Prior to their disbandment in 2020, following Eddie's death,[2] Van Halen released 12 studio albums, and the brothers were the only two constant members of the band.

His mother, Eugenia van Beers (1914–2005), was an Indo (Eurasian) from Rangkasbitung, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).

[7] Although Alex is known as a professional drummer, he began his musical aspirations as a guitarist, with his brother Eddie taking up drums.

[8] After Eddie heard Alex's mastery of The Surfaris drum solo in the song "Wipe Out", he decided to learn to play the electric guitar.

[4] He then took classes in music theory, scoring, composition and arranging at Pasadena City College for a short while.

Their 1978 self-titled debut album Van Halen was released to much fanfare, influencing many musicians in hard rock.

Van Halen had released eleven more studio albums since then, and officially disbanded a month after Eddie's death on October 6, 2020.

[14] Alex never recorded any music without his brother being involved, with Michael Anthony saying that "the only person that he plays with is Ed.

"[15] The only recording Alex has made outside of the band is playing keyboards on the Eddie Van Halen instrumental "Respect the Wind", done for the Twister soundtrack and earning the Van Halen brothers a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

[17][18] Alex released a book called Brothers on October 22, 2024 and commenced a 3 date promotional tour.

[19] Van Halen endorses Ludwig drums, pedals and hardware, Paiste cymbals, Remo drumheads and Regal Tip drumsticks.

Van Halen's main influences include Billy Cobham, Ginger Baker, Keith Moon and John Bonham, and he has cited jazz drummer Buddy Rich's work as having an early and lifelong impact.

Due to years of playing loud music, Alex is said to have major hearing loss in both ears.