For over 20 years the band that was once known as Raw Deal (and is still thought of by many people by that same name) has been a mainstay of traditional New York Hardcore. Raw Deal was another branch on the living tree that was the Sunday matinee set of CBGB’s mid-80’s Hardcore heyday. Born from trace remnants of such seminal Hardcore bands as Breakdown and Token Entry, Raw Deal (who were forced to change their name due to legal conflicts) became Killing Time and set about blazing a trail of legend armed with an undisputed classic of a demo and a reputation for incendiary live shows.

In 1989 Killing Time released its debut album Brightside and was at the forefront of a vibrant and vital scene of youth culture. By the time the 90s rolled around Killing Time was at a crossroads: at the intersection of “real life” and “responsibility” the members took different turns and went about the business of growing up. Singer Anthony Comunale went into the financial sector; drummer Anthony Drago became a police officer. Music was never far from their thoughts, though. Eventually they came back together a few times over the years to record and tour but in a lot of ways the scene which they loved and helped pioneer was just not the same. Violence, politics and trend-jumping fans had fractured what was once a very tight community. Still, it never deterred the boys from coming back to their first love: music.

Fast-forward to the present day: Drago, Comunale, guitarists Rich McLaughlin and Carl Porcaro are back with Chris Skowronski on bass and set to release a new album. For continuity’s sake they took it back to where it all started literally: in Drago’s parents’ garage. Three Steps Back is a return to the anthemic, stripped-down, dog-pile on the mic and sing-along Hardcore that Killing Time helped to perfect almost a quarter of a century ago.

“Rich came up with the Three Steps Back concept, which is basically a way of saying a return to our roots. Back to the beginning and back in the garage. We all agreed on the spot,” explains Drago. “We did some reunion shows in 2005 and we got such a good response and we had kind of kept away from this so long that it kind of started to bug me. We had talked about getting back together here and there. But the 2005 shows really brought it together. When we went to Japan in 2007 we decided after that tour that we were going to get back into the garage and start rehearsing again. Chris and Carl came to the garage ready to do it and I had already been kicking around some lyrics with the thoughts of getting into this. After the first or second rehearsals things really just started swinging. I think there is definitely a more melodic sound to the new stuff, I think it’s definitely more Punk Rock-sounding than anything we’ve done so far. We wanted to have a lot of backing vocals and stuff like that. Chris wrote a huge amount of the new material, he brought a lot to it. A lot of the flavor of this new record I can attribute to him. A lot of the time straight-up Hardcore can feel almost mechanical and the Punk Rock edge that Chris brought to the new stuff gave us a lot more freedom, which I think really comes through in the songs. We definitely have grown musically.”

Three Steps Back is indeed a return, but, at the same time it is not your average hardcore record. Most of the lyrical duty is handled by Drago (though Skowronski has some lyrical credits on the new record) and he draws from a fairly serious selection of influence.

“I think I rely most on Dostoevsky, Celine and Bukowski for the misery and Vonnegut and Heller for the absurd. I think that they’ve all had some kind of influence on me even if subconsciously,” reflects Drago. “‘Mingus’ is probably my favorite on the new record. I gave it its title because Mingus said one of my favorite quotes of all time: ‘Making the simple complicated is common place; making the complicated, simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.’ When we started writing this new record, I knew that it might be complicated but wanted the end result to be a real simple thing. The song is pretty much an extended middle finger to everyone who ever told me that I was wasting my time making music. This would usually come from someone who couldn’t understand that I really didn’t give a sh*t about making money. The only reason I do it is because of the tremendous release it is for me and because of the realization that when I’m not doing it, I’m a bitter, miserable f**k.”

