Extreme are back...albeit in an awfully packaged sleeve design which screams of some arty, mid '90s 'rock' record with its faded logo. The band haven't lost their ability to prog-rock, the colourful and catchy 'Star' kicks in like something from a West End musical, Bettencourt's licks saturating the record and Cherone's distinctive tones bringing to mind once again the Van Halen comparison. There's also enough funky swagger here to last a life time, 'Comfortably Dumb' prime example. However, 'Suadades...' leaves me cold...icy in fact. Sure, as usual there's a lot going on here, Extreme, with ease, drifting through styles, never allowing the listener to predict what's coming next, but it just grates on me...big time. 'Run' brings to mind Bowie, Queen, Prince...., and my fave cut, '...Of The Ladies' with its slow, simmering, buzz which acts as a backdrop to Cherone's rappy chops, and the eerie 'Ghost' drifts by on a piano but this could so easily have been a Coldplay track. Maybe Extreme occupy that stadium rock room and have ascended far beyond the realms of metal...but like their album's before, there are moments to love and moments to hate, but with 'Suadades...' I find myself bored, fed up of the funk, unable to gorge myself on the layers of diversity and once again tired of Extreme. Back with a bang ? Hardly. And sort that album cover out for God's sake!
6/10
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