Ames is about to be brought into Balance this weekend as Van Halen takes over our humble town when they play at Hilton Coliseum Saturday at 8 p.m.

The Van Halen brothers, Eddie, guitar god; and Alex, drummer of the gods, along with Sammy Hagar, Mr. I can’t drive 55; and Michael Anthony, the man on the bass, come to Ames in support of their latest release Balance. It’s the group’s 11th album, the fourth with Hagar, and the first studio CD since 1990’s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.

“It’s a musical concept as well as a statement about what’s going on around us,” Hagar said in a press release. “We’re all looking for a little equilibrium.”

“Everything is a matter of balance, black and white, good and evil, yin and yang … dualities,” Alex added.

The band recorded Balance after they completed a whirlwind tour and their smash in-concert CD, Live: Right Here, Right Now, although they did take some vacation time.

“You finish a tour and you take off a couple of months and pretty soon you’re itchin’ to get back and play again,” Anthony said.

“We just started writing a little, goofing off in the studio and getting back up to speed. We’ve got the process down by now,” Hagar added.

Recording their eleventh album was like experiencing their first album, 1978’s Running with the Devil, all over again. “It blows my mind each time,” Eddie said. “Even after 11 albums, it’s like we learn how to do it all over again. At first you don’t have much written, so you start focusing on jamming and all of a sudden things just start to happen.”

And happen they did, spawning such singles as “Don’t Tell Me,” “Deja Vu,” and the ballad “Can’t Stop Loving You.”

“Lyrically the album has a lot to say, maybe more than any other I’ve written before,” Hagar said. “Tracks like ‘The Seventh Seal’ and ‘Deja Vu,’ I’m real proud of, but I spent just as much time on a simple love song called ‘Can’t Stop Loving You.’ I tried to go a little deeper each time.”

Well, Van Halen finally arrives in Ames, after touring much of the world since the beginning of the year. “For us, playing live has always meant getting as close to the people as possible,” Alex said. “No matter how many people you’re in front of — 100 or 100,000 — you’re really only playing to one at a time. We try to break down the separation between the stage and the seats as much as possible.”

Helping Van Halen break down the separation is Brother Cane, who were called upon to open for VH. “It’s amazing every night to be hanging out with Van Halen,” said Roman Glick, bassist for Brother Cane. “Every guy in the band is approachable. It’s more of a friendly thing, not a forced issue. They’re like ‘you’re our bro now.'”

Brother Cane is touring in support of their second offering, Seeds, released on Virgin Records. The first single from the CD was “And Fools Shine On,” a song that has defined the band.

“I felt that way back when it was an acoustic song,” Glick said in a recent interview. And the second is going to be ‘Breadmaker.’ It’s definitely a pretty up-tempo song,” Glick added.

Be prepared for a virtual rock assault in Ames Saturday when Brother Cane and Van Halen hit the stage at Hilton. Showtime is 8 p.m., tickets are $35 and $25 and are available through all TicketMaster outlets, 233-1888.