A little over a year of Breakdown's existence, internal conflicts cau- sed the band to split. While singer Jeff Perlin and guitarist Don Angelilli kept the name and continued as Breakdown with a new rhythm section, guitarist Carl Porcaro, bassist Rich McLoughlin and drummer Anthony Drago broke off to form a new band, which they called Raw Deal. Raw Deal's search for a singer was quickly ended when ex-Token Entry vocalist Anthony Comunale agreed to join. He brought his friend Mike Sentkiewitz (formally of The New York Hoods, Sick Of It All) to play second guitar and the band got right to work writing new material that would keep the essence of the Breakdown style, yet take it further. 

Raw Deal's 1988 demo was an instant classic with the new breed of young and disenchanted hard- core kids. Lyrics such as "Sick of all your faces/stick of all your lies/Sick of getting pressured into things that I despise" from "No More Mr. Nice Guy" were shouted out like battle cries from the crowds at their explosive live shows at CBGB's Hardcore Matinees. "Wall of Hate", "My Reason", and "Telltale" are other songs off the demo that gained them the reputation of being one of the heaviest and truest sounding New York Hardcore Bands. They kept it raw, but were able to add tricky melodic riffs and insightful lyrics.