History
The band was started by Frank Smarra (bass) and Harry Minas (drums) in Astoria, Queens, New York City. They were soon joined by Fred Mesk (guitar) and together wrote most of the material that would be on their early releases.
In early 1992, they recruited former Agnostic Front roadie Rick Healey who added the lyrics to all the songs. They adopted the name after it was suggested by Freddy Cricien from Madball that also helped by giving them guest appearances at the end of its sets. 25 ta Life played their first full show at Studio 1, New Jersey on May 10, 1993, supporting Obituary. After a few failed attempts to add a second guitar player, Steve Pettit (formally of Dmize) joined the band in late 1993. In January 1994, bassist and co-founding member Frank left the band due to family commitments and was replaced by Warren Lee from Out of Line Queens. Steve was later replaced by his partner in Dmize: Beto Rosario. The band continued to play a large number of shows in the tri-state area and up and down the East Coast. In early 1996, 25 ta Life travelled to Europe, playing in France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, and Poland for the first time. By late 1996, co-founding member Harry left the band and was replaced by Seth Meyer from One 4 One.
25 ta Life opened for Agnostic Front's reunion show at the Wetlands in December 1996 and then played all of AF's East Coast dates along with Madball, Hatebreed and H2O in early 1997. They went to Japan in April 1997. Warren and Beto left in May 1997 after the West Coast tour. Mike H from One 4 One joined on bass in June 1997 and they went to Europe in July 1997. They recorded "Strength Through Unity..." in July 1997, writing half of it on the spot. "Loyal ta the Grave", featuring Freddy (Madball) and Lord Ezec (Crown of Thornz, Skarhead), was written and recorded in less than an hour. Mike left in August 1997 and was replaced by Dave Urban from Faction Zero. Later that month, they went to Puerto Rico and recorded two songs for the second "New York's Hardest" compilation. In October–November 1997, Biohazard took 25 ta Life on a short eight-show tour of the East Coast from Washington, D.C., to Boston. Seth left the band in February 1998 and was replaced by Rob Pallotta. The band recorded its first full-length album "Friendship, Loyalty, Commitment" in 1999. After years of touring, the band broke up in late 2000.
Rick reformed the band in 2002 with all new members. They released several albums with different lineups over the next few years. The band eventually stopped releasing new albums and playing shows as rumors of Rick's mental illness began to spread.
In 2017, Fred Mesk, Seth Meyer, Beto and Mike 141 reformed the band with Stikman from Fury of Five on vocals. They performed at This is Hardcore fest in Philadelphia on July 29, 2017. They also announced on their Facebook page that they are working on new material. In March 2018, 25 ta Life released three new songs (Hunting Season EP) online.[1] They also went on a short European tour which included headlining the sold out Superbowl of Hardcore in Rennes, France.
In 2018, Fred Mesk announced that he was leaving the band to go solo in a project called "Mista Bojangles", described as death metal meets Oi!. He stated that a full-length LP is due in the near future.
Lady Luck
25 Ta Life Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All was so bright to see
Gave me a reason worth living
Gave me a reason to wanna breathe
One day sadly your feelings changed
And your love, well you took that away
Come to me with a trusting smile
As you shove the knife right through my heart
And when I see your face
My heart it fills with rage
I want you to know just what you did to me
I want for you to feel the pain you gave to me
I want you to know what it's like to want to end your
Life
Why'd you run away
Why did you go away
Please God help me
Please show me the way
Please God give me the strength
To make it through another day
Hellbound misery torment
Knife is through my heart
Betrayal confusion
Unloved and left for dead
The lyrics to "Lady Luck" by 25 Ta Life are about heartbreak and betrayal in a romantic relationship. The singer begins by describing how their significant other gave them a reason to live and feel alive. However, this happiness is short-lived as their partner's feelings change, and they take away their love. The singer feels like their heart has been stabbed by their partner's actions, which leaves them feeling angry and wanting revenge. The chorus of the song shows how the singer wants their partner to feel the pain they caused and understand the emotional torment they are going through. The song ends with the singer feeling tormented and unloved, left to suffer as they question why their partner left them.
This song portrays the emotions of a person who has been heartbroken and feels betrayed by someone they loved. The singer initially felt happy and alive with their partner, but the change in the relationship made them question everything. The song resonates with people who have lost someone they loved and felt like they were stabbed in the back. The lyrics have a lot of anger, and the singer puts a curse on their partner, which many people can relate to after a failed relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
And when I looked into your eyes
When I first met you, I was filled with hope and happiness.
All was so bright to see
Everything seemed perfect and full of potential.
Gave me a reason worth living
You made my life feel meaningful and purposeful.
Gave me a reason to wanna breathe
You gave me a reason to keep pushing forward with life.
One day sadly your feelings changed
Unfortunately, your feelings for me shifted.
And your love, well you took that away
You ended our relationship and took away the love and affection we shared.
Come to me with a trusting smile
Despite the pain you caused, you came to me with a false sense of trust.
As you shove the knife right through my heart
You hurt me even more by betraying my trust and causing me emotional pain.
And when I see your face
Every time I see you, I am filled with anger and resentment.
My heart it fills with rage
The emotional pain and anger I feel is overwhelming.
I want you to know just what you did to me
I want you to understand the extent of the pain and hurt you caused me.
I want for you to feel the pain you gave to me
I wish for you to experience the same level of emotional pain that you caused me.
I want you to know what it's like to want to end your
I want you to understand the overwhelming feeling of wanting to end your own life due to emotional pain.
Why'd you run away
Why did you leave me behind to deal with the pain alone?
Why did you go away
Why did you abandon me when I needed you the most?
Please God help me
I am in desperate need of guidance and support.
Please show me the way
I need clarity and direction in my life.
Please God give me the strength
I need the strength to continue living and moving forward despite the emotional pain I'm facing.
To make it through another day
I need to find the strength to get through each day and keep going.
Hellbound misery torment
My life feels like a never-ending cycle of pain and suffering.
Knife is through my heart
The emotional pain I feel is overwhelming and feels like it's physically hurting me.
Betrayal confusion
I am experiencing a mixture of emotions such as betrayal, anger, and confusion.
Unloved and left for dead
I feel unloved and abandoned, left to deal with the emotional pain on my own.
Contributed by Lillian K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.