Sammy Hagar has revealed that Eddie Van Halen’s death would’ve been “way too much” for him had they not “buried the hatchet.”
Speaking on The Angi Taylor Show (via NME), Hagar shed light on the pair making amends earlier this year after a long-standing feud.
“I think that the word is pretty much out that Eddie and I buried the hatchet earlier on this year,” he begun.
“We didn’t go around talking about it. He asked me not to talk about it, and I did not talk about it. But now, looking back, if we wouldn’t have come to terms with that feud we were having after the reunion tour, I wouldn’t have been able to come to grips with it,” he said.
Hagar, who recorded four albums with Van Halen before departing the band in 1996, said Van Halen’s passing “would’ve been way too much for me” had they reconciled since he is still “grieving my ass off.”
“The grieving is starting to make… It feels like: hey, we had a great thing,” he said.
“This music will live on forever — beyond me. I’ll sing it for the rest of my life. When I’m gone, hopefully some young bands come up and play that music… And you can always play it in your homes,” he continued.
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Hagar revealed that Van Halen had playfully asked him what “took [him] so long” when he reached out at the beginning of the year.
“It put the biggest smile on my face. I said: ‘Oh my God. Don’t ask me.’ That was just very touching to me: ‘Hey, I’ve been waitin’.’”
Hagar’s latest comments come after he described himself as “kinda devastated” in the immediate aftermath of Van Halen’s passing.
“It hit like a Mack truck… took the wind out of the sails,” he said at the time.
Check out Sammy Hagar discussing Eddie Van Halen’s death:
Listen to “Sammy Hagar Talks Birthday Bash, Eddie Van Halen, and More!” on Spreaker.
