The material contained on 'Treason' deserves to be heard by a wider audience.
North Carolina quartet A Course Of Action consists of Jonathan Byrd (guitar), John Culberson (vocals), JT Silvestri (drums) and Wes Johnson (bass). In 2014 they played both the Rocklahoma Festival and the main stage at Sturgis. 'Treason' is the band's sophomore release, following their debut album 'Dark Before The Dawn', and initial work began on song creation and recording with well-known producer Beau Hill. The website bio states that musical influences include Alice In Chains, Tool, Sevendust and Alter Bridge, but to my ears the sound on 'Treason' is a slightly more commercial brand of Modern Rock.
The down-tuned guitars of opener '107' form the basis of the song but Culberson's vocals are too understated to inspire the interest levels. 'Beautiful' has more urgency and the hook has more impact and, in my opinion, would have been a better way to start the release. The stop/start riffs indicate a confident writing ethic and demonstrate the band's knack for creating something more than just a verse/chorus/verse/chorus structure.
The beginning of 'Hate For Love' has an AB vibe but ACOA's identity remains intact as the song progresses. It is also the first time we get to hear a guitar solo of note. 'Who We Are' contains some nice acoustic subtleties and these contrast nicely with the bigger and more powerful guitar passages. One or two songs fall into the "mid-album blandness" category and fail to resonate due to inferior melodies and a failure to build on the main essence of the song.
The performances are still of a high quality and in fact give some of the weaker material a lift. At times the mix seems on the muddy side but overall the production values are rather good. 'One Last Time' stands out towards the end of the album and matches great musical ideas with impressive musicianship.
Bands such as A Course Of Action (who have a low recording profile) always benefit from the exposure gained touring with a big name act and I hope that is the case this time round as the material contained on 'Treason' deserves to be heard by a wider audience.
Dave Bott
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