Treat - 'The Endgame'

Treat have been on the scene since 1981 but have really hit their stride since reforming about 16 years ago. Their 2010 album ‘Coup de Grace’ is an absolute classic of the genre that everyone should own and this new one is undoubtedly their best offering since then and is right up there in terms of quality.

‘Freudian Slip’ sets the scene and fairly rattles out of the speakers with a hard-driving riff and all topped off with a great vocal from stalwart, Robert Ernlund. There’s keyboards and harmony vocals all over it in a truly dynamic performance.

‘Rabbit Hole’ is definitely one of the best tunes I’ve heard in many a year – pure harmonious genius and I quickly slipped down the rabbit hole of repeated listens. It’s the first part of a knockout 1-2 combo with the third track, ‘Sinbiosis’. Now that’s not even a real word – more of a play on words – but it’s firmly lodged in my brain now, as is the melodic refrain of the chorus which is reinforced by the guitar outro by Anders Wikstrom which reprises the melody. Wikstrom is on great form throughout – never too flashy but delivering some top-quality soloing which integrates with the songs brilliantly.

‘Jesus From Hollywood’ is another highlight in a consistently good album. It opens with a riff vaguely reminiscent of Wolfmother’s ‘The Joker and the Thief’ interspersed with a bit of choral chant in the backing vocals and then develops into a top-notch high energy melodic rock belter.

As I have repeatedly pointed out, it is important that every self-respecting melodic rock album has a song with a girl’s name in it and this one MIGHT have one. However, the song in question is ‘Carolina Reaper’ and it is an absolutely sublime slice of 80’s rock, ostensibly about a hot girl called Carolina, but the title is also the name of the red-hottest chili pepper in the world according to the Scoville Scale and there’s lyrics that could also be about a sphincter-scorching ‘ring of fire’ event.

The album ends with an exquisite six-minute song called ‘To the End of Love’. For the first five minutes it appears to be a beautiful love song with lush keyboards, nuanced guitar and delightful harmonies, before a spoken-word sample from Dwight D Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell address preludes an apocalyptic ending. It’s stunning stuff.

This is definitely going to be one of my albums of the year, so I would thoroughly recommend that you check it out and then revisit ‘Coup de Grace’ too, if you don’t already know it. Go on, Treat yourself.