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According to The Hollywood Reporter, VAN HALEN's new record deal with Interscope is expected to be finalized this week, marking the first time in 35 years that the band will not release music through Warner Music, its longtime label home.

As to why VAN HALEN's much-rumored deal with Columbia didn't happen, an insider tells The Hollywood Reporter that the contract for the Sony (Columbia's parent company) deal was drawn up and approved but hadn't been signed when Universal Music stepped into the picture. The band eventually decided to do the Interscope deal after a series of meetings during which Interscope presented VAN HALEN with a global plan that included extensive marketing, merchandising, touring and recordings.

VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth, who has a separate management, legal and accounting team from the other three members, was adamant about being on a West Coast label and "was never on board with Columbia," according to the report.

VAN HALEN's already completed new studio album — its first in 27 years to feature Roth — is now expected to arrive early next year.

VAN HALEN reunited with Roth in 2007 for a successful year-long reunion tour — minus original bassist Michael Anthony, who now plays with ex-VAN HALEN singer Sammy Hagar in CHICKENFOOT.

Rumor has it that VAN HALEN will appear at the November 30 Grammy Nominations Concert at Los Angeles' Nokia Theater to announce that they will perform at the actual Grammy Awards in February. The buzz around town is that they will also use this opportunity to announce details of their pending album and tour.

An "enhanced" video clip of VAN HALEN performing the track "She's The Woman" during the band's January 5 concert at the tiny Cafe Wha? nightclub in Manhattan's Greenwich Village can be seen below. The show at the 250-person venue was the band's first since it ended its hugely successful 2007/2008 reunion trek with original singer David Lee Roth. The gig also served to officially kick off the promotional campaign for the new VAN HALEN album, "A Different Kind Of Truth", which will be released on February 7 via Interscope. The CD's first single and video, "Tatoo", arrived on January 10.

The setlist for Cafe Wha? show stuck to VAN HALEN classics from the six albums of the initial David Lee Roth era, with the exception of "She's The Woman". That song originally appeared on the 1976 demo, produced by KISS bassist Gene Simmons, that got VAN HALEN their record deal with Warner Bros. It was left off the group's 1978 debut but has been resurrected for the new disc.

VAN HALEN's setlist for the Cafe Wha? concert was as follows:

01. You Really Got Me
02. Runnin' With The Devil
03. Somebody Get Me A Doctor
04. Everybody Wants Some
05. She's The Woman
06. Dance The Night Away
07. Panama
08. Hot For Teacher
09. Ice Cream Man
10. Ain't Talkin Bout Love
11. Jump
12. Beautiful Girls
13. Unchained

"A Different Kind Of Truth" will be the group's first all-new collection since "Van Halen 3" was issued 13 years ago, and its first with singer David Lee Roth since "1984".

VAN HALEN released details of its upcoming North American tour, which will kick off on February 18 in Louisville, Kentucky. Tickets for the tour will begin going on sale January 14. KOOL AND THE GANG will open for VAN HALEN on selected tour stops.

Photographer Kevin Estrada has uploaded a number of professional photos of VAN HALEN's February 8 "dress rehearsal" show at the Forum in Los Angeles, which was attended by thousands of "family and friends" as a warm-up for the band's North American tour. Guitarist Slash attended and later tweeted, "VAN HALEN was killer tonight at the Forum. Eddie [Van Halen] was brilliant. So amazing to hear/watch."

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. You Really Got Me
02. Running With The Devil
03. She's The Woman
04. Somebody Get Me A Doctor
05. Tattoo
06. Everybody Wants Some
07. Beautiful Girls
08. Ice Cream Man
09. China Town
10. Dance The Night Away
11. Hot For Teacher
12. Blood And Fire
13. Guitar Solo
14. Panama
15. Jump

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

VAN HALEN's first album in 14 years, "A Different Kind Of Truth", has entered the official U.K. chart at position No. 6.

