When Wolfgang Van Halen set out to create the video for “The End,” the lead single from Mammoth’s new album, he didn’t just want another rock visual — he wanted something that felt like a short film. Enter director Robert Rodriguez, the cult filmmaker behind From Dusk Till Dawn and Sin City, and one of Van Halen’s childhood heroes.
“He came to a show about two and a half, three years ago, and we just hit it off,” Van Halen recalls. “He’s just a really great dude. I’ve been a huge fan of his since I was a kid with Spy Kids, and From Dusk Till Dawn is one of my favorite movies.”
The two stayed in touch, but Van Halen never thought it would lead anywhere. “He’d even joked around and brought it up,” he says. “I was just like, ‘No, he doesn’t really mean that.’” But when Van Halen finished recording The End, he decided to take a shot. “I went over to his house and showed him some of the stuff, and he really enjoyed it. When the record was done and ‘The End’ looked like it was going to be the single, I just shot my shot. I said, ‘Hey man, would you be at all interested? It’s totally cool if you’re not, but I have this idea — since I love From Dusk Till Dawn — would you be into doing like an homage parody, a thriller, From Dusk Till Dawn zombie thing?’”
Rodriguez didn’t hesitate. “He was into it,” Van Halen says, laughing. “We ended up having this crazy two-day shoot. He called Greg Nicotero. He called Danny Trejo. I called everybody I could, and we just had this insane, hilarious, fun two-day shoot. It was so fun, man. He’s such a great guy. All those dudes are.”
The resulting video blends the energy of a Mammoth performance with Rodriguez’s unmistakable cinematic flair — equal parts grindhouse and rock spectacle. For Van Halen, it was more than just another promo shoot; it was the realization of a lifelong dream to collaborate with one of his filmmaking idols.
“I always had it in the back of my mind, like, man, it would be really cool if he ever wanted to do something,” Van Halen says. “And to actually have it happen — it was insane.”
The collaboration also highlights the growing ambition behind Mammoth’s creative vision. While the band’s sound continues to evolve, Van Halen’s artistic world keeps expanding — from the studio to the screen.
“Robert’s one of those people who just brings out that creative excitement,” he says. “We had so many legends involved in that shoot. It was wild.”
For Wolfgang Van Halen, “The End” isn’t just the name of the song — it’s the beginning of a new cinematic chapter for Mammoth.
Watch the full interview with Wolfgang Van Halen Below!