TREAT – Coup De Grace (2010)

Twenty-five years after the release of their sensational debut album “Scratch and Bite” and eighteen year since their last self-titled studio album saw the light of day, Swedish melodic rock legends Treat are out to get you on the run again.

“Coup de Grace” is the album that every melodic rock fan hoped for but never dared to dream of: a classic rock masterpiece with thunderous guitars, powerful yet seductive melodies and hook-laden songs, all wrapped up in a production that combines the best of “now” and “then”.

‘It´s been twenty-five years in the making’, says guitarist and main songwriter Anders Wikström. ‘Since day one I knew we had this album in us. The ideas were there. The vision. But it took us this long to find the right tools to make it all come true.

Five albums, millions of miles on the road, a thirteen year long break and a whole new perspective on life to get it right.

In hindsight it now seems that everything we´ve done since we formed the band has been pointing in one direction.

Of course we didn´t know it back then, but this is what we aimed for all along’.

So here we are, in 2010 Treat is releasing their sixth album, not counting the best of “Weapons of Choice”, released when the band reformed in 2006.

“Coup de Grace” is a collection of songs that is so much more than just kick-ass-sing-along-rock´n´roll-songs.

They are more a sort of mini autobiographies from five grown men reflecting on life.

Back then, in the 80´s, it was rock´n´roll twenty-four-seven: big guitars, big choruses, big hair, babes and booze.

‘This album is a statement of who we are today’, explains Anders Wikström.

‘We’re older… yeah, perhaps even wiser. We look at our lives and the world around us in a different way.

I wanted to reflect that in our lyrics.’

The big guitars are still there and became even bigger. The big choruses. The big sound.

TREAT is a rock´n´roll brigade. A force of nature.

Today even stronger and more powerful than ever.

From the opening somewhat haunting prelude, that sets the tone of the album, the right-in-your face rock´n´roll grenade ‘The war is over’, the soul searching ‘Paper Tiger’ to the trademark power ballad ‘A life to die for’, where the band manages to make an epic with a hit feeling, TREAT is telling all the world that they’re back.

Bigger, better and bolder.

We got back together in 2006 because we all missed playing together. We released a compilation album and did a tour, but we weren’t sure what to do next. In 2008 we all felt that we had an album to do, continues Wikström. I started demoing songs and in May 2009 we were ready to hit the studio.

Produced and recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, by Anders Wikström, partly together with keyboard player Patrick Appelgren, “Coup de Grace”, is an album that’s going to stand out in a musical climate where mediocrity and superficiality are an asset but where talent, musicianship and dedication is not required to make the charts.

01 – Prelude / Coup De Grace

02 – The War Is Over

03 – All In

04 – Paper Tiger

05 – Roar

06 – A Life To Die For

07 – Tangled Up

08 – Skies Of Mongolia

09 – Heaven Can Wait

10 – I’m Not Runnin’

11 – No Way Without You

12 – We Own The Night

13 – All For Love

14 – Breathless

Robert Ernlund (vocals)

Anders Wikstrom (guitars, backing vocals)

Jamie Borger (drums)

Nalle Pahlsson (bass, backing vocals)

Patrick Appelgren (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals)

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