Sammy Hagar Was ‘Sabotaged’ By Eddie Van Halen

Eddie Van Halen was tense with Sammy Hagar in studio

Van Halen’s 1995 “Balance” album was the last one the band recorded with the Red Rocker, Sammy Hagar. It was made during a turbulent period. The band had to figure out a way forward, swamped and overshadowed by grunge. It didn’t help matters that they were falling apart internally. Members clashed over matters personal and professional.

As Sammy Hagar stated in a new video on his social media, the process “wasn’t fun.” Hagar and Michael Anthony stated that most of the tension during that time could be chalked up to Eddie Van Halen. Hagar recalled major tension with Eddie Van Halen during vocal sessions.

Sammy recalled Eddie and Alex Van Halen later came to hear the results. They walked into the studio while Bruce queued up “Don’t Tell Me What Love Can Do.” When Eddie and Alex later heard it for the first time, Eddie initially came in skeptical but was ultimately impressed, admitting they couldn’t find any flaws.

The duo opened up the album and looked at the featured pictures on the inner sleeve. Hagar commented on the band members’ appearance in the photos: “Look – four pissed off people! You know it’s so crazy, because to go into the studio and not want to be there, it was tough.”

“It really would piss me off,” Hagar recalled.

Eddie Van Halen trashed Sammy Hagar’s singing

Eddie would interrupt while he was recording, criticizing before even hearing the performance, which frustrated both Hagar and producer Bruce Fairbairn. To escape the disruption, Hagar and Bruce went to Bryan Adams’ home studio in Canada, where Sammy recorded key tracks like “Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Don’t Tell Me What Love Can Do,” and “Deja Vu.”

Hagar ended up recording his vocals in a vocal booth in Bryan Adams’ house. Both Eddie and Alex Van Halen admitted he’d done a good job when they heard the recordings.

“I’m sitting in there waiting for Ed to stop complaining about stuff he hasn’t even heard yet. So Bruce [producer Fairbairn] said, ‘F**k this, come on, we’re going to Canada.'”

“I remember Ed looking at Al, going, ‘Yeah, this is pretty good. We can’t poke holes in this.”