Treason's origins date back to 1988 when the band, then a 5 piece, were part of the underground thrash scene in the UK at that time, to
uring alongside bands such as Slammer, Xentrix, Onslaught etc. They never secured a record deal but were quite prominent on the gig circuit, supporting the likes of not only the aforementioned, but also bands such as Gwar, Bad Brains, Neurosis and Warrior Soul amongst others. After numerous line-up changes the band morphed into ‘Ashes to Ashes’ before eventually splitting in 1992, the rest of the group going on to form the highly regarded ‘Pulkas’.
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John Seaton, the bands original vocalist, spent the next decade or so concentrating on various musical projects and writing songs before forming ‘Ego Prime’ in 2005, with ex Hawkwind and Stray members. They recorded one demo album but John wasn’t happy with the results and disbanded the group. After evaluating his next move for a while, he then decided to resurrect Treason in 2009 and tried to track down some of the original members. Some he couldn’t locate and those he could were not interested in playing anymore, so he began searching for suitable musicians to complete the line-up. |
After eventually securing a line-up including STEVE REDDIHOUGH (bass) the band recorded a demo CD featuring material from the Ego Prime album and earlier treason stuff, re-worked and much heavier. Whilst not fully satisfied with the production and sounds of this demo album, it nevertheless secured the band a deal with Casket records. Treason then recorded their first official album ‘Lambs to the slaughter’ which was released in May 2011 - again, featuring older material combined with newly written songs.
Unfortunately more personnel problems made 2010 an inactive year for the band. Finally however, things have settled down for Treason and they now have a strong and stable line-up in STEVE REDDIHOUGH (bass) and TOBY WYSS (drums).
Treason have their second album ‘HELL IS A PLACE ON EARTH’ due for release in May 2012. This is basically a re-working of the demo album, with the material this time due to be given the production it deserves along with new guitar/vocal sounds and Toby's electrifying drumming being added to the equation. The band are very excited about the results and will be out on the road promoting both albums in the very near future.
The Treason sound overall has changed considerably since those early thrash days. They like to consider themselves primarily as a heavy rock unit but there are elements of many different sub-genres in their work - metal, stoner, thrash, doom - call it what you will; the result is a sound which will be become immediately identifiable as their own. Perhaps the best appraisal comes from a recent review from Classic rock radio which described them as sounding like ‘Black Sabbath meets King Crimson on acid!’ - A description the band is not sure is completely accurate, but one they’re not gonna argue with!
As mentioned, Treason will be out on the road playing anywhere and everywhere that will have them in the months to come. Be prepared for an evening for seriously heavy sonic violence! |
