EarMusic
June 9
Words by Kris Peters
Many people associate Extreme with their runaway freight train of a love song called More Than Words which was lifted from the band’s 1990 album Pornograffiti, when in fact that song, despite being a belter in its own right, was one of the softest songs produced before or since by the great rock band.
That album alone had crackers like Decadence Dance and Get The Funk Out that were far greater rock songs and every album since has had its own fair share of bangers that showcase the perhaps truer side of Extreme’s music.
Not that I can honestly say I have listened to any album since with a critical ear but Pornograffiti still stands among my personal Top 10 albums ever.
So it is with a touch of nostalgia that I sit down to listen to their new album Six – I will let you figure out why they named it that…
Opener Rise bursts out of the blocks with a cracking guitar riff courtesy of the legendary Nuno Bettencourt who shows no signs of rock fatigue entering nearly 40 years as part of Extreme.
His longtime partner in crime on vocals, Gary Cherone, soon finds voice and edges his way in smoothly, a distinctly welcome vocal serenade that oozes charisma.
This track has all the hallmarks of what you would expect from a seasoned rock outfit.
Dirty hooks laced with wicked guitar play and a driving rhythm section that steers itself. Pure rock indulgence at its finest and the perfect way to kick off proceedings complete with a tasty as fuck guitar solo that sets Six up to be much greater than a meat-and-potatoes rock album.
#Rebel fires up next with a swirling haze of guitar wizardry before Kevin Figueiredo starts kicking his drums to the curb until a gruff HGGHH from Cherone fleshes things out.
More tasty guitar licks are exacerbated by a rhythm section locked tighter than araldite and prepared to experiment musically outside of the traditional confines of safety.
Cherone wails and sighs his way through a plethora of emotions that are given credence as Bettencourt smashed the length and breadth of his guitar into attention, shrieks and cries of resistance from his strings falling on seemingly deaf ears.
Another cool guitar intro breathes life into Banshee as it stirs and shakes steadily as Cherone purrs his sultry vocals over the top. This is more of a fun, rocking number that plays by the numbers while still offering a musical growth that only the classic rock bands can muster.
The track turns more blues-orientated halfway through with a tasty guitar solo that embraces the essence of rock music with a twist of Bettencourt magic that is the staple of any good Extreme diet.
Other Side Of The Rainbow throws up the album’s first acoustic number and is a pleasant enough journey to… well your guess is as good as mine.
I guess by now Extreme are expected to have tracks like this sprinkled throughout their albums and while it is a rollicking fun ditty my bread is preferably buttered more on the harsh side of rock.
Small Town Beautiful keeps the soft train rumbling at a measured pace and is actually a beautifully sung track that could grow on me.
But not tonight.
On The Mask fires things up again courtesy of a groovy bass line over the top of a smooth drum pattern. Cherone uses a calmer, almost spoken-word vocal delivery here and despite the subdued nature of the track it is cool as fuck.
It chuggs along at a steady pace but has an overall feeling of underlying menace that threatens an aggressive coup at any moment, which it does in effect with some delightful guitar solos and changes towards the back half that force this to my pick of the album queue thus far.
Thicker Than Blood has… is that electronics?… Yep, it is and kudos to Extreme for being unafraid to embrace modern music.
It’s only subtle but adds another dimension to the track that is essentially a rock banger.
There’s even almost a breakdown or two of sorts thrown haphazardly into the mix, all of which work to perfection. I’m still unsure just what I am listening to – and on an Extreme album for that matter – but this song is sensational. Guitar solos over electronics and stuttering musical leanings that gather momentum and pace as the track wears on.
Brave but fucken awesome boys!
Save Me flows into being awash with soothing acoustics and soft sighs but just as I prepare myself to suck it up things take a turn.
For the better.
Electric guitars kick in and what started out sounding like a soppy ode to self-preservation has quickly turned into a strutting wall of contempt that has all of the venom of a caged rattlesnake while still maintaining an underlying sorry that is at odds with the rocking nature of the song.
Again, unexpected, but emphatically once more welcome.
Hurricane is counted in gently before turning into more of a passing breeze – yep, another acoustic song.
Skipping on to Xout it seems Extreme enjoyed their flirtation with electronics enough to have another crack, and it will be interesting to hear if it has the same impact the second time around.
To their credit the band allows this technology to be a part of the song rather than the driving force, and it works to their benefit.
This song is a beautifully crafted and strangely effective piece of music that sounds nothing like you would expect from Extreme.
It ebbs and flows with a constant rock oppression throughout that is punctuated by moments of musical tenderness dispersed with lashings of controlled aggression to create something sonically totally fresh – to these ears anyway.
Almost prog rock ish in parts, but then nothing like it, Xout is a uniquely captivating tune that demands repeat listens.
Beautiful Girls kicks in with a bouncing reggae-type vibe that only continues as the soothing layered vocals pay homage to the inherent beauty of the finer species on a global scale.
This track is fun, and once more unexpected in a strangely comforting way.
Closing track Here’s To The Losers sees the acoustic guitar come back out and as far as ballads go isn’t too bad.
It sounds more like a comforting nod to the downtrodden and less athletically inclined as others and is a nice touch, more or less saying we are all winners in our own right.
And that perfectly sums up Six as a musical collective.
It is a musical triumph on so many levels that you would have to listen for yourself to gain a full comprehension.
Needless to say, it left me with a warm WTF look on my face on several occasions, which is not an easy thing to do in the modern age of music.
