The Victory Records re-issue also has material from the first Raw Deal demo made in 1988, of which five tracks were re-recorded for this album.

Brightside not so much launched the careers of Killing Time but solidified their local reputation and radiated New York hardcore to a further audience.

The band was already well known in the locality, as Raw Deal played extensively in clubs like the Ritz Theater and CBGB's in New York City.

Comparisons with thrash metal – also popular at the time – could have been drawn, but New York hardcore lacked the guitar solos of the alternate genre.

The material on Brightside was typical of the genre at the time – short and brutal songs, never exceeding three minutes and, more often than not, around the 90 second mark.