As previously reported, "A Different Kind Of Truth" could debut at No. 1 on next week's Billboard album chart. According to Hits Daily Double, one-day sales reports compiled after the set arrived in stores indicate that it is likely to sell between 180,000 and 200,000 copies in its first week of release. That could be good enough to topple ADELE from the No. 1 perch where she's been residing for the past few weeks.

"A Different Kind Of Truth" is the band's first full-length offering with original singer David Lee Roth since "1984" was released in January 1984.

If VAN HALEN ends up taking the No. 1 position, it will be the band's first chart-topping studio set with Roth. The singer exited the group in 1985, a year after its "1984" album was released. According to Billboard.com, "1984" spent five weeks at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 — VAN HALEN's highest charting set with Roth. (1996's "Best Of Volume 1" hits album, which included two new songs with Roth, debuted at No. 1 with 233,000 sold in its first week.)

VAN HALEN's other four other No. 1s were their four studio albums with Roth's replacement, Sammy Hagar: "5150" (1986), "OU812" (1988), "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" (1991) and "Balance" (1995).

VAN HALEN's last all-new album, 1998's "Van Halen III", debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard chart and was certified gold for sales of 500,000 copies, a disappointment compared to their previous platinum efforts.

Multi-camera video footage of VAN HALEN's February 8 "dress rehearsal" show at the Forum in Los Angeles, which was attended by thousands of "family and friends" as a warm-up for the band's North American tour, can be seen be3low. Guitarist Slash attended and later tweeted, "VAN HALEN was killer tonight at the Forum. Eddie [Van Halen] was brilliant. So amazing to hear/watch."

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. You Really Got Me
02. Running With The Devil
03. She's The Woman
04. Somebody Get Me A Doctor
05. Tattoo
06. Everybody Wants Some
07. Beautiful Girls
08. Ice Cream Man
09. China Town
10. Dance The Night Away
11. Hot For Teacher
12. Blood And Fire
13. Guitar Solo
14. Panama
15. Jump

Check out photos from Kevin Estrada at this location.

VAN HALEN's new album, "A Different Kind Of Truth", sold 187,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart. Topping the list once again is ADELE's smash album "21" (with another 242,000 copies sold last week), which is spending its 20th week at No. 1, tying the mark set by the late Whitney Houston soundtrack for "The Bodyguard" in 1993.

"A Different Kind Of Truth" is the band's first full-length offering with original singer David Lee Roth since "1984" was released in January 1984.

Roth exited the group in 1985, a year after its "1984" album was released. According to Billboard.com, "1984" spent five weeks at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 — VAN HALEN's highest charting set with Roth. (1996's "Best Of Volume 1" hits album, which included two new songs with Roth, debuted at No. 1 with 233,000 sold in its first week.)

VAN HALEN's other four other No. 1s were their four studio albums with Roth's replacement, Sammy Hagar: "5150" (1986), "OU812" (1988), "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" (1991) and "Balance" (1995).

VAN HALEN's last all-new album, 1998's "Van Halen III", debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard chart and was certified gold for sales of 500,000 copies, a disappointment compared to their previous platinum efforts.

VAN HALEN will kick off a North American tour on Febru

Quality fan-filmed video footage of VAN HALEN's February 22 performance at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. You Really Got Me (THE KINKS cover)
02. Runnin' With the Devil
03. She's The Woman
04. Romeo Delight
05. Tattoo
06. Everybody Wants Some!!
07. Somebody Get Me A Doctor
08. China Town
09. Hear About It Later
10. Oh, Pretty Woman (ROY ORBISON cover)
11. Drum Solo
12. Unchained
13. The Trouble with Never
14. Dance The Night Away
15. I'll Wait
16. Hot For Teacher
17. Women In Love
18. Girl Gone Bad
19. Beautiful Girls
20. Ice Cream Man (JOHN BRIM cover)
21. Panama
22. Guitar Solo
23. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
24. Jump

VAN HALEN's new album, "A Different Kind Of Truth", sold 187,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"A Different Kind Of Truth" is the band's first full-length offering with original singer David Lee Roth since "1984" was released in January 1984.

