''Brightside'' was the first of three full-length albums released by

New York hardcore New York hardcore (also known as NYHC) is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle associated with that music. The scene established many aspects that are fixtures of hardcore ...

band Killing Time. It was released in November 1989 on In Effect Records, a division of

Relativity Records Relativity Records was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his vinyl record shop, Important Record Distributors (IRD) in metropolitan New York City. The IRD distribution name was later known as RED Distribution and ag ...

, and subsequently re-released in 1995 by Lost & Found Records in Europe, and

Victory Records Victory Records is a Chicago-based record label founded by Tony Brummel. It operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several record labels. It has featured many prominent artists including Thu ...

in the U.S. – both with bonus tracks. Both re-issue versions have three tracks from the ''Happy Hour'' EP released in 1992. The Victory Records re-issue also has material from the first Raw Deal demo made in 1988, of which five tracks were re-recorded for this album. The band had previously gone by the name of Raw Deal, until a threatened lawsuit by another band of the same name caused them to change their name as they were entering the studio to record this release. Their guitarist, Mike Sentkiewitz, left the band prior to recording to pursue a different musical direction. Many of the songs he helped pen, however, are included on this album. Shortly after the album was released, the band went into their first hiatus and did not return to the studio until 1992 for the ''Happy Hour'' EP. Their next full-length album did not come until 1997, with '' The Method''.

Overview

''Brightside'' not so much launched the careers of Killing Time but solidified their local reputation and radiated

to a further audience. The band was already well known in the locality, as Raw Deal played extensively in clubs like the Ritz Theater and

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

's in New York City. They became notable for what was known at the time as "tough-guy" hardcore – that is to say a brand of

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

which was often harsher, more basic and heavier than its preceding type, and certainly more so than the west coast brand of California punk. Comparisons with

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

– also popular at the time – could have been drawn, but New York hardcore lacked the guitar solos of the alternate genre. The vocal style was also different – complete with gang backing vocals. The material on ''Brightside'' was typical of the genre at the time – short and brutal songs, never exceeding three minutes and, more often than not, around the 90 second mark. Along with

Gorilla Biscuits Gorilla Biscuits are an American hardcore punk band from New York City, New York, United States, formed in 1986. The band currently consists of Anthony "Civ" Civarelli, Walter Schreifels, Arthur Smilios and Luke Abbey, and is signed to Revela ...

, Sick of It All and the less NYHC-sounding

Murphy's Law Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." Though similar statements and concepts have been made over the course of history, the law itself was coined by, and named after, Americ ...

, Killing Time made their place in hardcore history and went on to influence a new generation of hardcore in the mid-1990s.

Track listing

#"Cheap Thrills" (Anthony Comunale, Mike Sentkiewitz) – 1:06 #"Brightside" (Anthony Drago, Carl Porcaro, Sentkiewitz, Rich McLoughlin) – 2:29 #"Fools Die" (Drago, Porcaro) – 2:19 #"Tell Tale" (Drago, Porcaro, McLoughlin) – 1:29 #"What I Want" (Drago, Porcaro) – 2:11 #"No More Mr. Nice Guy" (Drago, Porcaro, McLoughlin) – 2:44 #"My Reason" (Sentkiewitz) – 2:13 #"New Release" (Comunale, Porcaro, McLoughlin) – 1:42 #"Backtrack" (Drago, Porcaro, Sentkiewitz) – 2:36 #"Wall of Hate" (Drago, Porcaro) – 1:28 #"Wisdom" (Drago, Porcaro, McLoughlin) – 2:54 *The Lost & Found, and

1995 reissues had the following bonus tracks, originally on the ''Happy Hour'' EP ** "Happy Hour" – 3:12 ** "Going Somewhere" – 2:17 ** "Whole Lotta Nuthin'" – 3:58 *The

version also has the following tracks, from the original Raw Deal demo of 1988 ** "Wall of Hate" ** "Tell Tale" ** "New Release" ** "Only the Strong Survive" ** "My Reason" ** "No More Mr. Nice Guy" ** "The Lines Are Drawn"

Credits

* Anthony Comunale – vocals * Carl Porcaro – guitar * Rich McLoughlin – bass * Anthony Drago – drums * Recorded and mixed at Normandy Sound,

Warren, Rhode Island Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2020 census. History Warren was the site of the Pokanoket Indian settlement of Sowams located on a peninsula within the Pokanoket region. The reg ...

* Produced by Killing Time and Tom Soares * Engineered and mixed by Tom Soares * Assistant engineered by Joe Pires and Jamie Locke * Cover art and logo by John Drago, Anthony's brother

External links and sources

Killing Time official websiteBlackout Records band pageBlackout Records Happy Hour EP page
{{Authority control 1989 debut albums Killing Time (American band) albums