After years of debating from fans as to whether or not they would reunite for good after playing selected shows over the last few years, Boston rock outfit Extreme have finally reached a decision, and returned with a brand new album - their first in more than 12 long years.

As long time fans will already know, none of Extreme’s four previous albums could ever be compared to one another, as the band continually changed direction with every new release. And even after a lengthy hiatus, the band has once again come up with something a little different on Saudades De Rock.

The opening track “Star” gets the album off to a truly rocking start with Bettencourt ripping out some big chunky riffs, while Figueiredo more than proves he’s a worthy addition to the band’s line-up. But what stands out most of all, apart from the song’s obvious Queen influence, is the return of the band’s trademark harmonies. Gone is the minimalist approach of Waiting For The Punchline, welcoming the return of the unashamed rock vocal extravagance of Pornograffitti.

The biting “Comfortably Dumb” and “Slide” are funked up rocking tunes that could have easily been lifted from Pornograffitti, while the fast-paced “Learn To Love” is an absolute classic Extreme number that seems to mix older elements of the band’s funk and rock sound, but with touches of something modern and new as well.

The country/rockabilly flavoured “Take Us Alive” is again something new and unheard of before from Extreme, and works in showing another side to the band’s new influences, while the riff heavy “Run” sounds like some of groovier material from Waiting For The Punchline, but with a hell of a lot more harmonies.

The straight forward rock of “Flower Man” is reminiscent of Bettencourt’s various solo projects (Mourning Widows, Population 1 or DramaGods), while Bettencourt’s lead vocals on the effortlessly cool “King Of The Ladies” blurs the lines between his own work and Extreme.

Like all Extreme albums, Saudades De Rock has its fair share of ballads too, with the Queen influenced “Last Hour” and the acoustic based “Interface” (which was originally a DramaGods track) pretty much what you would expect from the band. But the one that really does surprise is the Coldplay like “Ghost”, where once again the band tries their hand at something new. Finishing up the album is the Led Zeppelin influenced retro rocker “Sunrise,” and the soothing piano based “Peace (Saudade).”

In a lot of ways, Saudades De Rock practically picks up where Extreme last left things all those years ago. But on the other hand, there are also a lot of new influences and sounds heard in the band’s new album as well. In summing up Extreme’s latest effort, I can honestly say that Saudades De Rock is everything what you would expect of the band, but not without rewarding fans with something new at the same time.

www.extreme-band.com