Deluxe reissue of Treat's debut album
Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 10/03/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Europe may have been the breakout stars of the Swedish melodic rock scene in the 1980's, but Treat definitely gave them a run for their money. Treat released a handful of extraordinarily high quality melodic rock albums in the 80's, starting with 1985's Scratch and Bite.
While Europe started with a slightly progressive, almost metal sound, Treat went straight for radio-friendly melodic rock, albeit with a slight NWOBHM influence. You can definitely hear shades of Heavy Pettin' and Tobruk, and perhaps Breaking the Chains-era Dokken in Treat's early sound. It's a fairly heavy, but definitely melodic album. It's not quite the super-catchy party rock of Pleasure Principle, but it's still a great example of why no one beats the Swedes when it comes to this kind of music.
If you're new to Treat, you're better off starting with The Pleasure Principle or Dreamhunter, but you'll definitely want to come back around to the band's beginning and pick up Scratch and Bite.
Edition Notes: Scratch and Bite was reissued in 2008. The deluxe reissue features digitally remastered sound (it sounds incredible), a pair of bonus tracks (studio songs called "On the Outside" and "Danger Games") and comes housed in a double-digipack with a bonus DVD of the band's performance at the 2006 Firefest. This is the definitive version of Scratch and Bite, and is a much better option than either overpriced Japanese import or bootleg versions. I'd give the album itself 4 stars, but the reissue is a 5-star release."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1