Van Halen is an American rock band formed in the early 1970s. The band's first studio album, Van Halen, released in 1978 is widely regarded as a milestone in rock music. With this first release, the band established itself as a leader in the emerging and commercially successful U.S. hard rock and heavy metal genres of the 1980s. In particular, the band's guitarist, Eddie Van Halen, quickly gained widespread fame for his technical prowess and musical sensibility.