Reunited Boston hard rockers EXTREME will embark on the Take Us Alive Tour Japan 2008 in December. Confirmed dates are as follows:

Dec. 01 - Tokyo, Japan - Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall
Dec. 02 - Tokyo, Japan - Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall
Dec. 04 - Tokyo, Japan - Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall
Dec. 08 - Osaka, Japan - Koseinenkin Kaikan
Dec. 09 - Nagoya, Japan - Shi Kokaido
Dec. 10 - Hiroshima, Japan - Yubin Chokin Hall

EXTREME guitarist Nuno Bettencourt recently checked in with 93.3 The Bone in Dallas, Texas on the "Cindy Scull & Robert Miguel Morning Show" to chat about the band's reunion tour and forthcoming CD. In the interview Nuno takes credit for the breakup of the band, claiming to have left EXTREME six months before vocalist Gary Cherone joined VAN HALEN. During the chat Nuno also compares Cherone's stint with VAN HALEN to the sub-plot of a Will Ferrell movie.

Hear the full interview at www.myspace.com/scullandmiguel.

Frontiers Records recently released a couple of 90-second audio samples from "Saudades de Rock" (pronounced "sow-dodge"), the first studio album in thirteen years from EXTREME. The European version of the album, which is due on August 1, will include a bonus track, the "Americocaine" demo from 1985, the very first studio recording of EXTREME.

"Saudades de Rock" will be released in the U.S. on August 12 on Open E Records and distributed by Fontana.

The iconic rock foursome — vocalist Gary Cherone, guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, bassist Pat Badger and new drummer Kevin Figueiredo — recorded their fifth studio offering at NRG Studios in Los Angeles with Bettencourt at the helm as producer and mixer. "Saudades de Rock" boasts 13 tracks, including the infectious roar of "Star" (available for streaming on the band's MySpace page), the groove-laden, swagger of "King Of The Ladies", a raw funk rock anthem called "Learn To Love", and the expressive ballad "Ghost".

"'Saudades' was always a beautiful word to me," Bettencourt explains about the Portuguese album moniker. "It expresses a longing; an underlying sadness for something or someone that's been missing in your life, and never quite sure if it will ever return. In this case, for us, it's rock and roll. Saudades de Rock."

Gary Cherone adds, "I like how it expresses that longing we've been feeling to play for our fans and be together again."

"Saudades de Rock" track listing:

01. Star (mp3 sample)
02. Comfortably Dumb
03. Learn To Love
04. Take Us Alive
05. Run
06. Last Hour
07. Flower Man
08. King Of The Ladies
09. Ghost (mp3 sample)
10. Slide
11. Interface
12. Sunrise
13. Peace (Saudade)
14. Americocaine (1985 demo; European bonus track)

The Boston-bred band's 2008 "Take Us Alive" world tour gets underway on July 29 at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and will be anchored by a hometown gig two days later at the Bank of America Pavilion. In advance of the tour, EXTREME will be a co-headliner on July 11 at the five-day Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, OK.

Open E Records is a new label that is distributed by Fontana. A portion of Open E Records' profits will be donated to Music Drives Us, a foundation created as a way to support music in New England. The foundation also gives scholarship money for individuals who desire to continue their musical education.