Killing Time has always been known for brutally honest, introspective lyrics that eschew the sometimes over-bearing weightiness of typical topics involving politics, causes or messages. They’ve always come from a standpoint of one rather than be a mouthpiece of the masses or a platform for collective agreement; which is one of the reasons why Killing Time have always been revered. Their music is extremely personal in its nature. The same is true for their latest offering. Lyrically most of the songs deal with the kind of issues one would expect middle-age men to be confronting. One thing that often comes into play is Drago’s life as a New York police officer:

“I’m sure that my job has affected my view of the world and my writing. As a cop you’re constantly dealing with negativity. You see people at their worst. You experience the worst parts of people’s lives right along with them. It’s only natural to carry some of that stuff around with you wherever you go. There’s also a feeling of alienation to a degree. People rarely regard you as a human being yet they expect you to do superhuman things. I’ve always felt that I’ve done a good job separating my job from my personal life and not letting that negativity affect my family but I’m sure once and a while they can see it. Being a husband and father influences everything I do. One of the new tracks, ‘Lookout’ I wrote for and about my son.”

The songs on Three Steps Back provide insightful (and sometimes very dark) glimpses into the human condition. Emotional stasis, disappointment, anxiety, depression and chemical dependency provide compelling narratives for the jarring, rhythmically pounding tracks which underscore the lyrics. Drago pulls no punches, especially when it comes to loosing his own demons:

“I’ve had a problem with alcohol since my early teens. Never hurt anybody except myself for a long time. It also took a long time to get it in check. It’s difficult when you self-medicate anxiety with alcohol. You have to figure out the real issues before you can wean yourself off the remedy. I think any songs that may contain those references were written during or about that transition in my life. I’m a father of two now, I can’t afford to be nervous or drunk.”

One of the most interesting songs on the album, “24” is kind of an open letter to long-standing Killing Time fans. It is a wonderful insight into the machinations of being in a band that is not just an outlet but a life-long commitment:

“When I was 24 I started the police academy. It was also a year in my life when I was experiencing vicious bouts of anxiety and depression. As far as I was concerned at the time, my decision to join the police force was like nailing the coffin shut. I had finally given up on music being any type of career for me and I really didn’t have many options at that point. The decision to take the civil service test had been as a favor to a friend, the physical exam was a dare and the interview was stress free because I really never had any intention of taking the job if it was offered. It was in the interview that I really screwed myself because I had been brutally honest. They really liked that. Despite majority opinion, law enforcement officials do consider honesty a great attribute for a recruit applicant. After the interview, I really didn’t think about it much because I thought I had definitely pissed it away. Surprisingly, they offered me the job weeks later. Soon I was in the academy and for the first time in my life I was in a quasi-military setting: people ordering you around and inspecting your appearance and testing you constantly. I really didn’t fit in. I didn’t look like anyone or talk like anyone and I really didn’t think that I was going to make it through there. That’s what ‘24’ is all about, alienation and confusion. I felt alienated on both sides: from my band and friends and also by an entire group of people that I shared absolutely nothing in common with. Kind of absurd for a punk rock setting, but punk rock just the same. And admittedly bitter. Very bitter.”

Make no mistake: Killing Time is not merely the Anthony Drago show. Without the unique components of inspiration and utilization that surround the drummer Killing Time would be little more than a bunch of old guys bashing out hard-edged noise:

“I take my place in the band and help arrange the music that Carl, Chris and Rich write. They make a guitar track recording of the arrangement for me and I usually get inspired by the track enough to start working out some ideas for lyrics, vocal lines and background vocals. That small process is my favorite part of being in this band. The other guys in the band, all extremely talented musicians and writers, afford me that luxury and privilege.”

Drago writes from an honest place and those words are hammered home by one of the most galvanizing vocalists to ever come out of the New York scene. As a frontman Anthony Comunale is unsurpassed. Even into his 40s he knows how to bring the fury and release of seething frustration as genuinely as any pissed-off teen. Comunale’s personality is as thick and engaging as his New York accent and his legendary stage-banter is second to none.

Three Steps Back sees Killing Time return to its musical fighting weight, so to speak. Back to what it was: fun and release and an outlet for those universal aggressions that made them start playing in the first place.

“The stuff on this new record is about all of our lives and stuff we’ve gone through over the years. I still think it’s stuff that anybody can relate to.”