Killing Time is a New York-based hardcore band formed in 1988 as Raw Deal by guitarist Carl Porcaro and drummer Anthony Drago, with bassist Rich McLoughlin, later joined by vocalist Anthony Comunale and guitarist Mike Sentkiewitz. The group released its debut demo before signing with In Effect Records, where legal pressure forced a name change. Their debut, Brightside (1989), was recorded at Normandy Sound with producer Tom Soares and that same year appeared on Blackout Records' compilation Where the Wild Things Are, featuring the tracks "Backtrack" and "Brightside." McLoughlin subsequently left the band over a disputed move from bass to guitar and was replaced on bass by Alex Gopian, spawning the 7" East Meets West in 1991; McLoughlin later rejoined as a second guitarist. The band entered a hiatus in the early 1990s, returning with the EP Happy Hour (1992) and the Unavoidable EP (1995), around the same period recording a separate cover of the Sex Pistols' "Bodies" for the compilation Punk Rock Jukebox. Their second album, The Method (1997), showcased a return to a heavier sound; the band dissolved in 1998. After brief reunion shows in 2005 and a 2006 European tour, Killing Time reassembled for a 2007 Asia tour and, in 2009, completed a twelve-song LP, Three Steps Back, released on Dead City Records in 2010. The band's catalog remains a part of the New York hardcore scene, with reissues of Brightside and Happy Hour sustaining its legacy.
