Now Hear This - Sound Barrier

Welcome to another installment of Now Hear This where I share some of my favorite albums and artists. Today we're setting the Wayback Machine for the late 80s! Ever since a friend had me listen to Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil in middle school I've been into hair bands and metal. Today's band would probably land in the glam/power/speed metal areas.

Waaaay back in '88, it was around the time when CDs were starting to really take off with the mass market. I had my first car which was a year older than me. It took leaded gas and sported an AM radio. I had to bring a Walkman and a pair of battery operated speakers with me if I wanted to listen to anything decent. That car ended up dying a horrible death on the highway when the radiator blew like an unholy geyser of water and steam. 

Did I mention I was going 55 and couldn't see a thing? Good times.

One day, I was in the mall record store going through a large metal mesh bin of discount cassettes when I found this puppy staring at me with a  $2 tag. I've always been of the opinion that if it looks cool, I'll give it a shot. And for that price, how could you pass up a spaceship cover and a track list including name like "Gladiator", "Speed of Light" and
"On To The Next Adventure"? See, there was a reason I mentioned having a Walkman!

The 1986 line-up for Sound Barrier

There's not a lot of info out there about Sound Barrier because they never hit the big time. In fact, MCA dropped them after their first album didn't sell well. The original line-up of the band consisted of four African Americans, which got them publicity. Speed of Light came after a line-up change and was released on Metal Blade Records in 1986.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to track down their other albums.

The band's original line-up

 Obviously I liked what I found because I'm blogging about it 25 years later. Damn, I'm old. They've got some skills, especially the bass player. It may not be something that will blow you away or change your life but if you dig Iron Maiden of Judas Priest, check em out.

If you have Spotify, you can listen along below.
Otherwise, check out the samples on Amazon where you can get the mp3 album.