Illegal Foreign Object

The long-delayed, longer-awaited sixth album from Boston band Extreme, Six (who stretched into the backbend to come up with that title?!), was finally released on June 9, 2023. With it came plenty of hype, especially after fans, critics, and naysayers were teased with a treasure trove of technical tricks from guitarist Nuno Bettencourt on the singles “Rise”, “#Rebel”, and “Banshee”. On each of the pre-album singles, Bettencourt unleashed a gaggle of tightrope-walking, divebombing, high-octane solos that had many proclaiming the return of the guitar solo to hard rock music.

When Six is good, it’s really good. “Rise” is loaded with six-string acrobatics, monster riffage, and sing-along choruses reminiscent of the band’s earlier years. “#Rebel” is more of the same — there’s a swagger to this track that’s inescapable, and singer Gary Cherone shines with perhaps his best vocal performance in two decades.

My favorite track on the album, “Banshee”, is a barn burner. The riff is ten-ton heavy and filthy as can be, drummer Kevin Figueiredo beats the living hell out of his kit, and the harmonies from Nuno and bassist Pat Badger are particularly pleasing.

Then, things begin to fall apart.

The band’s fourth single, “Other Side Of The Rainbow”, is a pretty little mid-tempo in the same vein as Extreme’s 1990 hit single “Hole Hearted” and “Hurricane” does a fine job of showcasing Gary and Nuno’s combined vocal forces — the very thing that broke the band in ’90 when “More Than Words” took over radio and MTV.

Unfortunately, lyrics are an issue with much of the remainder of Six. On “Small Town Beautiful”, for example, Gary and Nuno sing, “Small town beautiful/What’s beautiful is you don’t even know/It’s hidden in your heart and your soul”, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the term “small town beautiful” is an insult. It’s a shame because the musicality of the song is lovely. Unfortunately, as a singer myself, I hear the words.

“Beautiful Girls” suffers from similar lyrical issues and is unquestionably my least favorite Extreme song in the band’s history. “All around the world
there are so many beautiful, beautiful girls/Packed my bags, hit the road/Gonna search the world/On a mission, I gotta find the perfect girl/Might end up in Rome, or she could be in Tokyo” is just abysmal writing. I don’t care how young you feel –you’re in your mid-50s and early-60s and should not still be writing songs about chasing ass around.

The last issue with Six is that far too much of the album sounds like Nuno’s other projects. “X Out” would have been a perfect fit on his Schizophonic album (and I love Pat Badger’s bass playing), but nothing about it screams “Extreme”. “The Mask” and “Thicker Than Blood” sound like Mourning Widows rejects, and “Save Me” reminds me of the stuff Gary was doing with Eddie Van Halen back in ’98. What can I say — I like my Extreme funky, and far too much of Six is either dour, out of place, or impossibly trite.

Extreme fans waited close to 10 years for Six to see the light of day. For me, it simply didn’t live up to the hype. Too much of it sounds like Nuno was juggling several projects at once and got lost in the weeds. It’s an unfocused, disjointed album with a few (albeit too few) amazing moments. It gives me all the Chinese Democracy vibes. I can’t help but feel disappointed overall.

1. Rise 8/10
2. #Rebel 8/10
3. Banshee 9/10
4. Other Side Of The Rainbow 6/10
5. Small Town Beautiful 5/10
6. The Mask 6/10
7. Thicker Than Blood 5/10
8. Save Me 5/10
9. Hurricane 7/10
10. X Out 6/10
11. Beautiful Girls 2/10
12. Here’s To The Losers 5/10

Grade: 60