10 Most Disappointing Hard Rock Albums Ever Made
8. A Different Kind of Truth - Van Halen
When Van Halen decided to reunite with David Lee Roth in the mid '00s, it really felt like the impossible had happened. Since the mid '80s, the bad blood between both of these camps had always been pretty hostile, which led to both Dave flying off the radar and Van Halen themselves sinking like a stone on Van Halen III. While A Different Kind of Truth shows them making amends with their past, this almost feels like it shouldn't exist.
That's because...well...it isn't. Not made like an actual album, a lot of these riffs are just odds and ends that Eddie had lying around since the glory days, which his son Wolfie found while peeking through his old tapes. Though most of the guitar parts still sound fresh after all these years, the songs themselves feel like they're a bit past their prime, with Roth trying to sell his wild man persona despite pushing 60 at the time of recording.
As far as a Van Halen record goes though, there's still bits and pieces to enjoy here, like the amazing tapping solos Eddie can still pull off and even a few metallic moments on tracks like China Town. For as high a pedigree as we have for Van Halen though, this is something that should have either been made in the '80s or just left in the vault.