Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt is featured in a new interview with Australia's Heavy, discussing the band's new album, SIX. He reveals what the band were going for with the album, and discusses making music for yourself first and foremost, their use of electronics on two of the songs, producing the album himself and how difficult it is to separate yourself from the music, their upcoming tour with Living Colour and what to expect, why those two bands make good touring partners and more.
Bettencourt: "If there's an album coming out or music coming out, then it's for a reason and it's usually a good reason for me. It actually means that we wrote something that I think is worth something to share. There's a reason why we don't put out a lot of albums. It's because the excitement has to be there. I told Gary (Cherone / vocals) at a very young age that I never want to put any music out for the sake of putting music out. It's probably not the smartest thing financially for a band to do that (laughs), because every time you put an album out you make money, you get advances and you tour the world but it has to be something that you're really proud of. What I mean by that is, it has to be successful before it even comes out. Meaning that you're super proud of it, you're excited and you put your head on the pillow regardless of if everybody hates it or loves it. It doesn't mean anything to you. It's always a bonus that they love it, but at the end of the day there's nothing worse than people loving what you do if you didn't like what you did in the first place."
On SIX, Extreme swing between unapologetic fits of fret-burning hard rock and intimately introspective balladry. For the recording of the Bettencourt-produced 12-track album, the members buckled down at his home studio in Los Angeles to channel the electrifying eclecticism that defined their seminal output with a 21st century twist.
This dynamic affirms the iconic Boston quartet as one of rock’s most unpredictable, undeniable, and unbreakable groups whose songs course through the very fabric of popular culture. They’re the rare band whose music has appeared in an actual cult series a la Bill & Ted as well as the Netflix juggernaut Stranger Things. They’ve sold 10 million records, topped the Billboard Hot 100 at #1, packed major venues on multiple continents, memorably performed at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in London, and regularly average over 5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. However, their dynamic approach hits harder than ever on their 2023 full-length offering, SIX.
Order SIX here.
SIX tracklisting:
"Rise"
"#Rebel"
"Banshee"
"Other Side of the Rainbow"
"Small Town Beautiful"
"The Mask"
"Thicker Than Blood"
"Save Me"
"Hurricane"
"X Out"
"Beautiful Girls"
"Here's To The Losers"
“Other Side Of The Rainbow” video:
"Banshee" video:
"#Rebel" video:
"Rise" video:
Trailer:
Extreme's headlining “Thicker Than Blood” world tour kicks off in the US on August 2, followed by stops in Australia and Japan in September and has already sold-out dates in cities including Detroit, Hampton Beach, Tokyo and Yokohama. The band recently announced an additional jaunt beginning November 27 in Newcastle, UK and wrapping December 16 in Milan, IT.
Special guests Living Colour (who will also be supporting Extreme on their US and Australian shows) will appear on the UK leg and The Last Internationale will appear across Europe. Tickets at extreme-band.com.
Extreme have remained one of rock’s most unpredictable, undeniable, and unbreakable groups, having sold 10 million records, topped the Billboard Hot 100 at #1, packed major venues on multiple continents, memorably performed at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in London, and they regularly average over 5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Extreme’s new album, SIX has seen unprecedented success following the release of three evocative hit singles and videos: “Rise,” “Banshee” and “#Rebel.”
Tour dates:
August
2 - Portland, ME - State Theatre #
3 - Hampton Beach, NH - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom #
5 - Boston, MA - Roadrunner #
6 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount #
8 - Reading, PA - Santander Performing Arts Center #
10 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom #
11 - Hartford, CT - Webster Theater #
12 - Glenside, PA - Keswick Theater #
14 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall #
15 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater #
17 - Gary, IN - Hard Rock Live #
18 - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theatre #
19 - Cedar Rapids, IA - The Paramount #
21 - Denver, CO - The Ogden #
22 - Albuquerque, NM - Revel Entertainment Center #
24 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues #
26 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency #
28 - Portland, OR - TBD #
29 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox #
September
6 - Perth, AU - Regal Theatre #
8 - Adelaide, AU - Hindley Street Music Hall #
10 - Melbourne, AU - Forum #
12 - Sydney, AU - Enmore Theatre #
13 - Brisbane, AU - Fortitude Music Hall #
17 - Sendai, JP - Sendai Gigs
19 - Yokohama, JP - KT Zepp Yokohama
21 - Tokyo, JP - Hitomi Memorial Hall
25 - Nagoya, JP - Shimin Kaikan Hall
26 - Osaka, JP - Zepp Namba
November
27 - Newcastle, UK - O2 City Hall #
28 - Glasgow, UK - O2 Academy #
30 - Manchester, UK - O2 Academy #
December
1 - Wolverhampton, UK - Civic Hall #
3 - Bristol, UK - O2 Academy #
4 - London, UK - O2 Forum #
8 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7 Konzertfabrik *
10 - Berlin, Germany - Huxleys *
11 - Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall *
12 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg Max *
14 - Antwerp, Belgium - Trix *
16 - Milan, Italy - Alcatraz *
# with Living Colour
* with The Last Internationale
