Nuno
For a band that broke up last year, Extreme still makes a lot of news. The Boston group, best known for the limp 1991 hit ballad "More Than Words," got plenty of press when its ex-lead vocalist Gary Cherone stepped into the shoes of Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth as Van Halen's singer. Now Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt has gone off on his own to make a solo disc more compelling than any of his former band's.
Schizophonic sounds like musical candy, hard-rock on the outside with plenty of sweet, chewy pop on the inside. There are enough bursts of crunchy guitar to satisfy the metal-heads, but what really defines the CD are the jangly hooks: Think Soundgarden meets Foo Fighters. Bettencourt's debut drags a bit toward the end, but still, the next Van Halen album better be something special if Cherone is going to keep pace with his former bandmate. (A&M)
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