Roth exited the group in 1985, a year after its "1984" album was released. According to Billboard.com, "1984" spent five weeks at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 — VAN HALEN's highest charting set with Roth. (1996's "Best Of Volume 1" hits album, which included two new songs with Roth, debuted at No. 1 with 233,000 sold in its first week.)

VAN HALEN's other four other No. 1s were their four studio albums with Roth's replacement, Sammy Hagar: "5150" (1986), "OU812" (1988), "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" (1991) and "Balance" (1995).

VAN HALEN's previous all-new album, 1998's "Van Halen III", debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard chart and was certified gold for sales of 500,000 copies, a disappointment compared to their previous platinum efforts.

Fan-filmed video footage of VAN HALEN's entire February 22 performance at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. You Really Got Me (THE KINKS cover)
02. Runnin' With the Devil
03. She's The Woman
04. Romeo Delight
05. Tattoo
06. Everybody Wants Some!!
07. Somebody Get Me A Doctor
08. China Town
09. Hear About It Later
10. Oh, Pretty Woman (ROY ORBISON cover)
11. Drum Solo
12. Unchained
13. The Trouble with Never
14. Dance The Night Away
15. I'll Wait
16. Hot For Teacher
17. Women In Love
18. Girl Gone Bad
19. Beautiful Girls
20. Ice Cream Man (JOHN BRIM cover)
21. Panama
22. Guitar Solo
23. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
24. Jump

VAN HALEN continues to roll out a selection of rare tracks, none of which have been played live since at least the early Eighties, on the band's current North American tour. According to The Pulse Of Radio , the latest gem to be dusted off is "Hang 'Em High" , from 1982's "Diver Down" album, which was given its first airing since probably 1983 on Sunday night (March 11) in Boston. Lead singer David Lee Roth noted the occasion by telling the audience, "That's the first time we've played that in forever."

The band began unearthing the deep cuts right from the start of the tour last month, and so far audiences have heard tracks like "Hear About It Later" from 1981's "Fair Warning" , "The Full Bug" from "Diver Down" , "Girl Gone Bad" from 1984, plus "Women In Love" and "Outta Love Again" , both from "Van Halen II" .

Almost none of these songs have been performed by VAN HALEN since the initial tour for each of their respective albums.

According to online postings, "Take Your Whiskey Home" from "Women And Children First" is a popular choice among fans for the group to dig out next, along with "Fair Warning" cuts "Dirty Movies" and "Push Comes To Shove" , neither of which have ever been performed live.

VAN HALEN is on the road behind "A Different Kind Of Truth" , its first album with Roth in 28 years. The tour stops on Tuesday (March 13) in Manchester, New Hampshire.

GetYourRockOut.com conducted an interview with CHICKENFOOT/ex-VAN HALEN frontman Sammy Hagar on January 12 at the Academy in Manchester, England. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

CHICKENFOOT's sophomore album, "III", sold 42,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 9 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's self-titled debut opened with 49,000 units back in June 2009 to debut at No. 6.

"III" was produced by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, METALLICA) and is the much-anticipated follow-up album to the successful eponymous debut of a rock band packed with successful veterans.

Featuring guitar hero Joe Satriani and former VAN HALEN members Michael Anthony (bass) and Sammy Hagar (vocals), CHICKENFOOT's touring lineup includes legendary drummer/musician Kenny Aronoff, who is filling in for Chad Smith while Smith hits the road with his main band, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.

VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth's videotaped explanation of the lyrics for "Tattoo", the first single off the band's forthcoming album, "A Different Kind Of Truth", can be seen below.

As previously reported, unofficial VAN HALEN web site VHLinks.com has posted Roth's handwritten lyrics and graphics for "Tattoo". You can view the image below.

According to Billboard.com, "Tattoo" blasted onto the Rock Songs chart at No. 16. The song arrived with 4.6 million first-week audience impressions on 78 stations, according to Nielsen BDS.

