80s Rock Legends Expand Iconic Singer’s Final Album With Unreleased Tracks originally appeared on Parade.
Legendary 80s rock band Van Halen will debut an expanded rerelease of their 1995 album Balance, which was singer Sammy Hagar’s final record with the band, later this summer.
The reissue will feature nine previously unreleased rare tracks from the Balance tour, as well as B-side “Crossing Over,” two songs that were featured on the Twister soundtrack, and a new live version of “The Seventh Seal,” which is featured only on the Blu-ray included with the expanded edition. That version of “The Seventh Seal” comes from a one-time live performance featuring the Monks of Gyuto Tantric University, who provide the song’s opening chants.
Additionally, the other eight rare unreleased tracks from the Balance tour are audio-only and come from the band’s June 25, 1994 show where they opened for Jon Bon Jovi in London.
Balance was Hagar’s final album with the band and it included major hits like “Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do)” and “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You.” The record put the band at the top of the Billboard charts for the fourth time in their career.
That said, making the album was challenging for the band, particularly between legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen and Hagar. “That was the record where if I said black, Eddie said white, and I’d say, ‘Okay, white,’ he’d say, ‘No, I want black,'” Hagar told Rolling Stone in October 2015. “I’d say, ‘Okay, well, I wanted black to begin with.’ Then Eddie would go, ‘Well, I don’t know what I want, I’ll let you know when I do.’ He just wanted the opposite of what I wanted.”
Those difficulties led to Hagar’s departure from the band the following year in 1996. He was replaced by original vocalist David Lee Roth, who sung for the band from 1974 to 1985. He hung around for a small stint with the group in 1996 before being replaced again by Gary Cherone — however, his short tenure with the group was commercially unsuccessful.
The band then went on hiatus until reuniting with Hagar again in 2003, but he left once again by 2005. From there, Roth returned the following year. The group released their final studio album in 2012 and disbanded in 2020, just one month after Eddie’s death from cancer.
The extended edition of Balance will be available for purchase on August 15.
80s Rock Legends Expand Iconic Singer’s Final Album With Unreleased Tracks first appeared on Parade on Jun 26, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
