The band was started by Frank Smarra (bass) and Harry Minas (drums) in Astoria, Queens, N.Y., 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 Healy (AKA Rick ta Life) who added the lyrics to all the songs. They adopted the name after it was suggested by Freddie Madball. Madball also helped the band by giving them guest appearances at the end of their sets. 25 ta Life played their first full show at Studio 1 in New Jersey on May 10, 1993 supporting Obituary. After a few failed attempts to add a second guitar player, Beto (formally of D'mize & Madball) joined the band in late 1993. In January 1994 bassist and co-founding member Frank Smarra left the band due to family commitments and was replaced by Warren Lee. The Band continued to play massive amounts of shows in the tri-state area and all along the East Coast. In early 1996 25 ta Life traveled to Europe for the first time playing in Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium and Poland. By late 1997 co-founding member Harry Minas left the band and was replaced by Seth from One for One.