Strength Betrayed is a Christian Rock band that believes in sharing the love of Jesus, but also being honest about the message they deliver. The mission of Strength Betrayed is to provide heavy, high energy and meaningful music to those who would listen, to reach out to all people from all walks of life, to provide hope for the hurting and to let them know that they are not alone in their struggles.

Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band:

Thomas Smith: We’ll I am the lead vocalist and hold down the rhythm on the guitar. Seth Altman is our killer bass player. Jacob Hair is our lead guitarist that shreds like a MOFO. Lastly, Taylor is my brother and our drummer. We bring our own influences to the table. Taylor def brings his playstyle to the table, like most bands, we just need to keep things simple but, in the pocket, along with him and Seth, we like to add a lot of “bounce” to our sound. Things that get people jumping and moving. That’s right up my playstyle, so working closely with Seth and Taylor has really developed our sound We just let Jacob off the leash and do what he does best!

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Strength Betrayed? How long has the band been around?

Thomas Smith: So, we started out as a worship band. Taylor, Jacob and I were in a band called Big Fish, That eventually became a band called Sustained Souls. This was around 2011. After worship practice, we would always down tune our guitars and jam the heck out. We eventually split and went our separate ways. Me and my wife did worship and still do!

Jacob joined a metalcore band that never really took off, me and Taylor played in church. Eventually, me and Taylor decided we were going to start a rock band. We asked Jacob and before we even finished our question he said “yes absolute” lol. We jammed for a few sessions and decided okay this is going really well. They knew Seth from high school so we called him in and jammed and it was the perfect fit. That total has almost been 10 years of playing together. The band started in 2014 so we’ve been around for about 5 years now! Been a long road but I feel we have finally have reached a point that we can take our self somewhat seriously lol!

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

Thomas Smith: Honestly, we decided on the name “Strength Betrayed” pretty fast. It was actually a band name of a friend of ours and one that our drummer Taylor and our lead guitarist Jacob were a part of. The band never played a show when they broke up but I remembered loving that band name. So, when we put this band together, I called my friend up and was like “hey man can we use Strength Betrayed?”. And he was cool with it! We still keep the same meaning of the original name. The name  "Strength Betrayed" comes from the biblical story of Sampson and serves as a reminder to the band that the strengths that are given to us can betray us if we allow our strengths to go to our heads, consume our lives, destroy the lives of others through inflated egos and self-importance. It has been our name for 5 years!

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

Thomas Smith: We all pitch in. I usually handle the lyrics and vocal lines/melodies, but besides that, we all pitch in to make a song unique to us and our sound. Like pieces to a puzzle, we all just add to the next part and then the next part. Right now our topics are pretty dark and they seem to get darker as we get older lol. Depression and hopelessness are a few topics along with societal and church criticism. Some songs are what I call a “soul cry” which is just a personal struggle or issue I’m trying to work out and just decide to call out the weak side of me in a song lol.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

Thomas Smith: Man, that is tough because there are so many. Definitely Breaking Benjamin, Korn, Red, Tool and the 80’s DUMP Jacob puts on his leads lol Disturbed, A Day to Remember, Chevelle, Killswitch engaged, Metallica, Alter Bridge, and so SO many more. For my vocals, I pull from a lot of bands and artists outside our genre, from death metal to hip hop!

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

Thomas Smith: So many but when I saw Skillet live for the first time. That or seeing Breaking Benjamin at the Carolina Rebellion! Music is just inspirational in general and it drives me daily.

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc …

Thomas Smith: Stretch, meditate, pray, drink special drinks to get the voice loose, vocal warming up, guitar warmups. Just sitting in a Zen-like state. It's like preparing for a sporting event, headphones in and getting my mind straight and making it happen.

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

Thomas Smith: By far opening for Puddle of Mudd in Jacksonville. The love we received that night was absolutely overwhelming! Words cannot describe the feeling we got that night. We actually had to leave the building because people approaching us so much.

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

Thomas Smith: Absolutely Breaking Benjamin or Korn! That is the dream! I wouldn’t mind touring with alternative artists or artists outside of our genre. Post Malone or Juice Wrld. Time will tell though!

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thomas Smith: Go stream our album "War-Torn". Please support your local bands. Like you, they have dreams and goals and you have no idea how happy it makes them to have passionate fans show up to their shows. Even if only 5 people show up, if those 5 people go HAM it makes the night!