A previously unreleased Van Halen demo from 1974 is finally heading into the world, with โGlitterโ set to appear on an exclusive 7-inch picture disc accompanying Alex Van Halenโs upcoming official anthology.
Now this is the sort of thing that makes rock nerds start rummaging around for the wallet.
An incredibly early Van Halen demo titled โGlitterโ, recorded way back in 1974, is finally getting an official release more than half a century after it was laid down.
The track will appear on a special 7-inch picture disc included with the limited-edition Van Halen anthology written, curated and signed by drummer Alex Van Halen.
And this isnโt just another dusty recording pulled out of a vault for the sake of it.
โGlitterโ captures the band at practically ground zero.
๐ค Van Halen Before Van Halen Took Over The World
The recording features Alex Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth and original bassist Mark Stone.
That puts us right back in the bandโs earliest days, years before Runninโ With The Devil, Panama, Jump and all the glorious guitar-slinging madness that would follow.
The 1974 demo is set to become the earliest Van Halen recording ever officially released.
That alone makes this a rather tasty piece of rock history.
For decades, fans have obsessively dug through bootlegs, live tapes and early recordings trying to piece together the formative years of Van Halen.
Now one of those earliest snapshots is getting a proper official release.
And yes, we can already hear the collectors sharpening their elbows.
๐ฟ โGlitterโ Gets The Vinyl Treatment
The track will appear on an exclusive 7-inch picture disc, with artwork inspired by the bandโs iconic 1984 tour design.
The record will also include a specially selected spoken-word recording from Alex Van Halen, taken from extensive new interviews carried out for the anthology.
So instead of simply chucking an old demo onto a record and calling it a day, the release is being positioned as an audio companion to the book itself.
You get the story.
You get the photographs.
You get the memorabilia.
And then you actually get to hear Van Halen when that story was still being written.
Thatโs pretty bloody cool.
๐ Alex Van Halen Opens The Archives
The upcoming Van Halen anthology is billed as an official chronicle of the band and has been assembled using material from Alex Van Halenโs private archives.
Those archives are being opened up extensively for the project, giving fans access to rare and previously unseen material spanning some of the most important years in the bandโs history.
The book follows Alex and Eddie Van Halen from their childhood and move from the Netherlands to California, through the Pasadena backyard-party era, the Sunset Strip grind and ultimately the release of Van Halenโs seismic self-titled debut in 1978.
From there, the story runs through the bandโs spectacular rise and into the era surrounding the chart-topping 1984.
And if youโre a Van Halen fan, thereโs plenty to get stuck into.
๐ฅ 312 Pages Of Van Halen History
The anthology runs to 312 pages and pulls together a mountain of archive material.
That includes rare photography, previously unseen images, correspondence, tour memorabilia, album artwork, press material and musical equipment from across the bandโs formative years.
The photographic material stretches from the early days right through to some of Van Halenโs most famous appearances, including their first Japanese tours in 1978, the enormous US Festival in 1983 and the Monsters Of Rock era.
At the centre of the project is an original manuscript from Alex Van Halen himself, based on new interviews and his own recollections of the bandโs rise.
There are also archival contributions from Eddie Van Halen, alongside material from musicians, friends and other figures connected to the band.
Basically, this isnโt looking like the sort of book you casually flick through while waiting for the kettle to boil.
This is coffee-table reinforcement territory.
๐ธ Eddie Van Halenโs Legacy Looms Large
Naturally, any project exploring the early years of Van Halen is going to carry enormous emotional weight following Eddie Van Halenโs death in 2020.
Eddie wasnโt simply another brilliant guitarist.
He changed how generations of players approached the instrument.
The tapping.
The tone.
The phrasing.
The sheer bloody joy of watching him play.
There was always something about Eddie that made even the ridiculous look effortless.
Then youโd pick up a guitar, attempt the same thing and immediately realise that, no, perhaps you werenโt secretly Eddie Van Halen after all.
His work helped turn Van Halen into one of the defining rock bands of the late 1970s and 1980s, and his influence remains absolutely everywhere.
Hearing a recording from 1974, before the fame and before the debut album detonated across the rock world, gives fans another glimpse at where that extraordinary journey began.
๐ A Proper Collectorโs Edition
The signed edition of Van Halen is being limited to just 1,500 numbered copies worldwide, with every copy personally signed by Alex Van Halen.
The first 350 Deluxe editions have already been fully subscribed, leaving the remaining copies available as Collector boxed sets.
And these arenโt exactly being packaged like your average paperback from the supermarket.
The Collector edition comes quarter-bound in black vegan leather with silver-edged pages and sits inside a black clamshell box decorated with Van Halen artwork.
Alongside the book and โGlitterโ picture disc, collectors also get a selection of replica memorabilia.
Included are a 1979 Van Halen Productions keychain, three replica Eddie Van Halen guitar picks and six art postcards.
In other words, itโs the sort of box set that makes somebody say:
โI absolutely do not need this.โ
Followed roughly seventeen seconds later by:
โRight, whereโs my bank card?โ
๐ Coming In November 2026
The signed limited edition is due to ship from November 2026.
And while the book itself will undoubtedly be a major attraction, the inclusion of โGlitterโ has suddenly made the whole package considerably more interesting for fans obsessed with the bandโs earliest history.
Because this isnโt simply another remaster.
It isnโt another greatest-hits collection.
Itโs a recording from a Van Halen that existed before stadiums, MTV domination and diamond-selling albums.
This is Van Halen before the world knew what was coming.
๐ค THE RIFF REPORT VERDICT
Thereโs something brilliantly exciting about previously unheard music appearing from a band this important more than 50 years after it was recorded.
Van Halen have been analysed, celebrated and picked apart by generations of rock fans.
We know the famous records.
We know the solos.
We know the stories.
And yet apparently there are still little pieces of history hiding away in the vault.
โGlitterโ gives us another chance to hear Eddie, Alex, Dave and Mark Stone at the beginning of the road, before Van Halen became one of the biggest and most influential rock bands on the planet.
That makes this far more than a novelty bonus track.
Itโs a tiny time capsule from 1974.
A snapshot of four musicians still figuring out exactly what Van Halen was going to become.
And considering what happened next?
Yeah.
Weโre very interested indeed.
Turn it up, dig through the archives and prepare yourselves โ some very early Van Halen is finally escaping the vault. ๐ค๐ฅ
