Asif Khan Inc.

Saudades de Rock – Extreme

It’s been close to two decades that this group came together in Boston to weave together a mélange of musical influences and styles to create a sound which couldn’t have boasted of soaring vocal harmonies and shredding guitar riffs in a louder format during the short span of around seven years they were together, after which they opted for the usual rock band ending. Thirteen years hence, they have come out with a scorcher of an album containing thirteen tracks (is that portentous in some manner?), and it feels though most may have given up on hope, there couldn’t have been a more satiating burst of monsoon this season to overwhelm parched spirits. This album is everything that Extreme has ever been, and even after that gap they still manage to put together the same absolutely insane amount of energy with which they packed their earlier works. Some might say that a comeback after more than a decade warrants at least some change in the sound and format, but then who gives a damn when you get to sooth your aural senses with unadulterated melodic noise. Cherone and Bettencourt work together as tight as ever to produce some of the most heartwrenching harmonies in their patent Funk Metal style, and Badger provides some monster chords on the four stringer. This is the first album for their new drummer, Figueiredo who blends in well, which is something which speaks volumes about his talent. Very very nostalgic rock music, but then that’s what Saudades de Rock loosely translates itself into from Portuguese.