Van Halen III

Van Halen III
Studio album by Van Halen
Released	March 17, 1998 (1998-03-17)
Recorded	March–December 1997
Studio	5150 Studios, Studio City, California
Genre	Hard rock
Length	65:22
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Mike Post Eddie Van Halen
Van Halen chronology
Video Hits Volume I (1996) Van Halen III (1998) The Best of Both Worlds (2004)
Singles from Van Halen III
"Without You" Released: February 19, 1998 "One I Want" Released: April 1998 "Fire in the Hole" Released: July 1998 "Dirty Water Dog" Released: August 1998

Van Halen III is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on March 17, 1998, by Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Mike Post and Eddie Van Halen, it was the band's first studio album in three years after Balance (1995), the band's only studio album to feature Extreme lead vocalist Gary Cherone, and the last to feature bassist Michael Anthony, who only appears on three of the album's songs while the rest of the bass parts are played by Eddie Van Halen; his son Wolfgang replaced Anthony on subsequent tours and recordings.^[1] Eddie Van Halen's extensive involvement in the album's production, instrumentation and writing have led some, including Anthony, to consider Van Halen III more of a solo project than a collective band effort. Clocking in at over 65 minutes, Van Halen III is their longest album.

The album reached No. 4 in the United States and achieved Gold status, but was a relative commercial disappointment for the band, whose previous four albums had all been chart-topping, multi-platinum sellers, though the lead single "Without You" performed well on radio. Critical and fan reaction was also largely negative, with criticism directed at its songwriting, production, band performances and length. The lukewarm reception prematurely halted work on a follow-up album with Cherone, who departed soon after.^[1] Van Halen III was the band's last studio album for fourteen years until their 2012 comeback A Different Kind of Truth.