2012-01-31 09:12:56 -

Rocker SAMMY HAGAR has blasted his former VAN HALEN bandmates' comeback album, revealing it left him cold and unimpressed when he heard it.
The band's former frontman was not asked to be part of the group's 2012 plans and now he's

glad he missed out because he's convinced the band's February (12) album will leave fans feeling cheated.
He tells Radio Metal, "What I've heard so far, I wasn't impressed with at all, personally... I think they chose to take the easy route and take some of their old stuff and re-record it instead of writing new songs... I don't think the fans are going to be happy with it.
"I couldn't care less if it's the biggest album of the year; that wouldn't be important to me. What is important to me is that, as artists, why would you do that? They haven't released an album since my last album in something like 1991 or 1992, and then they just go back. To me, it makes a strange statement, it kind of says, 'We don't have anything, we're not a band anymore, we're not creative.' "To be honest with you, the last time I was around those guys was in 2004 on the reunion. It was a disaster, it was horrible... I don't know what they're thinking, to be honest with you." And Hagar believes the pressure to record finally got to his former bandmates: "I don't think they had any choice. If they had had a choice they would've done all new stuff. From today. They would've written together like a band... I think there's zero inspiration and zero creativity." Replacing Hagar and longtime Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony in the group is original singer David Lee Roth and Van Halen's son Wolfgang.