East West Records America
Despite the loss of two of the band's four members, Rick Skatore and Jimi Hazel decided to continue on. Jeff Brodnax was brought in as the new vocalist along with Cro-Mags and Bad Brains drummer, Mackie Jayson. Jayson rehearsed with the band for a short time but soon left the band and was replaced by Joel Maitoza. The new lineup received rave reviews and the band was soon signed to East West Records America, a division of Atlantic Records headed by label president, Sylvia Rhone. The company tested the marketability of the new band by releasing a five-song EP titled This is...24-7 Spyz!, produced by Jimi Hazel and Bruce Calder in 1991.
In 1992, the band received their largest commercial exposure to date by appearing in a Budweiser television commercial that aired for the first five months of the year. Soon after, the hour-long Strength In Numbers album, produced by Terry Date and Jimi Hazel, was released and proved to be the band's most critically acclaimed release to date. The album saw the band depart from its New York hardcore roots to concentrate more on heavy metal and soul. Unfortunately, by that time, popular music had begun shifting away from musical dexterity and in favor of the simplicity of grunge. The album's single, "Break The Chains," received minor radio airplay and MTV exposure but Sylvia Rhone pulled the label's support before dropping the band altogether in the midst of what many feel was their creative peak. To the band's dismay, the label only pressed 18,000 pieces and allotted 2,000 for press purposes, thus making the disc widely unavailable almost immediately.
Disgusted by their dealings with East West and Sylvia Rhone, the band members began working on other musical projects. Hazel and Skatore looked to form a new band, Black Angus, with Follow for Now drummer Bernard "Enrique" Coley. The Black Angus sessions were eventually recorded with drummer and longtime friend Carlton Smith of the Royal Crescent Mob. Maitoza formed Shockhead with vocalist Joseph McCraw and Nixons bassist Ricky Wolking, recording one disc, titled Television, which was produced by Jimi Hazel. Brodnax concentrated on his band, Egypt.
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