Treat
Coup De Grace

18 long, long years and here they are together again for... 4/5! On the bass there is no Leo Larsson but a Swede blonder than Fury, the horse of the West (???), namely Nalley Pahlsson (always ends in sssssson!) and then for the rest we find the prodigal son Robert Ernlund on vocals, Anders "Gary" Wikstrom on guitar, Jamie Borger on drums, and Patrick Applegren on keyboards.

Yes but...what's the sound like? Is it the sheen of pure AOR beginnings? Or a continuation of the latest hard rock episodes like Organized Crime (1989) and Treat (1992)? None of that: a touch of modern hard rock, some hints (even!) at the atmospheres of Nightwish (indeed!) and... the best melodic hard rock album produced this year! "Coup De Grace," March 2010, might really be their best work (after the self-titled album for me, of course!), although it's too early to say, but the foundations are there... they are indeed!

"Prelude: Coup De Grace" opens the dance to the rhythmic and melodic "The War Is Over": the band appears fresh and harmonious, as they were in the '80s, thanks to Ernlund's powerful voice with superior melodic openness, but the whole band is in shape, no one excluded. "All In" highlights Wikstrom's technical prowess in crafting powerful and decisive riffs, as well as the excellent drumming work by Borger who this time proves not to be in the shadow of Talisman! "Papertiger" features an intro reminiscent of Nightwish, then proceeds in a "calm" rock-melodic key, for one of the most successful songs on the album, with a chorus to sing at the top of your lungs! "Roar" stands out for darker rhythms, but with a much sunnier chorus which sees Wikstrom as an absolute juggler. It's Patrick Applegren's turn on keyboards, creating a wonderful magic with "A Life To Die For", a truly remarkable ballad with excessively dreamy choirs. The granite "Tangled Up" with its '80s-style "hey-ohs" that make us smile a lot and with a huge Wikstrom, who churns out riffs non-stop, closes the first part of the album.

"Skies Of Mongolia", with its Lord of the Rings-style intro, seems to say: "Go Frodo, go to Middle Earth, but most of all, get lost..."... ahem, excuse me I got carried away by a "MY PRECIOUSSSSS" excess. it should pass now... okay, passed! As I was saying: beautiful intro, with surprisingly melodic openings between the Wikstrom/Applegren duo, but the song overall is beautiful and the skies of Mongolia are carried with honor by the 5 war-fallen of Treat (if you look at the booklet you'll notice how even Borger, obviously jokingly, is without a leg!). 90-60-90 gem too is "Heaven Can Wait", (The measurements are no accident, I'm watching Sabrina Salerno, that's why!), where the best Europe from "Out Of This World" and "Prisoners In Paradise" set the tone (or is it just an excuse to wake Europe up and tell them that now they even sound horrible to the walls?) for a very well-paced and accomplished piece. Less successful is "I'm Not Runnin'" which doesn't fully convince (but I allow them a little slip of style...), but the following masterpiece changes my mind, namely the robust and truly magnificent "No Way Without You": rhythm, passion, melody to infinity for one of the best melodic songs of this first decade of the 2000s! The grace and enticing melody of "We Own The Night", a true hymn to the nighttime atmosphere, is about to close the album together with the ordinary but enjoyable "All For Love" and the not-so-thrilling "Breathless" which, however, do not compromise the overarching beauty of this album.

In conclusion, if you miss real melodic hard rock and feel overwhelmed by too many extravagant releases of the same genre and don't know where they lead, the latest release from Treat is ideal, because so far, even about 3-4 months after its release, it sounds fresh, energetic, and full of emotions. It might not be original but these days even a metal version of "fatti mandare dalla mamma a prendere il latte!" works fine!