SOUND BARRIER

The all black SOUND BARRIER evolved from the demise of the R&B oriented, seven-piece strong COLOUR in 1979. COLOUR had steadily become more Rock oriented thanks to the recruitment of Tinton Falls, New Jersey born guitarist Spacey T. However, alongside COLOUR drummer Dave Brown, Spacey formed the Metal band he had always longed for in SOUND BARRIER.  The first line-up of the group included bassist Keith Roster in a group that, initially, went for more of a Progressive feel until Roster departed and was replaced with Stanly E., rounding out a line-up fronted by vocalist Bernie K. Influenced by Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden, among others, Sound Barrier was among the many heavy metal bands active in Los Angeles in the 1980s. The thing that set Sound Barrier apart from other metal bands was the fact that all four of its original members -- lead singer Bernie K., guitarist Spacey T., bassist/singer Stanley E., and drummer Dave "Skavido" Brown -- were black. Rock journalists were intrigued by the fact that four African Americans were playing heavy metal and Sound Barrier enjoyed a fair amount of press in the beginning. But the band never broke through commercially and only had a small following. Sound Barrier signed with MCA two years later and recorded their debut album, Total Control, in 1982. Total Control, which can also be interpreted as "Total Mind Blow", from both a vocal and instrumental perspective.