Extreme is a heavy rock band, no doubt about it.

The Boston quartet blasted that point home Wednesday at RPM, rendering dead any concern that their 1991 soft-rock mega-hit More Than Words and 1992's operatic follow-up were anything but a tease.

Perhaps several years of being misunderstood musically added the serrated edge to Wednesday's show.

Taking the darkened stage beneath a blaring circus fanfare, Extreme launched into their tight, loud set, which consisted largely of tunes from their new disc, Waiting For The Punchline.

A formidable band of neo-metal players led by guitar virtuoso Nuno Bettencourt, the group sound relied heavily on standard hard rock frames for its sound.

Despite the quality of the players, Extreme's originality paled in comparison with Glueleg, Toronto's horn-toting, revisionist hard-rockers who opened. But helping Extreme shake the old-fashioned metal stance was whirling dervish vocalist Gary Cherone.

Clad in a fitted black shirt and extra-baggy black pants, the shorn Cherone looked and moved like a Parisian mime's take on David Lee Roth.

With no shortage of zeal or theatrics, Cherone had strutted and spun himself into a furious sweat by the second or third song.

Without being androgynous, Cherone adds a certain flair - dare I say effeminacy - to the macho-rock mix. That in itself is a breath of fresh air.

Still, the show's primary focal point was clearly Bettencourt.

Gliding his speed-demon guitar riffs over the catchy crunch bass of new songs like There Is No God and Hip Today - which mulls over the realities of short-lived pop fame - Bettencourt was given ample solo time.

Extreme weren't always charging over familiar rock terrain. They spiraled into a psychedelic, U2-meets-Van Halen groove on Tell Me Something I Don't Know before Bettencourt dazzled the packed house with a truly excellent, fast 'n' furious acoustic instrumental rendition of Midnight Express. That song alone gets them an extra sunburst in our rating.

It's still not clear whether Extreme bucked the lucrative soft-rock sound because they must rock, or because they want to gain alterno-metal street-cred.

But silly politics aside, they played to perfection and deservedly set RPM ablaze.