Veteran hard-rock act severe announced their first new studio album in 15 years. The band’s sixth LP as a whole is aptly titled SIXand featured the recently released raw rocker “Rise” as the first single.
Extreme — which includes Gary Cherone (vocals), Nuno Bettencourt (guitar), Pat Badger (bass), and Kevin Figueiredo (drums) — will release SIX on June 9 via earMUSIC.
“Musically, it’s aggressive,” Cherone said of “Rise.” “Lyrically, it’s a cautionary tale of the rise and fall of fame. You get drawn into it. When you’re on top, they tear you down and tear you down. That’s the nature of the beast.”
“When Eddie Van Halen passed, it really hit me,” Bettencourt added. “I’m not going to sit on the throne, but I feel a responsibility to keep the guitar playing alive. So, you hear a lot of fire on the record. “
It was a good time for Extreme to make a comeback, as the band’s 1989 song “Play With Me” featured in Stranger Things 4 soundtrack, which gave them a boost in popularity. The band is best known for the ubiquitous early ’90s ballad “More Than Words,” as well as harder-rocking singles like “Hole Hearted” and “Rest in Peace.”
“At Extreme, there’s always a lot of excitement and a little piss and vomit,” Cherone said about SIX. “We are not competing with others, but we are trying to outdo ourselves. There are some moments on this album where we do. We were able to be together after all these years. We feel like we have something to prove when we go on stage or in the studio. Because of that, I think some of these songs are some of the best we’ve ever written.
Bettencourt commented, “Whatever you think an Extreme album is after two or even three songs, it’s not. That’s for every record we’ve ever done. True Extreme fans know to ‘expect the unexpected.’ I feel like we need a good old school rock album. SIX definitely modern, but you can put on headphones and travel from top to bottom. It’s like ‘Extreme 2.0.’”
Last month, Bettencourt performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show with Rihanna. He served as the pop star’s lead guitarist on many of his world tours.
Cherone, on the other hand, will handle the lead vocals for The Joe Perry Project during a upcoming spring US tour. Tickets for those shows are is here.
Watch the video for “Rise” below, followed by the album artwork and tracklist for SIX. Pre-order the album HERE.
SIX Artwork:
Six Album Covers
SIX Tracklist:
01. Get up
02. #Rebel
03. Banshee
04. Other Side of the Rainbow
05. Small Town Beautiful
06. The Mask
07. Thicker Than Blood
08. Save Me
09. Storm
10. X Except
11. Beautiful Women
12. Here’s to the Losers