Consequently, Extreme's music is never easy to classify; it's not just heavy metal, hard rock, or pop— their albums cover all of that territory with a sweeping ambition and a social consciousness to match. Although a mostly hard rock band, it was the Everly Brothers-style acoustic ballad, "More Than Words," that crossed them over into the mainstream — it hit number one and the follow-up single, the acoustic-based pop rocker "Hole Hearted," hit number four.
They released two albums in the hey day of glam metal but received diminished attention from the mainstream following the grunge explosion following the release of Nirvana's "Nevermind" in 1991. Despite this, they released two more albums before the hiatus. Vocalist Gary Cherone went on to join Van Halen in 1997, replacing Sammy Hagar, and the group released "Van Halen III." He left Van Halen soon after, in 1999 and formed Tribe of Judah, with fellow Extreme members Pat Badger and Mike Mangini.
The group reformed in 2004 for a short tour of Boston and Japan as well as reforming in 2006 for a small U.S. tour. On November 26th 2007, it was announced that Extreme would come back in 2008 with a new album & tour.
In July 2007 Bettencourt quit Satellite Party for the Extreme reunion with Cherone and Pat Badger. On November 26, 2007, the band announced plans for a world tour in the summer of 2008 with King's X as well as a release date for their new album, Saudades de Rock, produced by Bettencourt. Kevin Figueiredo, who played with Bettencourt in DramaGods and Satellite Party, took over drum duties for the band. Original drummer Paul Geary would still remain involved with the band, albeit in a management position.
2015–present: Six
In a May 2015 interview with Eddie Trunk, vocalist Gary Cherone said that Extreme had been writing and demoing new material for their follow-up to Saudades de Rock, and would enter the studio in the fall to begin recording.
In a September 2016 interview, guitarist Nuno Bettencourt revealed that Extreme had been working on approximately 17 songs for their new album, and added, "We're about 17 songs into it. We're just wrapping them up. We've got to do vocals, some guitar. Slowly but surely."
In 2016, the band released Pornograffitti Live 25: Metal Meltdown, an audio/video presentation of its 2015 concert at Las Vegas' Hard Rock Casino.
During the 2017 KISS Kruise, the band invited original drummer Paul Geary to join them on stage to play "Hole Hearted". In June 2018, Extreme toured Australia with Mr. Big, which marked the latter's first tour of Australia and Extreme's first tour of the continent since 1993. After their Australian tour, they went on to tour Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok and Taipei. Extreme headlined Shirock 2019 alongside Scottish hard rock band Nazareth. On October 19, 2019, the band performed in India in front of over 30,000 fans in Ukhrul.
On February 17, 2023, the band began to release a different teaser each day, to end on February 28. On March 1, 2023, Extreme released the single "Rise" and announced that 'Six" would be released on June 9. On April 19, 2023, Extreme released the official videos for "Banshee" and "#Rebel" on their YouTube channel.
Current members
Gary Cherone – lead vocals (1985–96, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007–present)
Nuno Bettencourt – guitars, brass/orchestration arrangements, keyboards, piano, backing and lead vocals (1985–96, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007–present)
Pat Badger – bass, backing vocals (1986–96, 2006, 2007–present)
Kevin Figueiredo – drums, percussion, occasional backing vocals (2007–present)
Diskogs
Extreme (1989)
Extreme II: Pornograffitti (1990)
III Sides to Every Story (1992)
Waiting for the Punchline (1995)
Saudades de Rock (2008)
Six (2023)
Love of My Life
Extreme Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've broken my heart and now you leave me
Love of my life can't you see
Bring it back bring it back
Don't take it away from me
Because you don't know
What it means to me
You've taken my love you now desert me
Love of my life can't you see
Bring it back bring it back
Don't take it away from me
Because you don't know
What it means to me
You will remember
When this is blown over
And everything's all by the way
When I grow older
I will be there at your side to remind you
How I still love you I still love you
Back hurry back
Please bring it back home to me
Because you don't know
What it means to me
Love of my life
Love of my life
Yeah
The lyrics to Extreme's Love of my life reflects the pain and sorrow of someone who has had their heart broken by the love of their life. The opening lines "Love of my life you've hurt me, you've broken my heart and now you leave me" sets the tone of the song, revealing the deep feeling of hurt and abandonment that the singer is experiencing. The use of repetition in the chorus, "Love of my life can't you see, bring it back, bring it back, don't take it away from me" emphasizes the singer's desperation to bring back the love that has been lost.
The bridge of the song offers a glimpse of hope for the singer as he expresses his unwavering love and commitment to his partner "When I grow older, I will be there at your side to remind you, how I still love you, I still love you." The lyrics indicate a sense of longing for reconciliation and a desire to make things right between the two of them.
Overall, the song's simple yet powerful lyrics convey a visceral emotion that many people can relate to. It's a love song that reflects on the pain of heartbreak and the raw emotion that follows.
Line by Line Meaning
Love of my life you've hurt me
I am deeply hurt by the one I love the most
You've broken my heart and now you leave me
The pain caused by the separation of my lover is unbearable
Love of my life can't you see
My beloved, open your eyes and understand that our love is worth fighting for
Bring it back bring it back
Return to me the love that we shared
Don't take it away from me
Please don't let our love be destroyed
Because you don't know
You don't understand how much I value our relationship
What it means to me
My love for you is of the utmost importance in my life
Love of my life don't leave me
Please don't abandon me, my love
You've taken my love you now desert me
You have taken my heart and abandoned me in my time of need
You will remember
One day, in the future, you will look back and remember our love
When this is blown over
When this difficult time has passed
And everything's all by the way
And all of our problems have been resolved
When I grow older
As time passes and we age
I will be there at your side to remind you
I will still be here, by your side, reminding you of my love
How I still love you, I still love you
My love for you will never fade, no matter what happens
Back hurry back
Please come back to me as quickly as possible
Please bring it back home to me
Please bring back the love we shared to our home together
Love of my life
You are the love of my life, the one I hold most dear
Love of my life
My beloved, the one who holds my heart
Yeah
Expressing enthusiasm, passion and urgency in the call to bring back the love that was lost
Contributed by Jasmine K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ThomasSheridanArts
What I love about this performance is that the guys in Extreme had a deep and almost spiritual connection to the music of Queen. They really got it.
@comentando2437
. Amazing song.
@riverdog155
Nuno Bettencourt...for me one of the best rock guitarist ever...
@fanlu6433
for me he is the best too, if i want to make a band, Nuno is my first choice, and some other like paul gilbert, steve vai, Joe Satriani, come on, you are the master of guitar but not good for a rock bnad
@formigagamerYT
Slash
@CherylHShannon
@Fan Lu Randy Rhodes
@davelospinoso9022
Agreed. He has a bit of every style in him. Pornographitti is the best rock guitar album ever, blizzard of Oz close 2nd
@833flamengo
David Gilmour
@jameshenderson9830
Nuno's solo was incredible.
@mikeralston777
Re: Cherone's voice.
He had just performed one of the most amazing feats any singer has ever done on any stage anywhere. The man owned Wembley for that medley, and here he's tired and his voice is a little tapped out. Meanwhile this is one of the greatest singers in rock, and probably the only guy who could have legitimately taken Freddie's place. Anyone of you in front of 100,000 people would have pissed your pants. Everyone's a Critic, but not everyone is a musician.