Treat – Tunguska Review

Fewer bands have been able to turn a reunion into a rebirth better than Treat. Though the ultimate success still eludes them (and who knows why) they continue to...

Released by: Frontiers Records

Release Date: Out Now!!!

Genre: Melodic Hard Rock

Links: https://www.facebook.com/treatofficial/

 

Line Up:

Robert Ernlund – lead vocals
Anders Wikström – lead guitars and background vocals
Patrick Appelgren – keyboards, guitars and background vocals
Pontus Egberg – bass guitar
Jamie Borger – drums

 

Tracklist:

Progenitors
Always Have, Always Will
Best Of Enemies
Rose Of Jericho
Heartmath City
Creeps
Build The Love
Man Overboard
Riptide
TomorrowNever Comes
All Bets Are Off
Undefeated

 

Watching the growth and development of a band, especially one with an extended existence, is something that has always fascinated me. Rarely do I simply listen to an album or two from a band anymore. I find more and more that I want to absorb as much of a bands catalog if not all of it. I used to reserve this for bands I already had an established love for, but lately, I’m finding when I want to explore a band I only have a passing familiarity with I’ll start from the beginning and work my way up. I’d love to be able to do that with every band I review (especially those with a back catalog I really should already be familiar with,) but that’s just not possible. One band that I have been a fan of for a while, but haven’t taken the plunge deep into their catalog that I just did is Treat. Having planted the seed of what was to come in 1981, it wasn’t until 83-85 that the band grew into what they would become. Starting out somewhere between an early 80’s AOR band and a burgeoning 80’s Hard Rock act, Treat made some fantastic music between their debut Scratch and Bite until 1992’s s/t release, yet never achieved the level of fame that their music truly deserved. Not long after the s/t the band broke up. In 2005 a greatest hits collection came out and sparked renewed interest in the band and sparked a reunion, which led to the release of the bands best release Coup De Grace in 2010, and followed up by The Ghost of Graceland in 2016 ( a good album, but falling a little short of Coup De Grace.)

Two years later, the band is putting out their third album since the reunion, Tunguska, and it continues them on with the sound they incorporated with the return, a more of a melodic, AOR-ish hard rock approach, taking on a much more mature sound than on their prior run. As someone that had a passing relationship with their early stuff, I’ve found the new Treat sound to be a step in the right direction. Coup De Grace was an incredible album, and though The Ghost of Graceland wasn’t as great it was still pretty good. I was very curious to see where the new one would head. I’m pleased to say that the latest is closer in sound to the first reunion release. It’s packed with great songs like “Rose of Jericho,” “Heartmath City,” “Always Have, Always Will,” and “Undefeated” they’ve nailed down another amazing collection of hook-laden tracks that are instant classics. If the last one was a let down for you, this one should fix that (yet I really don’t understand why anyone would be let down by the last album.)

Fewer bands have been able to turn a reunion into a rebirth better than Treat. Though the ultimate success still eludes them (and who knows why) they continue to release some incredibly catchy music that deserves to be adored by the masses. Tunguska is another home run for this Swedish band and will hopefully not be the last from them. Much like their peers Eclipse, Pretty Maids, W.E.T., and Harem Scarem Treat keep showing that they are a force to be reckoned with, and hopefully someday the average music listener will catch on. Of course, when you think about average music listeners you realize that music this good is far from average.

 

Written by: Chris Martin

Ratings: 9/10

 

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