A week from today (8/12,) reactivated Boston rockers Extreme, will release their first release of new material in 13 years titled Saudades De Rock.

(If you’re scratching your head on the above, it is pronounced “sow-dodge de rock”, which roughly translates from Portuguese as “Nostalgic Yearning for Rock”)

While rejoicing at the prospects of new material from the band, when they announced they would be releasing a new album, I was also silently praying that the album wouldn’t suck.

You might be snickering at the mention of Extreme and “suck” in the same sentence, and don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll give you something else to snicker about later. But I’ll tell you this – you’re wrong about Extreme, and my comrade Chris Akin sums it up nicely in his review of Saudades De Rock:

Extreme was a great band that got handcuffed and mislabeled by their own success. If you mention this band to most people, the only two songs they can reference are “More Than Words” and “Hole Hearted”; the two most non-representative songs of the band’s entire catalog.

Extreme quit while they were ahead after the release of Waiting For The Punchline, and I wasn’t entirely eager to tarnish that with the release of a new album.

The good news is that Saudades De Rock doesn’t suck. In fact, it’s pretty awesome, and exactly the followup that I would have been looking for after Punchline.

Thirteen years after Punchline, Extreme avoided making an overly adventurous album as Winger did with IV, and instead, made an album that takes the next logical step forward.

P.S. – it rocks.

Check out Chris Akin’s full review right here.

Extreme – Learn to Love

Kerrang! Magazine continues their series of star-studded metal tributes with the release of their Iron Maiden tribute titled appropriately Maiden Heaven.

The tribute features some of the usual suspects (Trivium, Machine Head, etc.) that have been part of previous Kerrang! tributes, and a few new (old) faces including Metallica, Dream Theater, and Devildriver.

Maiden Heaven was given away as a FREE CD with a recent issue of Kerrang!, and you can purchase that issue via the link below:

Purchase

Here is a great track by track look at the disc

Excerpted comments from some of the featured bands:

Lars Ulrich from Metallica

“Iron Maiden have been the blueprint for everything that we have ever wanted to do. I have always had an incredible amount of respect and admiration for them and obviously getting a chance to be part of this feels that that has come a full circle. We had so much fun with this.”

Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater

“When picking a song, we wanted to go with the more underrated, obscure choice and it’s prog metal style seemed perfectly suited for us. Maiden still rule – even 30 years later! Up the Irons, muthafucka!”

Travis Stever from Coheed and Cambria

“Somewhere In Time was the first vinyl record I bought when I was seven years old at a flea market with my mom, so it’s a band that has always been in my collection since day one. We chose this song for Maiden Heaven because we have been playing it in our live set for the past year in a medley of songs we put together for the set. It fits well!”

Coheed and Cambria – The Trooper

Relevant Links:

Visit the official Extreme website

Purchase Extreme’s Saudades De Rock from Amazon – CD

Kerrang! official website

Visit Iron Maiden’s official website