Treat – ‘The Wild Card’

(Frontiers Music)

If you’ve spent any amount of time traversing the neon-soaked boulevards of Scandinavian melodic rock, you know the name Treat isn’t just another entry in the alphabetized racks of bygone hair metal. No, sir. To folks like us, people who still believe that monster choruses can fix most of life’s problems Treat is part of the melodic rock bedrock. So, when the band drops a new album, it’s like someone sends up a flare announcing that rock 'n' roll is not only alive, but strutting down the street in a leather jacket and aviators.

Enter The Wild Card an album that wastes zero time reminding you that Treat have been at this longer than some listeners have been alive, and yet they still sound hungrier than half the newcomers blowing up TikTok. And in true Treat fashion, the band doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel here. They simply ensure it spins bigger, brighter, and with a shine so reflective you could fix your hair in it.

The opening track ‘Out With A Bang’ comes out swinging with the kind of riff that punches a hole through the wall and yells, “Turn me up!” Guitars snarl with that unmistakable Swedish precision, clean but mean, melodic but muscular. It’s the kind of opener that reminds you why Treat albums still feel like events. Robert Ernlund’s vocals remain one of the great underrated treasures in European rock, delivering every line with that mix of grit and uplift that only veterans with nothing left to prove can muster. Ernlund’s vocals are a marvel, warm, expressive, and effortlessly soaring. There’s a confidence in his delivery that only decades of experience can produce, and it sets the tone for the whole album.

One of The Wild Card’s most admirable traits is how confidently it embraces melody without ever dipping into syrup. The band stacks harmonies like they have a limitless budget, but every glossy layer rests on a foundation of real rock heft. Anders Wikström’s guitar tone hasn’t aged, it's matured. The riffs have bite, the solos soar, and the rhythm section hits with that steady, unshakeable conviction we expect from musicians who've been road tested for decades.

Now, I have always had a soft spot for big sweeping melodic rock anthems. And oh man, The Wild Card delivers. When Treat rolls out power ballad ‘Heaven’s Waiting’ it feels like it was reverse engineered from the DNA of every great European-rock slow burner, shimmering keys, emotional grit, a solo that starts delicate before blossoming into full blown fireworks. You can practically see the stage lights rising behind the band as the chorus crests. It’s the kind of song Treat have always excelled at, sentimental but never overwrought.

But the beauty of this album isn’t just in its big emotional swings. It’s in its consistency. Even the deeper cuts carry the same DNA, hooks sharp enough to lacerate, rhythm grooves that get the blood pumping and choruses that practically beg for a crowd of thousands screaming them back. It’s a rare thing these days to find an album with zero filler, but The Wild Card comes awfully close. Every song feels like a card intentionally placed in the deck, no jokers, no throwaways.

Lyrically, Treat stays rooted in the classic themes, resilience, passion, longing, the triumph of spirit and all delivered with sincerity rather than irony. It’s refreshing, honestly. There’s no wink wink cynicism here, no attempts to modernize the language or chase trends. Treat know who they are, what they’re good at, and who they’re speaking to. And if you're the type of listener who feels a noticeable dopamine spike the moment a keyboard ascends behind a high flying chorus, then you’re exactly the intended audience.

With the Production the album hits that sweet spot where everything sounds modern without losing the organic warmth that made the band’s earlier catalogue so beloved. The guitars roar without feeling compressed, the drums breathe, the keys elevate rather than overwhelm. and the vocals sit perfectly in the mix. It’s an album engineered for volume, preferably through large speakers, neighbours be damned.

If there’s one thing that truly separates Treat from their peers, it’s their ability to make melodic rock feel alive, not nostalgic, not preserved in amber but vital. On The Wild Card they sound like a band who still love what they do, who still find joy in a perfectly sculpted chorus, who still believe rock music can move people. And that sincerity radiates through every track.

By the time the album reaches its finale ‘One Minute To Breathe’ a fist-pumping closer loaded with adrenaline, defiance, and a final soaring sing-along you get that warm familiar rush. The kind you only get from bands who understand the emotional architecture of classic rock and still know how to build something new atop it.

What The Wild Card nails better than most modern melodic rock releases is balance. It’s slick without being sugary and muscular without losing its melodic core. The choruses are enormous, the kind that demand to be belted out in cars, showers, or anywhere else acoustics are slightly forgiving

The Wild Card isn’t just another chapter in the band’s late-career renaissance, it’s one of the strongest, most confident, most fully realized records they’ve put out in years. It’s big, bold, melodic, hook soaked and unapologetically true to the band’s DNA. And in a world where everything changes faster than anyone can keep up with, Treat’s consistency feels like a gift.

Treat once again proves why these Swedish veterans remain one of the most reliable purveyors of big hooks and even bigger heart. Crank it loud. Let it hit you. And remember some wild cards are worth betting on.

9/10

Essential Track – ‘Heaven’s Waiting’

Review by Woody