Betrayed’s first full-length release, Substance, accentuates their hardcore stylings with more than just a tinge of punk attitude and the expected accompanying musical tactics. Substance features a thick wall of distortion (though not a Spector-style Wall of Sound — which would undoubtedly be an interesting addition to the punk and hardcore canon,) those familiar not-quite-screaming vocals (recognizably influenced by veterans Suicidal Tendencies, among countless others,) and a certain amount of flare on the guitar.
Betrayed follows the hardcore/punk conventions — though perhaps not quite to a T; speedy — but skillful — guitar riffs are brought into as a sort of spice to the furious pace of the majority of the music on Substance. In what seems to be a growing trend, Betrayed embraces a straight edge ethos and remains unafraid to release their message through their music, most notably with “Consequence.”
Substance ascribes to a large portion of conventions — which is hardly unusual — but manages to break from such constraints where it counts. With the energy that surrounds their music, Betrayed has crafted a release that doesn’t disappoint.
Matthew Montgomery