Sound Barrier
Formerly known as Colour, Sound Barrier were a black heavy metal band formed in 1980 by Spacey T. (guitar), Bernie K (vocals), Stanley E. (bass) and Dave Brown (drums), who signed to MCA Records in 1982. They debuted with TOTAL CONTROL; a highly complex fusion of metal, soul, funk and blues influences that defied simple pigeon-holing. Despite or because of this it sold poorly and they were subsequently dropped by their label. They bounced back with a mini-album on the independent Pitbull label, which consolidated the style laid down on their debut release. This led to a contract with Metal Blade, but the resulting SPEED OF LIGHT was very disappointing. It adopted a simpler, more mainstream approach and proved an unsuccessful attempt to widen their appeal. Emil Lech had taken over on bass by this stage, but the band splintered shortly after the album's release. Bernie K. went on to Masi, Spacey T. and Stanley E. joined Liberty, while Emil Lech teamed up with Joshua.