10 Metal Bands That Went Acoustic

Out of all of Van Halen's classic albums, Women and Children First is probably the most in line with straight up heavy metal. Although most of the band's songs fit comfortably on the hard rock side of the spectrum, stuff like Romeo Delight and Loss of Control showed that there was a lot more going on than the party rock happening just off of Sunset. Even when the acoustics are let out, the energy doesn't let up on Could This Be Magic.

For most of this song, Eddie is the sole instrumentation, as he just strums away on an acoustic as David Lee Roth starts to tell a story of a fleeting love that he wants to enjoy in the moment. Though this is far from the first time that Roth has sung about this, there's almost a tongue in cheek humor to the whole track, down to the fact that the rest of the band sing along on the chorus like a couple of sailors.

Aside from the arrangement, Eddie is still annihilating his fretboard, even hitting some notes that will have metal virtuosos wondering how the hell he managed to pull everything off. Though we did ease up on a lot of the effects pedals, this doesn't mean the trademark Van Halen intensity went anywhere. It's just a different kind of intensity.