Balance

Balance is the eleventh release from Van Halen, the ultra-popular heavy metal quartet from California. They’ve come a long way since dropping their debut in 1978. On the first quick listen to Balance, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d heard most of it on their earlier albums. Still, I have to tell you that Balance is a record that doesn’t hit your ear right away, apart from a few hits. And there are quite a few of those on this one, at least four in my humble opinion. Balance was produced by Bruce Fairbairn, known for his work with Aerosmith, AC/DC, Scorpions and Bon Jovi. The members of Van Halen certainly don’t lack energy, love of music or, of course, money. In the previous years it was mostly guitarist Eddie who had serious trouble, with booze being his weak spot. Eddie says that at birth God hands every Earthling a bottle of hard liquor that’s supposed to last a whole lifetime. Sadly, Eddie knocked back his far too fast, so he had to seek help quite a few times, most notably at the famous Betty Ford clinic. Van Halen recorded all the songs for the new album in their home studio, named after their famous record 5150. For the first time they also got a taste of real work with a producer who didn’t just hang around the studio for no reason, stoically putting up with their rock-star whims. Bruce Fairbairn literally drove them and pushed them to work, though without taking away their creative freedom. The lyrics were mostly written by singer Sammy Hagar, and they deal with happy and unhappy love and the pitfalls of life in general. Recording of Balance started in June 1994 and was already wrapped up by October. Despite that fast recording process, on Van Halen’s Balance you’ll find all of their trademark sonic signatures. You’ll recognize the sound of Eddie’s guitar and, of course, his playing style in an instant, along with the bombastic bass and high backing vocals of Michael Anthony, the unique drum sound of Alex Van Halen, and the excellent singing and screaming of Sammy Hagar. Van Halen prepared more than twenty songs for Balance, but instead of their usual calculated song selection, they put on the record the twelve they finished first. Another first in their career was including a longer instrumental track, along with two shorter ones. This time Eddie Van Halen didn’t play much keyboard and focused more on the guitar. On Balance you’ll find everything he’s known for. From tapping technique and bluesy solos to vibrato abuse and wild runs across the strings, it’s all waiting for you on the latest album from the Van Halen quartet. The song Amsterdam is about a night stroll through that beautiful city, and in Big Fat Money Eddie plays a gorgeous half-jazzy solo. Van Halen use a few familiar compositional tricks on Balance, but you certainly can’t say they ripped anyone off, except themselves. Balance doesn’t stick in your ear right away; you need to listen to it at least four times with full attention, because besides the slightly different overall sound of the quartet, you’ll also find sounds on it that they hadn’t used before. With Balance, Van Halen certainly stayed at the center of modern rock for the time.