Roundtable: Van Halen’s ‘Balance’ LP 25 Years Later

Today marks the 25th anniversary of Van Halen’s final studio album with Sammy Hagar at the helm, the uneven Balance, which was released January 24, 1995. Though it wasn’t clear at the time, the band was falling apart from the inside out, which had quite a bit to do with the mess laid down on wax.

It wasn’t all bad though, and over at Ultimate Classic Rock I sat down for a roundtable to discuss the highs and lows of the record. When it came to the highlights, there’s little doubt in my mind that “Aftershock” was the strongest track on the LP, and here’s a live version from a 1995 appearance on The Jon Stewart Show.