The legendary guitarist had been given the pills to deal with pain after surgery to remove a brain tumour Eddie Van Halen took a whole bottle of steroid pills shortly before he died because he liked the “superhuman feeling” they gave him. READ MORE: Eddie Van Halen, 1955 – 2020: a colossus who turned guitar solos into a firework display The legendary guitarist passed away in October 2020 following complications from throat cancer at the age of 65. Now, his brother Alex, who played drums with Van Halen , has revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone that Eddie took the pills not in an effort to harm himself, but to chase the feeling he thought they would give him.
Alex explained that Eddie had the pills as medication to combat swelling after surgery to remove a brain tumour. “Common sense was not Ed’s strong point,” he said. “If two’s good, twenty’s better.
That was our mantra.” A post shared by Reverend Al (@alexvanhalenofficial) “I didn’t see the bottle,” he added. “But the bottle had, like, a thousand pills in it.
” This week, the full six-minute version of ‘Unfinished’, the final song Eddie wrote with Alex, was unveiled . It is being shared as part of the audiobook version of Alex’s new memoir Brothers , and you can hear it below. “This is my tribute to my brother; my way of saying goodbye,” Alex has said of the track.
“Ed, I love you and miss you. When I see you again, I’m gonna kick your ass!” Brothers is out now via HarperC.
