Our search for a drummer lead us to Damon, who was in high school at the time. His determination was evident, but he had yet to find his way as a musician. It came to this: we needed a drummer, and he had the energy. We asked him to join, he accepted, and then Mike cut off his new-wave tail (one of those bleached-braided affairs so popular in the 80's).

After a few months of practice with Damon, we emerged in 1986 with new songs, and an utter sonic blast of a set.

• Jeff Lamm-vocals
• Mike LaVella-bass
• Vinny Curtis-guitar
• Damon Che-drums

The so-called "metal-crossover" style was just starting to come out, with bands such as Slayer, Venom and Metallica hooking the speed of hardcore with the framework of a metal song. Hardcore songs tended to be short--from 10 seconds to 1 minute, but this crossover thing came along, and suddenly 6 minute multi-part thrashers were the new benchmark.

Not to be outdone, songs like Consider the Alternative became the signature of the new Half Life. Gone are the punk anthems. Gone is anything resembling a standard chord change. Not quite metal, but beyond punk. We played our best this year, and pulled together enough cash to record Under The Knife at Blackpond studios in June of 1986.