The only artist Eddie Van Halen refused to play with: “He felt threatened”
It wouldn’t be amiss to say there haven’t been many more guitarists in the world of rock and heavy metal more feared than Eddie Van Halen.
Whether or not you’re of a persuasion to enjoy the style of music that Van Halen used to make, it’s hard to observe the legendary shredder and not be left stunned by his abilities from a technical standpoint, and if you do happen to be a heavy metal fan, then there’s every likelihood that you perceive Van Halen to have been some kind of demi-god.
Many hailed Van Halen as a superstar, and that appreciation goes beyond the heavy metal community where he predominantly operated. Even though he may not have been the first to utilise certain techniques that he’s credited with popularising, such as the tapping technique that was first coined by Genesis’ Steve Hackett, that doesn’t take it away from the fact that Van Halen was a wizard on the fretboard, and there are very few guitarists who can keep up with his nimble fingerwork.
However, while many people would have felt intimidated by his brilliance, there were plenty of guitarists who didn’t feel as though there was any reason to be daunted by his majesty. Some even went as far as to label him a hack who ought to be more terrified of the ways in which they could show him up rather than what he can demonstrate.
While some players, such as Randy Rhoads, considered themselves to be considerably more talented than Van Halen, going as far as to create a rivalry which pressured both guitarists to keep outdoing one another, there were some who still had an appreciation for him but jokingly thought that he may have been intimidated by their brilliance. Swedish metal maestro Yngwie Malmsteen was highly regarded in the 1980s for his symphonic approach to metal, and his technical mastery of the instrument was certainly nothing to be scoffed at.
However, was he really as good as Van Halen, and was there any reason for Eddie to be scared of the Scandinavian’s abilities? According to Malmsteen, the two had a chance to meet during the peak of their respective careers, but Van Halen seemed to shy away from his counterpart. “I was doing a concert festival in Holland, and Van Halen was headlining,” Malmsteen told Guitar Player in 2025. “I’m like, ‘Great, I finally get to meet Eddie and give him my concerto.’ Because I’m proud of my concerto, you know?”
However, despite wanting to meet his guitar hero, Van Halen ended up pulling out of the show, and suddenly was nowhere to be seen. “They said Alex Van Halen had broken his little finger or something,” Malmsteen continued. “Then I hear that the promoter got a phone call from Eddie himself, who said, ‘Just to let you know, if Yngwie Malmsteen is playing, I’m not playing. And I will never fucking play the same stage as Yngwie Malmsteen.’”
“He obviously felt threatened,” the Swede concluded. “Which is crazy to me. You’re fucking Eddie Van Halen! Nobody could threaten you!” He may have been regarded as one of the most technically gifted guitarists to have walked the earth, but if he was afraid of meeting his match in Malmsteen, then perhaps he wasn’t as assured of his strengths as many might think.
