ALEX VAN HALEN: 'In My Opinion, SAMMY HAGAR Is A Complete Idiot'

Legendary VAN HALEN drummer Alex Van Halen has offered a blunt assessment of his former bandmate Sammy Hagar, calling the singer a 'complete idiot' in a recently published interview. The comment came during a conversation earlier this year with Brazilian music journalist Marcelo Vieira, who translated Alex's memoir, Brothers , into Portuguese for the Brazilian market. The interview appeared in issue 293 of the Brazilian magazine Roadie Crew . While discussing other books connected to VAN HALEN's history, Alex was asked about David Lee Roth's 1997 autobiography, Crazy From The Heat , as well as Hagar's 2011 memoir, Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock . Alex was relatively positive about Roth's book, saying (as translated from Portuguese): 'It's quite fun and accurately reflects [David's] sense of humor. Although the text is somewhat abstract and loses its train of thought at times, it's still a very interesting perspective on that era.' However, when the conversation turned to Hagar's autobiography, Alex made it clear that he had no interest in reading it. 'I don't know what he wrote, and I don't wanna know,' Alex said. 'In my opinion, Sammy Hagar is a complete idiot.' The latest remarks add another chapter to the long-running tension between Alex and Hagar, who have reportedly had little to no contact for more than two decades. In an interview with Rolling Stone last year, Hagar addressed his strained relationship with Alex and speculated about several possible reasons behind the apparent rift. One theory involved the Cabo Wabo tequila business, which Hagar eventually turned into a highly successful venture after his former VAN HALEN bandmates had reportedly moved on from it. Hagar said: 'I've had this conversation with a few people, including [former VAN HALEN manager] Irving Azoff. I've asked him, 'What's the problem?' And some people have said to me, 'Oh, Cabo Wabo. At one time, VAN HALEN, when you built it, you guys were all partners in that. And then they didn't want it anymore when it was losing money, and they gave it to you, and you turned it around and made hundreds of millions of dollars on it. And they're angry. Alex is angry about that.' To that I said, 'How the f**k could they be angry about that? They gave me the damn thing, they walked out on me, left me with it. And they made me indemnify them in case I got sued and lost everything. They made me sign off big time.' And I'm going, 'I hope it's not that.'' Hagar then brought up his autobiography, Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock , in which he had strongly criticized Alex Van Halen's brother, Eddie. His book described the guitarist as unkempt, hunched over, frighteningly thin, drinking directly from wine bottles, and missing part of his tongue and several teeth due to a cancer scare. Sammy continued by saying: 'The book has been brought up. The book was honest. It was well documented that Eddie was a mess on that tour. But I don't want to drag Eddie through no coals now. That's just water under the bridge. 'I think Al's angry because I'm out doing it, and Mike [Anthony, former VAN HALEN bassist] and I are out doing it, and he can't,' Sammy continued. 'He's not a singer. He's not a guitar player. He is not really a band leader. And he seems like he doesn't want to play drums or can't play drums anymore, and he can't go write a new record. Alex wasn't the songwriter in the band. He was the drummer. Eddie and I wrote the songs. Dave [Lee Roth] and Eddie wrote the songs, and so we can go out and do them. And I think that really bothers him that Mike and I are still out there doing it. I would feel bad. If I put myself in his shoes, I would feel terrible if I couldn't do it anymore. But I'm the happiest guy out of all of them. That pisses people off in itself. Being too happy, people don't like that.' When interviewer Andy Greene pointed out Alex's genuine health struggles and potential reasons for bitterness, Sammy responded: 'Yeah, I'd say so. And I'm okay with it. Al, you're fine. Just leave me alone. I'll leave you alone. Everything's good. I'm making you money, by the way, Al. I'm out there selling VAN HALEN records and keeping the name alive, keeping the music alive.' Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.