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 OctoberβNovember 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.
The Next Level
25 Ta Life Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The lyrics of 25 Ta Life's song The Next Level address the issue of people using the hardcore community and its message for their personal gain without actually caring about the culture or the values that it represents. The singer portrays these people as selfish and shallow, only interested in themselves and their own message, rather than the meaning and purpose that binds the hardcore community together.
The term "Next Level" refers to the mainstreaming of hardcore and its corporatization, where the focus is more on profit and entertainment than on the passionate and meaningful expression of the culture's values. According to the singer, this dilutes the essence of hardcore and takes away the fun and the purpose that it serves. He sees this trend as a betrayal of the true spirit of the hardcore community, turning it into nothing more than a hollow, superficial spectacle.
However, despite this threat to the culture that he holds dear, the singer still holds on to his belief in hardcore as a source of hope and inspiration. He acknowledges and thanks the bands and the lyrics that have guided and helped him throughout his life, and vows to keep the hardcore spirit alive and real until he dies.
Line by Line Meaning
To you friendship means nothing.
You do not value friendship in any way.
Use us to get your message across.
You exploit us to spread your own message.
And now yoU,re looking out for you and yourself.
You are only concerned about yourself and your own interests.
And that's not what's it's all about.
This is not the true essence of things.
Next level gonna eat you up.
The next level will consume and destroy you.
Next level don't give a fuck about you or your message.
The next level does not care about you or your agenda.
Next level hardcore the one true thing that gave me hope in this life....
Hardcore music is the one thing that gave me hope in this life.
Next level takes away the fun.
The next level ruins the enjoyment of something.
Next level turns it into nothing.
The next level renders something meaningless.
Next level is the enemy.
The next level is a threat or opponent.
Next level is the enemy.
The next level is a danger or obstacle.
Next level takes away the fun.
The next level spoils the entertainment of something.
Next level turns it into nothing cause.
The next level transforms something into a meaningless state, because.
When it's done by those who don't care.
When it is done by individuals who lack concern or interest.
It's meaningless and it'll disappear.
It becomes pointless and ultimately fades away.
Next level is the enemy.
The next level is a foe or adversary.
Next level is the enemy cause.
The next level is the adversary because.
When it's done by those who don't care.
When it is done by individuals who lack concern or interest.
It's meaningless and it'll disappear.
It becomes pointless and ultimately fades away.
Keep it alive and keep it real from my heart until I fuckin die.
I will keep it authentic and genuine until my death.
You'll never know what it means to me without hardcore.
You will never understand the significance of hardcore to me.
Where would I be the one thing in life that ever gave hope.
Without hardcore music, where would I be? It is the one thing that gave me hope in life.
Thanks to the bands and those lyrics for always being there.
I am grateful to the bands and their lyrics for always being present and supportive.
Guiding me helping me through.
They have guided and assisted me in my journey.
Hardcore the one thing that gave me hope.
Hardcore music is the one thing that provided me with hope.
The thing that gave me hope.
It is the source of my hope.
The only thing that gave me hope.
It is the sole thing that provided me with hope.
Next level takes away the fun.
The next level ruins the enjoyment of something.
Next level turns it into nothing.
The next level renders something meaningless.
Cause when it's done by those who don't care.
Because when it is done by individuals who lack concern or interest.
It's meaningless and it'll disappear.
It becomes pointless and ultimately fades away.
Next level is the enemy.
The next level is a threat or opponent.
Contributed by Ethan J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.