The Treatment - Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff - 7th February 2012 (Live Review)
Monday, 13 February 2012
Written by Jon Stickler
The Treatment are one of the latest bands to create hype within the rock and metal contingent. Hailing from Cambridge, although to hear them you'd think it was LA's Sunset Strip, the hard-rocking five-piece unashamedly draw their influences from the league of Classic Rock giants. We're talking the big guns of AC/DC, Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy, KISS, Def Leppard and Guns n’ Roses here, all of which are instantly recognised within the energetic tracks that brought to life a dingy Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff last Tuesday, 7th February.
The show, rescheduled after the band were forced to cancel their December show due to frontman Matt Jones losing his voice, draws a varied crowd consisting of leather-clad gnarled rockers to the fresh-faced scene girls. Playing outside of a tour, this show is one of their first live dates of the new year, following an ultra-busy 2011 which saw the band signing to Spinefarm, releasing their debut single/video ‘Drink, F**k, Fight’ and album ‘This Might Hurt'. Not only did they tour Europe with Alice Cooper AND make a Halloween appearance with Skindred & Therapy?, the young quintet also guested for the mighty Motorhead in Belgium before finishing off the year with their debut UK headline tour under the ‘Medication To The Nation’ banner. Remember what I said about hype? These lads are making a shitload of it! And living up to it 100%!
Kicking-off the show with aforementioned track 'Drink, F**k, Fight', the first thing that strikes you is the energy that comes with a Treatment live show. Its incredible. Reminiscent of any performance by the likes of Australian rockers Airbourne, from the set opener to the final encore, I don’t think I saw them stop once for a breather. Vocalist Matt Jones, fully recovered from his pre-Christmas bout of laryngitis, is a superb frontman and his raspy Steven Tyler-esque screams and character create a party atmosphere from the off.
The set showcases their fantastic debut album 'This Might Hurt', which was released in September last year. Still incredibly young and untainted by years on the road, The Treatment's music could fit perfectly alongside yesteryear's anthems of 'Back In Black', 'Welcome To The Jungle', 'Girls Girls Girls' and 'God Gave Rock N Roll To You'. It really is exciting to think where these guys can be given a few more years of touring.
'Shake The Mountain' and 'I Want Love' maintains the locomotive party atmosphere, whilst lighter-lifting ballad 'Nothing To Lose But Our Minds' introduces the crowd to one of The Treatment's slower-paced, passionate offerings. Next new single 'The Doctor' picks up the tempo once again and Jones, flanked by the superb playing ability from the twin-axe-attack guitarists Ben Brookland and Tag Grey as well as bassist Swoggle, howls out the throaty vocals. A real crowd pleaser and easy to see why it's the new single. Check out the video below.
The Treatment have the enthusiasm, energy, presence, and music to be massive. I hope to see them sometime this Summer and having overheard a conversation at the end of the show, I'm pretty sure we will be seeing them at either Download or Sonisphere. Make sure you check them out on the smaller stages this year – it wont be long until the Main Stage becomes familiar territory for these guys.
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