“.bet you didn't see that coming.”
Twenty-five years after their sensational debut album “Scratch and Bite”, Swedish melodic rock legends are out to get you on the run again. This is “Coup de Grace”.
This 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 ladened 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.”
Yeah. It took 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 weve 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”, says Anders.
So here we are. It's 2010. Treat is releasing their sixth album, not counting the best-of album “Weapons of choice”, that was 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-rocknroll-songs; this is a sort of mini autobiographies from five grown men that reflects back on life. Back then, in the 80s, it was rocknroll twenty-four-seven: big guitars, big choruses, big hair, babes and booze.
Something happened. Life got in their way. Today the five members of the band are dads and husbands; matured men with responsibilities who have the same worries, hopes and dreams as the rest of us.
“This album is a statement of who we are today”, says 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. I mean, were all fathers and we raise our kids in a world thats in a turmoil. There's a lot of pressures, fears and tough expectations. The rat race is spinning out of control, but everybody expect you to be happy.”
The big guitars are still there and became even bigger. The big choruses. The big sound. The hair…yeah, well, you know: they're in the mid forties. Booze? Nah. Babes? Yeah. Their wives and girlfriends. The mothers of their kids.
Theres as new “big” in the Treat equation: the courage to let their fears, worries and views on both politics and the modern life that wears us all down reflect in the lyrics.
“It was the natural thing to do. I mean, life is so much more than rock 'n roll all night and party every day”, says Anders Wikström.
Don't worry. The party is still there. For Gods sake, it's only rock 'n roll, or as Anders puts it: “As important and profound some of the lyrics are, others are straight forward, almost simple rock escapism. Saturday night rockers, you know. This may sounds as a contradiction, but the album is a mixture of party and world politics!”
Make no mistakes. 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 rocknroll grenade “The war is over”, the soul searching “Paper tiger” to the trademark power ballad “A life to die for” and “Roar”, 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”, says Anders Wikström. “I started demoing songs and in May 2009 we were ready to hit the studio”.
Produced 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 mediocracy and superficiality is an asset but where talent, musicianship and dedication is not required to make the charts.
“We are so much better musicians today than back in the 80's. We're a tight unit with more groove than ever. Five musicians that depend on each other and feel safe together. I don't know if its the right expression, but we all breathe in the same way.”
“Coup de Grace” is classic melodic rock at its best, written, played and lived by a band that make no excuses. And why should they? They got the songs, the attitude, musicianship, dedication and the courage to put pen to paper when it comes to the really big questions in life.
“This is our footprint in the history of rock 'n roll”, says Anders Wikström. “We can proudly say that this is the album we would like to show our grandkids”.
Biography
TREAT formed in 1983 in Stockholm. After cutting two singles they released their debut album “Scratch and Bite” in February of 1985. In 1986 their second album “The Pleasure Principle” was releasedad and their extensive touring of Sweden and Scandinavia was crowned with a support slot to Queen at Swedens' national football stadium in Stockholm.
Three more albums was to follow: “Dreamhunter” (1987), “Organized Crime” (1989) and “Treat” (1992).
The band broke up in 1993 and the members pursued different careers. In 2006 Treat reformed and released the compilation album “Weapons of choice”. To celebrate their comeback, the band were invited to play at Sweden Rock Festival that summer - the gig was a triumph.
On March 19, 2010, almost to the day 25 years after the release of their debut album, “Coup De Grace” - Treats’ first studio album in 18 years will hit the stores. The album was recorded and produced by the band themselves in Stockholm, Sweden in 2009.
A full scale tour is planed to follow throughout the spring and summer of 2010.
