Extreme are a metal band hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, U.S, who formed in 1985. They built a devoted fan following with their raucous mix of glam metal and funk rock, and then went stratospheric in the early 90’s, topping the Billboard charts with their power ballad “More Than Words”.
You know you’ve made it when you create a cliché, and Boston’s very own Extreme are perfect examples of this. The band had their fans back in the day, with some small radio hits and a decent selling debut album. However, might have remained nothing more than a surprisingly awesome curio had they not inadvertently perfected the longstanding tradition of hard rock bands releasing a preposterous, over the top acoustic ballad that can still get you singing along no matter what the occasion might be. Yes, they are partially responsible for “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”, “November Rain”, and “To Be With You”, and let’s be honest, is the world not a brighter place with them in it?
Of course it is, and in a spectacular display of good things coming from insane pettiness, the band began with three different hard rock groups arguing about sharing a dressing room. Singer Gary Cherone and drummer Paul Geary both played in The Dream, guitarist Nuno Bettencourt was playing in a group called Sinful and bassist Pat Badger (not a stage name) played in “In The Pink”. These four men were the first four people in all three groups to get over themselves and struck up a friendship with each other, they started jamming together soon afterwards and decided to form a new group together.
Since Geary and Cherone both were late of the band The Dream, that obviously made the two men “Ex-Dream”, and in a stunning display of punning ability (pundamentalism? Sorry.), they named their new group Extreme as a result. The new group started writing, rehearsing and gigging soon after that, building a strong enough following around the Boston rock scene to with the “Outstanding Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Act” at the Boston Music Awards two years running before they’d even released their first album or signed to a record label. Their label deal would come in 1988 when they signed to A&M Records, and their self-titled debut album was released one year later, in1989.
All things considered it was an ideal first release, big enough to make a name for themselves, strong selling enough to secure a second album, but not so big that they had nowhere else to go but down. In hindsight, no-one at all could have predicted what happened next. Come August 1990, their second album, the preposterously titled “Extreme II: Pornograffiti” was released. Like their first effort, it sold modestly but unlike their second effort, the band had an ace up their sleeve. At first the album’s third single, “More Than Words” charted at number 81. However, then it started to climb, and climb and climb the charts until the band realized they had a bona-fide smash hit on their hands, hitting number one in June 1991.
In the dying days of hair metal, Extreme were the biggest deal of them all. They even had a second top five hit with the other acoustic ballad on their second album “Hole Hearted”, and ever since then they might not have ever been able to emulate that kind of success but then again, who has? What other rock band has had that kind of chart success ever since for that matter? The band split in 1996 but got back together in 2004, and their reunion shows have been a must see for any fan of 80’s metal. Yes it’s silly, yes it’s cheesy and yes, there are probably more tasteful ways of spending your time and money but the fact remains that no-one can deny Extreme’s charms, no matter how cool you might be. And twenty years after their heyday, they still come highly recommended.
Hannah Cohen
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