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Nuno Bettencourt has played his face-melting Rise guitar solo live for the first time – and the Extreme guitarist’s execution is quite simply jaw-dropping.
The performance took place on Monday (May 1) during the Monsters of Rock Cruise, and fan footage shows Bettencourt tackling this year’s most talked-about lead with faithful precision.
The opening tremolo-picked section includes its phased tip of the hat to Eddie Van Halen, before Nuno traverses the solo’s wailing bends, machine-gun alternate picking and whammy dives on his signature Washburn 4N.
Eagle-eyed fans will clock that Bettencourt hoists his leg up onto the monitor leading into the solo’s blinding hammer-on section – something the guitarist has previously revealed as his secret to playing difficult guitar solos.
It’s a remarkably clean performance, and testament to Nuno’s status as one of the foremost virtuosos of the past three-and-a-bit decades.
When it was released in March, Rise was heralded by the guitarist as his way of keeping Eddie Van Halen’s guitar fire burning – and it was later revealed that EVH visited Bettencourt during the recording of the solo, but didn’t get to hear it.
Extreme will next perform at the M3 Rock Festival in Columbia, Maryland on May 6-7 – see Extreme-band.com for full dates.
