Treat – Ghost of Graceland (Album Review)

Treat are a Swedish hard rock band formed in 1983. Ghost of Graceland is the 7th album with their debut stretching back to 1985 .The band are Robert Ernlund (vocals), Anders Wikström (guitars and backing vocals), Patrick Appelgren (keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals), Jamie Borger (drums) and bass player Pontus Egberg. Ghost of Graceland is produced by Peter Mansson and available now from Frontiers Records.

I first got into this band on the self-titled album Treat in 1992 and left it there really until recently I heard the excellent Coup de Grace CD from 2010. I have been anticipating Ghost of Graceland so let’s take a look.

The album opens with “Ghost Of Graceland”. The song starts in a really epic sounding way then the lovely guitars kick in and we are treated to Robert‘s great vocals during this slightly slow opener with a lovely chorus. Then we’re onto “I Don’t Miss The Misery” which is a little heavier and loaded with what you might expect from Treat, lots of keyboards, guitars, and choruses that will be stuck in your head all day . “Better The Devil You Know” starts off with a fantastic riff in a great song that is a real great melodic rock number and most probably the best song on the album in my opinion. “Do Your Own Stunts” slows it down for a lovely ballad while “Endangered” returns us back to the heavy guitars and sound that gets your foot tapping and head nodding. The brilliant “Inferno” follows suit but “Alien Earthlings” slows things down a little again. It’s OK, but one of the weaker songs for me. The same thing cannot be said about “Nonstop Madness” which is a brilliant AOR tune and you’re right back in the early 90’s. “Too Late To Die Young” keeps the ball rolling and the great guitar work on this album continues with a fantastic solo. A good song but not one of the best, “House On Fire” brings us to another ballad in “Together Alone”. That leads us to the last track on the album, “Everything To Everyone”, another good song from this overall very solid album.

To wrap up, this is Swedish AOR at its best with great guitar work fabulous choruses a real catchy album that Treat has issued in Ghost of Graceland.

Mark 9 out of 10

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BUY: Treat – Ghost of Graceland