Supposedly created from Eddie Van Halen’s scrapped guitar riffs and discarded studio tapes, Van Halen’s A Different Kind of Truth marks the band’s first record in 14 years, and the first to feature original lead singer David Lee Roth in almost 30. 

The album faithfully reconstructs the band’s early sound and wisely chooses not to evoke any traces of their later synth-pop ambitions or the tediously sappy love songs that doomed them throughout the late ‘80s and ‘90s. Rather, it’s a project that’s dedicated entirely to a tried-and-true formula in which Roth’s oddball presence shares center stage with Eddie’s awe-inspiring guitar solos. This simple method yields an album that matches and in some cases (“She’s the Woman,” “Blood and Fire,” “You And Your Blues”) surpasses their most adrenaline-fueled classics. 

While 20-year-old Wolfgang Van Halen is a welcome addition on bass, the absence of Michael Anthony’s backing vocals is the album’s most glaring setback. To fill the void, Roth experiments with a new vocal tic in which he occasionally growls and snarls a few lines before leaping into the final chorus. If he thinks himself seductive by doing it, he’s the only one. 

After years of strained relationships, replacement singers, and critically panned ventures, Van Halen fans would have settled for any new material as long as it featured David Lee Roth. Luckily, Truth doesn’t just exceed expectations—it’s the best album Van Halen has made in nearly three decades.