“X Out” by Extreme

“X Out” is a track with a strong religious connotation, i.e. one that was obviously inspired by the Bible. But unlike most other industry songs which fall into that category these days, this one appears to actually be in congruence with the Good Book, i.e. the vocalist, first of all, being able to recognize that he is hellbound. 

That is to say that Gary appears to be under the impression that given his moral shortcomings, he will be received unfavorably in the afterlife. And in that regard he even references the story of one of the dudes named Lazarus found in the New Testament. That would be the one who lived a dirty life as a beggar but subsequently went to heaven, while the “rich man blessed in purple” who could’ve helped him but didn’t ended up being met with the opposite fate. 

And as far as the title goes, one way of trying to interpret it in context is as alluding to those, as with the character Gary is portraying presumably, who opt not to live a life of “faith”, “hope” and “love”.

So conclusively, labeling “X Out” as a gospel song or Christian fare would be a stretch. But it definitely has what can be deemed a religious tone and furthermore one which, in a roundabout way, espouses righteousness or is at least presented by a listener who actually believes in the afterlife.

“(X out, X out) Faith
(X out, X out) Hope”

Release and Credits for “X Out”

This song was co-written by two of the members of Extreme, the long-standing band from Boston, in Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt. And the other writers of “X Out”, which was released on 9 June 2023, are Jordan Ferreira and Eric Warfield.

Bettencourt, i.e. Extreme’s guitarist, also produced this track.

This song can be found on Extreme’s 2023 studio album, a project which is titled “Six”.