Fans of hard rock in the UK should already be familiar with The Treatment. The Cambridge quartet have been on the scene for the last 8 years and have an impressive resume of slots under their belt (Kiss, Motely Crue, Steel Panther, Slash and Status Quo to name just a few) but perhaps have yet to take that step up to major headliners themselves. With the introduction of new , notably Mitchell Emms replacing frontman Matt Jones The Treatment will be hoping that 3rd album Generation Me (and first with Mitchell Emms) will be that record that raises their profile that bit more.
So as you can imagine, following the amicable departure of Matt Jones a lot of the focus is going to be on Mitchell Emms and whether he can comfortably fit into Matt Jones place; on record at least. As you can imagine, of course Mitchell Emms can sing, and yes his style suits The Treatment well. You’d probably expect no less, this is classic British hard rock and they are hardly likely to suddenly deviate from that now considering their success so far. If anything I would probably say that Mitchell has a clearer voice, a little less dirty and gravelly than Matt Jones. As a result of this it gives Generation Me a bit of a different vibe. Its not a bad thing, just a little different. When I think of the last album Running With the Dogs vocally it reminds me of Vince Neil of Motely Crue and at times perhaps a touch of Ricky Warwick. Mitchell however has a more classic British sound, slightly bigger voice. He can hit the highs just as well but probably a little less dirty, a little more controlled. He is more of a Rob Halford if I had to choose a comparison. For fans of The Treatment I am pretty sure you are going to be happy with Mitchell at the helm.
It’s been 8 years then, since the 18 year old The Treatment burst onto the scene but it is clear from the opening tracks that the original influences of such band as Thin Lizzy, Aerosmith and Gun N Roses are still there. This album is classic rock, as you’ve come to love from The Treatment. “Let It Begin” the opening track is a classic example of this, it has the feel, style and catchy choruses of a Def Leppard song. It’s certainly a grower with its “You can’t stop this runaway train” refrain running throughout, its great album opener and introduction to Emms and no surprise that it was also the lead single off the album.
Second song “The Devil” instantly caught my attention, it is less in your face and traditional single material than the opener, it has a depth and pace to the song that I really enjoyed. From the opening atmospheric bars, dispersed by big tom sounds it is clear that this is going to be a big song. When the vocals drop in, in front of a similar atmospheric back drop I am drawn in. The chorus when it comes, is punchy but not overplayed and it fits in with the song well.
No album of this type would be complete without a ballad or two and the first of these comes in the form of “Backseat Heartbeat” it has a slight cowboy metal feel to it, in both its content and acoustic opening. If you think Bon Jovi and “Blaze of Glory” you would not go far wrong. This is a great song though, when the chorus does appear its big and above all really heartfelt. It’s one of the tracks on the album that with repeated listens you will return to again and again and shows a new maturity to The Treatment boys that I think will help open up new avenues for them.
“We Are Beautiful” is an intriguing song, in one sense it might just have been a track that ed me by. It’s got a lot of merit, great crunching guitars, steady vocals but the actual chorus is something a little different and proves itself to be a bit of an earworm. The “We are so beautiful” chorus, with long drawn out syllables, really makes you pay attention. It’s different enough from the rest of the album in the first instance to make you stand up and listen but it also has an allure all of its own. Further digging into the song, shows that there is a lot more there than you first imagine. Some great guitar solos, but at least 2 or 3 different bridges, all of which add to the charm of this song.
With the drum intro of “Better Think Again” I thought I’d accidentally flipped onto an Oasis record, I expected Liam’s voice to start singing “maybe” at any point. Instead a cool sounding guitar riff is in his place; matched to a lead guitar riff. Some echoey vocals help ruin that image but the beat remains the same and gives the song a nice 60’s feel to it. “Better Think Again” plays both on this beat in its chorus but has a great verse build up, quite emotive and very, very tuneful.
One of the things I have been impressed with on this album is new singer Mann’s versatility. His range is good and I think tracks like “Better Think Again” prove him a worthy successor to Jones. This album should help project The Treatment even further, there is a maturity to the collection of songs but still balanced with their original youthful enthusiasm. These guys have not become world weary yet and this is a good thing. I think with the introduction of a new vocalist the band have not been derailed at all and have instead worked to Manns strengths to produce their most consistent work to date. It may be a new chapter for the Treatment but Generation Me there should be enough to please fans of the Matt Jones era and win them over a whole new set of fans going forward.
Generation Me is out on March 18th
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Header image by Robert Gershinson
