The Treatment – This Might Hurt (re-issue)

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Having previously signed to the Classic Rock Magazine-fueled label Powerage and issued this debut album last year, The Treatment bid to follow-up some of their higher profile live slots this year by re-releasing the album (already) on Spinefarm Records with a couple of extra tracks. More children of manager/producer/Airrace guitarist Laurie Mansworth (drummer Dhani is actually his son), the Mike Batt of rock music, The Treatment’s similarities to Mansworth’s last offspring Roadstar can’t be overlooked. But even if it can, the painful similarities between every one of The Treatment’s songs really can’t. That being said, the biggest problem with the album, which hasn’t been rectified with this re-release, is Tony Newton’s awful mix which leaves singer Matt Jones’s vocals completely buried (even inaudible on occasion) on every song. What’s also strange about the re-release is the absence of live staple The Coldest Place On Earth, which was present on the original release but seems to be missing here. There are some good riffs here, on tracks like I Will Be There and the Aerosmith-ian Just Tell Me Why (the acoustic version of which appears as a bonus track), but between many of the rest, particularly the faster rockers, the ‘I’ve already heard this’ factor is just too high. Even new songs D***k, F**k, F***t and Road Rocket (a cover of the More track) sound like all the others. Despite all this, the execution of these songs shows they are a better band than this album portrays them as, they still have more going for them than Black Spiders, and aren’t being force-fed to the rock music public nearly half as much. Yet. Expect better things to come.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2010, Albums, Hard Rock, Quick.Play Reviews, Re-release, The Treatment