Considering Van Halen's revolution

Angus Young once shared his distaste for modern metal guitar styles. The AC/DC guitarist complained practitioners such as Joe Satriani and Steve Vai were performing nothing more than "guitar exercises."
London-based guitar tutor and session player Martin Goulding suggests a true revolutionary paved the way for Satriani, Vai and the others who ushered in a more technically proficient style of playing:
"With the wheels already set rolling by players such as Tony Iommi, Ritchie Blackmore, Uli Jon Roth and Michael Schenker, it was Dutchman EDDIE VAN HALEN who would revolutionize the way modern electric guitar is played. Right from the arrival of his band's debut album in 1978, it was clear he was an innovator who would influence a generation of guitar players."
Goulding was writing in "TOTALLY GUITAR: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE."
The book details Van Halen's history through the guitars he played, refashioned and endorsed, from KRAMER (pictured), MUSIC MAN and PEAVEY.
I listened to some VAN HALEN on the treadmill this morning. I couldn't imagine the namesake guitarist playing any other style but his fluid approach that Goulding described as featuring "improvisation over the entire neck."
Sorry Angus, asking Eddie Van Halen to play in a more "conventional" style would be akin to requesting John Coltrane to stick to the sheet music.