Nuno Bettencourt Says Eddie Van Halen's Eruption Has Changed Guitar Game Forever

JAKARTA - Despite being recorded 46 years ago, Eddie Van Halen's guitar playing in the 'Eruption' is still being discussed today. The monumental work has also inspired many guitarists afterwards.

Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt also revealed what he felt when he first heard Eddie's game on the 'Eruption'. He called it a work that had changed the guitar playing.

"That's the shot that was heard all over the world. When we dropped the jarum' it was in 'Van Halen 1', and we didn't know what spacecraft had landed, and what happened, what kind of alien was that," said Nuno Bettencourt, during a recent interview with Canada's Radio One CBC.

"He (Eddie Van Halen) changed his guitar game forever, in a good way," added Nuno.

Furthermore, Nuno also talked about the reasons for how Eddie had been his inspiration, more than any other guitarist like Jeff Beck or Eric Badminton.

According to Nuno, although the names above cannot be ruled out as the best guitarists, he said Eddie had something that made him the difference.

"Edward did the same thing, but he did one thing that was a little different in a very innovative way to something we heard, so we were confused," said Nuno.

"It's not just like the blues scale the Hendrix might play or (Jimi) Hendrix, which has been around since Chuck Berry. But they took it to different places."

When we hear the 'Eruption', said Nuno, listeners are like being invited to listen to him repeatedly.

"It's not just a different level of technicality, it's also creativity, and it's very innovative," concluded Nuno Bettencourt.