Fredagen den 6:e oktober släpps boxen “Van Halen: The Collection II” där man kommer kunna hitta ny remastrade versioner av albumen 5150 (1986), OU812 (1988), For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991) och Balance (1995). Så här går att läsa i ett pressmeddelande:

Van Halen had two spans of life – the period up to 1985 with David Lee Roth as singer, and the period after that when Sammy Hagar took over as lead singer and joined guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony in the band. A new box set focuses on this second incarnation of the California hard rock formation. called “The Collection II,” it’s available Oct. 6 and features newly remastered versions of four multiplatinum studio albums, as well as a selection of rarities recorded between 1989 and 2004. The box set will be released as a set of 5 LPs and 5CDs. All of the music in the set was mastered directly from the original master tapes under the supervision of the band’s longtime sound engineer, Donn Landee.

As the title of the box set suggests, “The Collection II” is the long-awaited sequel to the compilation released in 2015, which had focused on the six studio albums from the first span of Van Halen’s life, that is, the one with singer David Lee Roth. “The Collection II” picks up where “The Collection” left off and includes the four consecutive US #1 albums of the Hagar era: “5150” (1986, DE #11), “OU812” (1988, DE #12), “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” (1991, DE #6) and “Balance” (1995, DE #8).

The journey begins with “5150”, Van Halen’s seventh studio album overall and also their first to reach #1 on the Billboard 200 (its predecessor “1984” had already scratched the throne with #2). The album achieved 6-times platinum status in the U.S. alone (gold in DE) and included hits like “Dreams,” “Love Walks In,” and “Why Can’t This Be Love,” which reached the Top 10 of the German singles charts. Two years later, the band returned with “OU812,” which performed impressively again with quadruple platinum in the U.S. and four single placements on the Billboard Hot 100 (including “Finish What Ya Started” and “When It’s Love”).

The triumphant run continued with the subsequent “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge,” which would earn Van Halen their first Grammy Award (in the “Favorite Heavy Metal / Hard Rock Album” category). After hitting #1 on the charts in the U.S., the LP stayed there for three weeks and went triple platinum as it progressed. “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” spawned no less than seven singles, including hits like “Poundcake,” “Top Of The World” and “Right Now.”

in 1993, the band slipped in a live album – “Live: Right Here, Right Now”, also their first “live album” – before delivering “Balance” in 1995, their last studio album with Hagar. The album was another commercial triumph – #1 in the U.S., over three million units sold, and a Grammy nomination for the single “The Seventh Seal” speak volumes.

The conclusion of “The Collection II” is “Studio Rarities 1989 – 2004”, an exclusive compilation of eight gems from the Hagar era, gathered here in one place for the first time. Among these rarities is “Crossing Over”, the B-side to “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You” from the “Balance” album (and at the same time the band’s only B-side not associated with an album).

Besides that, the compilation holds many other extraordinary highlights, including the cover version of Little Feat’s “A Apolitical Blues” and the instrumental “Baluchitherium” – both tracks that had not been considered for the original vinyl versions of “OU812” and “Balance”, respectively. Also exciting: With “Humans Being” and the Grammy-nominated “Respect The Wind”, two songs are included on the collection that Van Halen contributed to the soundtrack of the movie “Twister” (1986).

Rounding out the set are “It’s About Time,” “Up For Breakfast” and “Learning To See,” which were recorded during the band’s temporary reunion with Hagar in 2004. All three were then part of Van Halen’s second greatest hits collection, “The Best Of Both Worlds,” also released in 2004.