Six

Six, the band’s first studio album in fifteen years, vividly reaffirmed that Extreme is a band that cannot be summed up by “More Than Words” alone. Nuno Bettencourt produced it at his home studio, with the current lineup of Gary Cherone, Pat Badger and Kevin Figueiredo, released via earMUSIC in 2023. Nuno’s guitar switches between sharp riffs, funky cutting, bluesy shading and staggering solos from song to song. The solo on the advance track “Rise” drew huge attention, won praise from the likes of Brian May, and was voted the third-best guitar solo of the 21st century in a magazine readers’ poll. The death of Eddie Van Halen is said to have strongly spurred Nuno. That same year he also joined Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance, drawing wide notice. From the driving “Banshee” and “#Rebel” to the acoustic “Other Side of the Rainbow,” it boldly moves between fret-burning hard rock and introspective ballads. Wearing a modern texture yet never selling on nostalgia, it converts the four members’ character into present-tense hard rock — a powerful comeback.