F our-headed hard-rock beasts had long roamed the earth by the time the late '70s rolled around. Led Zeppelin, the Who and Black Sabbath, among others, left gargantuan footprints in establishing the template: Take a magnetic lead singer, pair him with a wizard-like guitarist, and back them both with a heavy-bottomed rhythm section. But there was something different about Van Halen from the moment their 1978 self-titled debut arrived. Maybe it was their sunny SoCal roots, giving the band a breezy, party-friendly vibe while their predecessors plodded through dark themes, rock "operas" and tales inspired by The Lord of the Rings. Maybe it was boisterous, fast-talking frontman David Lee Roth, the pop-tastic harmony vocals of bassist Michael Anthony or the thunderous drums of Alex Van Halen.