The Live Nation store is taking pre-orders for vinyl tour collector's edition of "A Different Kind Of Truth". The double gatefold vinyl album includes all 13 songs on two LPs plus custom artwork. This edition also comes with the Deluxe MP3 Edition of the album which will be delivered on the release date for pre-order customers. The deluxe MP3 also includes "The Downtown Sessions", four acoustic video performances on Quicktime .mov files — "Panama", "You And Your Blues (intro)", "You And Your Blues" and "Beautiful Girls".

The exclusive vinyl album is only available in the U.S. and Canada and will ship on or around February 24, depending on the manufacturing schedule.

VAN HALEN released "Tattoo" on January 10. The song itself said to be is a rewrite of a very old VAN HALEN track "Down In Flames", which the band used to play in its late Seventies club days but never recorded for any of its albums. The new version has a slightly different arrangement and fresh lyrics from singer David Lee Roth.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, at least two other songs on the new record, "She's The Woman" and "Bullethead", date back to the band's early days as well. "She's The Woman" appeared on a 1976 VAN HALEN demo produced by KISS bassist Gene Simmons, and was performed by the group last week during its show at the tiny Cafe Wha? in New York City.

Guitarist Eddie Van Halen has said in numerous interviews over the years that he has "10 albums" worth of unreleased material in his archives from throughout the band's career.

Ironically, it was former singer Sammy Hagar who hinted that VAN HALEN might be digging into the vaults on the new album. Hagar recently told Rolling Stone, "I heard this record is old outtakes from the old days. I mean, stuff from before I even joined the band . . . Because from what I heard, they aren't working with new material. Ed and Dave didn't actually write new songs."

VAN HALEN will kick off a North American tour on February 18 in Louisville, Kentucky. KOOL AND THE GANG will open for VAN HALEN on selected tour stops.

"A Different Kind Of Truth", will arrive on February 7 via Interscope.

Former VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony says he's looking forward to hearing the band's new album because it includes material that he recorded with the group before they got signed in the 1970s.

Speaking to the U.K. digital radio station Planet Rock, Anthony said, "They [the current lineup of VAN HALEN] played a show in New York the other week. There was [a] song they played called 'She's The Woman', which is actually a song that was, basically, written before I even joined VAN HALEN."

During the same interview, Anthony said he has no plans to go after his former bandmates for songwriting credit on the reworked compositions on the new VAN HALEN album, "A Different Kind of Truth", despite their former policy of crediting all members equally. "I don't want to do anything," he said. "I just let it be." He added, "And, hey, it'll be nice to hear some of those old songs again that I haven't played in a long time."

VAN HALEN lead singer David Lee Roth spoke with the Los Angeles Times about the making of "A Different Kind Of Truth". In a new interview, Roth admitted that the band has gone back into its archives to find previously unreleased material upon which to build the record. He explained, "It's material that Eddie [Van Halen, guitar] and I generated, literally, in 1975, 1976 and 1977. Usually fellas in our weight division will kind of gamely — or ironically, wink, wink — try to hail back to it (but) keep a safe, mature distance from it."

"A Different Kind Of Truth" is due out February 7 and is Roth's first album with the band in 28 years.

On the current condition of Eddie, who has been in and out of rehab over the years, lost a third of his tongue to cancer and had a hip replacement, Roth said, "He's doing really well. He's lucid, he's sober, he's playing. You know, I don't know if Ed has ever felt good. There's a thin line between rage and great work. He really never enjoyed his fame or success, and that might be part of what compels him."

Roth also commented on the band members' turbulent past history, saying, "We accused each other of betrayal and thievery and lies and treachery, and it was all true. We were all guilty. Dig up the past, and it's going to get all over everybody. And, man, do we have a past..."

