Van Halen's catalogue is attaining further Balance with an expanded edition of the band's final album recorded with second lead singer Sammy Hagar.

The band's 10th studio album, released in 1995, will be reissued August 15 as a 2CD/2LP/Blu-ray set offering the remaster featured in 2023 box set The Collection II, three studio rarities, eight unreleased live tracks and a half-dozen music videos (including another live performance from the vault). Standalone 2CD and 2LP editions will be available as well; all vinyl features the complete album spread across three sides with an etching on the fourth. (Closing track "Feelin'" was omitted from original vinyl pressings.) The expanded set will follow the model of a similar package for 1991's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, released last year.

A more serious album than its predecessors, Balance sprung from a period of newfound sobriety for guitarist Edward Van Halen; he and brother/drummer Alex indulged in atmospheric keyboards, furious guitar fretwork (three of the songs are instrumental) and even, on opening track "The Seventh Seal," the chanting of monks. Hagar, recording his vocals with Bon Jovi/Aerosmith producer Bruce Fairbairn while the brothers assembled tracks in Edward's 5150 Studio, added some pop flourishes to the mix like the aching "Can't Stop Loving You" (the band's final U.S. Top 40 hit) and the introspective "Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)," inspired in part by the death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.

Balance debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and the band promoted it with the Ambulance World Tour; BBC recordings from a June 25, 1995 performance at Wembley Stadium and performance footage of "The Seventh Seal" recorded in Minneapolis the next month (seen above) are the set's main unreleased treats. (All the promo videos have been restored to high-definition as well.) But the "Van Hagar" line-up was not to last. Growing tensions reached a boiling point during the recording of "Humans Being," the lead single from the 1996 action blockbuster Twister; reportedly, Edward and Hagar clashed over the latter's attempt to incorporate scientific findings about tornadoes in the lyrics. (Nonetheless, the song is a jam.) After Hagar's exit and an aborted attempt to reunite with original singer David Lee Roth (yielding two tracks on a best-of album), Gary Cherone of Extreme was briefly Van Halen's frontman in 1998; Hagar reunited for a 2004 tour before departing alongside bassist Michael Anthony; from then until Edward Van Halen's passing in 2020, the band would consist of the brothers, a returning Roth on vocals, and Ed's son Wolfgang on bass.

All formats of Balance will arrive on August 15 and can be pre-ordered below. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Balance (Expanded Edition) (Warner/Rhino, 2025)

2CD/2LP/Blu-ray: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

CD 1/LP 1-2: 2023 remaster of original album (released as Warner Bros. 45760, 1995)

1. The Seventh Seal
2. Can't Stop Lovin' You
3. Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)
4. Amsterdam
5. Big Fat Money
6. Strung Out
7. Not Enough
8. Aftershock
9. Doin' Time
10. Baluchitherium
11. Take Me Back (Déjà Vu)
12. Feelin'

CD 2: Bonus material (previously unreleased except where noted)

1. Crossing Over (from Japanese pressings of album - Warner Bros. WPCR-110, 1995)
2. Humans Being (from Twister (Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack - Warner Sunset 46254, 1996)
3. Respect the Wind - Edward & Alex Van Halen (from Twister (Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack - Warner Sunset 46254, 1996)
4. The Seventh Seal (Live @ Wembley Stadium, London, England - 6/24/1995)
5. Feelin' (Live @ Wembley Stadium, London, England - 6/24/1995)
6. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love (Live @ Wembley Stadium, London, England - 6/24/1995)
7. Guitar Solo (Live @ Wembley Stadium, London, England - 6/24/1995)
8. You Really Got Me (Live @ Wembley Stadium, London, England - 6/24/1995)
9. When It's Love (Live @ Wembley Stadium, London, England - 6/24/1995)
10. Jump (Live @ Wembley Stadium, London, England - 6/24/1995)
11. Right Now (Live @ Wembley Stadium, London, England - 6/24/1995)

Blu-ray: Promo videos

• Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)
• Can't Stop Loving You
• Amsterdam
• Not Enough
• The Seventh Seal (Live @ Target Center, Minneapolis, MN - 7/30/1995) (previously unreleased)
• Humans Being