
They really were out here in LA, they were the Beck, Clapton, and Page, hands down. It was really an amazing time for guitar, just that whole span. He changed everything.”