The Extreme thread!

[BlofeldsCat]

Nuno bursting on the scene was like watching a mechanic strip down and rebuild an engine in 3 seconds flat.

Rhythmic skills off the charts. Unparalleled groove. What appears to be layers of multi-tracks, he plays live.

More than that, he was fresh and instantly identifiable. So many callbacks to legends past but so novel at the same time.

1991 - Zakk's tearing it up with No More Tears and southern rock techniques and Nuno deservedly wins MVP Guitarist of the Year. The future for rock and guitar looked bright. Then grunge hit, Zakk devolved, Extreme disappeared up their bums and Napster killed the record industry.

Nuno was a serious kick up the bum, reinvigorated rock guitar for the new decade, and provided me with a tidy income in kids wanting to learn his stuff (and I'm still the only one who plays the solo to GTFO correctly).

Even those who don't like him need to appreciate his relevance and impact. It's not a matter of taste or opinion, it's a matter of fact and understanding the guitar. The guy was, and still is, a freaking monster.

[Little Intruder]

Nuno remnds me of alot of 80s guitar heroes like George Lynch, Warren DeMartini and Reb Beach. Obviously they all play differently but they really were masters of their craft!

[BlofeldsCat]

It's one-dimensional and basic but is a fast way to get some Nuno into your playing, especially if you're not good ripping songs by ear or just want a quick taste without prolonged study or anything too challenging. Plus you get to see some unknown hack in action

[VHrox12]

Nuno bursting on the scene was like watching a mechanic strip down and rebuild an engine in 3 seconds flat.

Rhythmic skills off the charts. Unparalleled groove. What appears to be layers of multi-tracks, he plays live.

More than that, he was fresh and instantly identifiable. So many callbacks to legends past but so novel at the same time.

1991 - Zakk's tearing it up with No More Tears and southern rock techniques and Nuno deservedly wins MVP Guitarist of the Year. The future for rock and guitar looked bright. Then grunge hit, Zakk devolved, Extreme disappeared up their bums and Napster killed the record industry.

Nuno was a serious kick up the bum, reinvigorated rock guitar for the new decade, and provided me with a tidy income in kids wanting to learn his stuff (and I'm still the only one who plays the solo to GTFO correctly).

Even those who don't like him need to appreciate his relevance and impact. It's not a matter of taste or opinion, it's a matter of fact and understanding the guitar. The guy was, and still is, a freaking monster.

Well said. You just like me at least get Nuno Bettencourt and his skills and yes he is a freaking monster on guitar. He might not do Vai and Satriani solo albums with all the instrumental stuff but his whole body of work is amazing.

[Little Intruder]

It goes back to the Hair Metal era. I already mentioned Lynch, DeMartini and Beach but there was also Jeff LaBar from Cinderella, Steve Lynch from Autograph and yes, CC DeVille from Poison. Those bastards were shredding it up while still trying to get the pussy they all did! My fave was Mick Mars. He looked old, evil and creepy but he really was the master of them all!

[BlofeldsCat]

My fave was Mick Mars. He looked old, evil and creepy but he really was the master of them all!

WTF?

[Little Intruder]

Well BC, when the Crue broke out in 1981 where was the rest of them?

[BlofeldsCat]

Well BC, when the Crue broke out in 1981 where was the rest of them?

That doesn't mean he was the master of them or anyone.

[Little Intruder]

Of course not. But when the future competion was still in diapers, or as you in UK like calling them nappies, they have no credibility. Speaking of which, how old were you in 1981?

[Little Intruder]

Sorry BC, but I do have a tendency to get carried away!

[VHrox12]

It goes back to the Hair Metal era. I already mentioned Lynch, DeMartini and Beach but there was also Jeff LaBar from Cinderella, Steve Lynch from Autograph and yes, CC DeVille from Poison. Those bastards were shredding it up while still trying to get the pussy they all did! My fave was Mick Mars. He looked old, evil and creepy but he really was the master of them all!

To me Nuno has always sound wise come across as a Brian May/Eddie Van Halen morph. Even their debut album for the hair metal scene in the late 80's was different than most hair metal acts at the time. Not entirely a concept album like Porno, 3 Sides but close. Flesh N Blood is probably their closest to becoming Poison like from that era. It was a debut record but it's the most 80's sounding hair metal like album the band ever did. Got some gems out of it like Play With Me, Rock A Bye,Bye, Little Girls, Watching Waiting, etc. Porno took them off on their current journey. The video for Kid Ego, lol that hair.

[Little Intruder]

Bro, that's awesome you mention Nuno's style is like Brian May. I'm sure thats who he listened to growing up and when VH came along it really solidified his future ambitions on guitar. Edited to add: Sir Brian will always be an icon on the electric guitar!

[ziggysmalls]

Nuno is the only guitarist I hear Eddie's sense of timing. Brian IMO is more of an influence on his lead playing than Eddie. Obviously not all but when he tries to be melodic, its Brian all day. Kind of like Eddie and Clapton. You don't hear it much in the faster playing but when he wants to slow down, he dips into his Clapton licks.

[Jamie M]

Well said. You just like me at least get Nuno Bettencourt and his skills and yes he is a freaking monster on guitar. He might not do Vai and Satriani solo albums with all the instrumental stuff but his whole body of work is amazing.

Nuno is incredible, anyone who argues that are just mental.

[BlofeldsCat]

Nuno is the only guitarist I hear Eddie's sense of timing. Brian IMO is more of an influence on his lead playing than Eddie. Obviously not all but when he tries to be melodic, its Brian all day. Kind of like Eddie and Clapton. You don't hear it much in the faster playing but when he wants to slow down, he dips into his Clapton licks.

Nah. Definitely way more Eddie. He's just faster and way more technical so it's not an exact dupe but it's all there. This is why the first half of his Rise solo is so Eddie-ish. Also, his pre-solo tapping in Decadence Dance and mid-solo tapping in Li'l Jack Horny just before the outrageous palm-muted section are classsic VH. The Pornograffiti solo - not only the bombastic intro but his palm muted symmetrical patterns, country/blues fifths and sixths, two line scalar ascensions and of course, the swing.

Even his ear-boggling tapping in the second verse of Decadence Dance which, on first listen, sounds nothing like Eddie but when you analyse it is just the type of thing Ed was laying down all over VH 2 such as YNG and SS. Toss in Ed's wide interval tapping, such as on FW and JD and you see how Nuno just processed the input and produced the output.

Then there's his arpeggiated string-skipping tapping. Yes, there will be a debt to Greg Howe and co but it's also just an extension (or amalgamation) of Ed's single string arpeggios and multi-string skipping. In fact, it's Ed's lack of GTFO style tapping that always irked me. For someone so inventive, arpeggio-driven, melodically-driven, and exploring various tapping approaches, how he omitted this obvious step (especially as it would propel his playing further) is mind-boggling.

Brian's influence comes more in his slower solos, such as Suzi Wants Her All Day What.