Since the mid-’80s, the Boston quartet EXTREME have shown that hard rock can be virtuosic while having a pop appeal and heavy grooves. Vocalist Gary Cherone, guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, bassist Pat Badger and drummer Paul Geary came together in 1986; the group’s first album, which showcased Bettencourt’s guitar pyrotechnics and Cherone’s muscular voice, came out in 1989, just as metal was fully seizing the pop consciousness. Then EXTREME hit big with “More Than Words”, a delicate ballad from the ambitious 1990 concept album Extreme II: Pornograffitti. After releasing III Sides to Every Story in 1992 and Waiting for the Punchline in 1995, EXTREME went on hiatus in 1996. Since regrouping in the mid-2000s, the band have toured, released two albums—2008’s Saudades de Rock and 2023’s SIX—and played Fenway Park with hometown heroes Aerosmith.