Formed while they were teenagers in Cambridge in 2008, under the tutelage of Laurie Mansworth – the ex-More and Airrace guitarist who had guided Heaven’s Basement – The Treatment play classic-sounding rock’n’roll with a punky swagger.
Having toured in the UK with Alice Cooper, Status Quo’s Frantic Four and Steel Panther, they also played US dates with Kiss and Mötley Crüe without label support. Drummer Dhani Mansworth previews their third album, Generation Me, their first with new singer Mitchel Emms and guitarist Tao Grey.
Why did singer Matt Jones leave the band?
He needed a normal life. Being on the road wasn’t for him any more. He wanted to settle down with his girlfriend.
Matt had started to look like M Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold. Were there musical differences?
Not at all. He was always into the music. But he’d done seven years of graft and it was time for something else.
Replacing a singer of his calibre must have been difficult.
It was a sketchy time, but we knew that nothing could stop us. It was just a question of how long it would take to find the right person.
Mitch Emms was on The Voice. What made him the guy you sought, and do you care that some will frown upon such an appointment?
I saw him on YouTube, made contact on Facebook and he agreed to come and audition. It helped that he knew our second album, and the fit felt good instantly. As for The Voice… I don’t really give a shit about [any negativity]. Some of the best singers in the world right now, people like Adam Lambert, Erik Grönwall [H.e.a.t.] and Nathan James [Inglorious], got their breaks on reality TV.
Why do the band regard Generation Me, the third album, as a debut?
We’re just not the same band any more, and this is by far the best line-up we’ve had. There’s a whole new energy and an extra commercial element.
So what were the flaws of Running With The Dogs (2014) and This Might Hurt (2011)?
It’s about inexperience, really. We were seventeen-year-old kids when we started. Now we’re a professional band.
All three albums were released by different record companies. Have the group been treated fairly by the business?
Mostly, yeah. But in certain areas a much better job could have been done – particularly with press. That’s why we’re
so happy to be with Frontiers, who my dad [Laurie] had known with Airrace. We’ve never felt stronger than the position we’re in right now. The past seven years have been leading to this point.
You’re about to play your biggest headline UK tour so far. How do you view the grass-roots British rock scene – if there is such a thing now?
There’s still life out there, but every new rock band is gonna have a really tough time. Sure, venues are closing down. But that should make you want to work harder. And there are some great bands coming through – H.e.a.t., Inglorious, The Struts – so I believe the scene will regenerate over the next couple of years.