VAN HALEN will begin a North American tour on February 18 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Guardian.co.uk recently conducted an interview with VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On whether it was ever hard work appearing to be having that much fun all the time:

Roth: "I was a surgical tech right out of high school, I sold clothes; I shovelled shit at a horse stable for years. I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better. Totally better."

"The job we have is a privilege. The Van Halens [Eddie and his brother Alex, the drummer] and I have had steady jobs since we were 12 years old. Mine was working before and after school at a horse stable. For them it was paper routes. Mr. Van Halen was classic European: you're making your money for the rent. I was lucky I didn't have to do that … Even at your worst moments, there's a whole lot of Shakespeare going on. How can you not appreciate it? At your lonesomest, most catastrophic, it's still pretty cinematic. I think the smiles were genuine. Don't mistake them for simplistic grins — there's a lot of pirate smiling."

On how he and his bandmates spawned a legion of imitators in the L.A. hair metal scene — MÖTLEY CRÜE, POISON, CINDERELLA, WARRANT and the like — who tried to set up camp on Van Halen Island:

Roth: "I don't know who coined the phrase imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I think David Mamet coined the phrase imitation is the sincerest form of stealing. Probably a litigating attorney coined it first. OK, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then there are a whole lot of dogs out there … At worst I feel like I'm driving past a traffic accident and I'm relieved no one was killed."

On where VAN HALEN took its inspirations from:

Roth: "I can point for you and go: right there we're imitating Eric Clapton; right there I'm imitating vocally David Bowie; right there is Bruce Springsteen, but this is how you create a signature sound. If you're lucky to have it, there's no way around it. I actively imitated everything from the Nicholas Brothers tap dancing to Mick Jagger going 'Oooh yeah!' But because of whatever it never sounds like anything to you but David Lee. And when Edward plays you might never have heard the material before but you instantly recognise it as fast as, say, Jimi's guitar."

On how VAN HALEN was never just a metal band, even though they revolutionized the genre:

Roth: "Metal is a bit specific. The neighbourhoods we grew up, learning, acquiring musical knowledge, were very separate neighbourhoods, unlike, for example, New York City where Mr. Chin lives next to Mr. Steinberg who owes rent to Mr. Patel and they all speak Serbo-Croatian. It's just the school system. Here [in California], the Venice Beach surf neighbourhood is very different than San Bernadino Hell's Angels. Below south of the harbour freeway: 'Que pasa? What are you looking at?' And that all works into VAN HALEN. You can hear it — it's loudly diverse, but you can't feel the seams. It's like if you go to a car show and you Stevie Wonder it: you can't feel where the Chevy turned into a Mercedes door frame which turned into — that's a De Soto grill! 'That's my girlfriend loco! What are you doing?' All those different neighbourhoods add up into the sound, and to say it's one kind of sound — no! It's so much of a hybrid that you have to give it its own name."

On whether knowing they need each other make the tensions between him and the other members of VAN HALEN all the worse:

Roth: "Jesus, let's go back to the 1600s again. People didn't understand psychology, right? You showed them emotional content and made somebody cry and they thought it was demons. One of the best reviews you can get in my estimation is from the villagers if they killed all the actors and buried them at the cross so their ghosts couldn't haunt the village — because everyone left the play crying and laughing and they couldn't understand why. Today we give them an Oscar for that kind of emotional ride. Being human has caused so much of that. Let's really back into some theory here. What is art? Simple, I think — something that forces and compels you to think, and that can be a mint condition copy of 'Raging Bull' or it can be the Kardashians. The same questions will be asked and you will be forced to confront yourself, and you will be forced to triangulate where you stand on everything from racist politics to haircuts. And are they really different? Do you follow? You're going to ask the same questions and that … shit … is … art. And it has caused you to question more than that goddam soup can Warhol sold us. Or tried to. Bring that one up. You follow? You are compelled into argument. Consequently, arguing about our band and our rock'n'roll - you can do that certainly for longer than actually listening to it. VAN HALEN music is whisky in a paper cup! Short doses and not every night, PLEASE!"

Read the entire interview from Guardian.co.uk.